Oregon State Police could learn a few tricks from “the Greatest.” Mohammad Ali, truly the Greatest of All Time, knew one thing about his opponents and the ring. He had to be smarter than they were because from time to time he might not be tougher. Even with exceptional training, conditioning and superior physical skills he knew he needed a fight plan to continually stay on top. He promised he would “move like a butterfly and sting like a bee.” He did. But only after he executed the first part of his plan.
Ali’s strategy looks so simple to us now. When he moved from flashing fists and ballet dancer-like feet to a lumbering, tired and easy to hit fighter you can imagine the hope it raised in his opponent. Ali coined this his “Rope-A-Dope” strategy. The game was to entice his opponent to follow him to the ropes in the middle to late rounds of a fight by appearing momentarily dazed. Once there, Ali would act like he was in real trouble.
Heartened by the turn of events, his opponent punched wildly trying to end the fight. Ali would cover his head of body with his hands and arms and wait until his opponent wore himself out. Ali drew the hopeful Dope to the Ropes with what looked to be a promising result and then finished him off. Like a man crawling in the desert sands to the oasis, Ali created the illusion there was promise and then dashed it.
In 1980 the Oregon State Police were the political dopes who were led to the financial ropes by the Oregon political leadership.
Created in 1931 and often referred to as the “Super Police”, the Oregon State Police were given broad policing under the authority of Oregon law authority in Traffic, Criminal Law and Fish and Wildlife enforcement, Majority funding for the State Police was aimed traffic enforcement the agencies largest division. That specific funding was locked in the Oregon State Highway Trust Fund and was protected by Oregon’s Constitution for nearly 50 years. Law makers at the time saw the logical connection between a highway revenue source and funding for a state police agencies. And so it was until 1980.
Time passed and the State Police Traffic Division grew. The greatest growth in the State Police to came in the early and mid part of the 1970s. I was hired in October of 1974. In that single year over 150 troopers were added to state police ranks. Much of the funding for the increase in troopers came from a Federal Funding program that added police officers, deputies and troopers all over the nation. Of course, as all good federal programs do, that funding ended and the state was on the hook to pick up the costs. Of course that worked at least in the traffic division because State Police were getting a reasonable slice of the highway trust fund. All was well it seemed.
State Police leadership wore the apolitical badge with pride. In those days it was never very long between statements from which ever the Superintendent and his senior staff touting lack of need to get involved in the politics of supporting state police within the legislature and beyond. That included developing any real political skills within the agency.
After all we had friends in the legislature and the thought was they would take care of state police issues and most importantly state police budget issues. And for the most part in those days the Mission of the State Police was well defended and that was especially true when it came to traffic enforcement funding. Remember the State Police is in fact the Governor’s and the Oregon Legislature’s Department. It seemed that executive and legislative loyalty to the agency would make politics irrelevant. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
In the mean time those broad policing powers granted to the State Police grew the number of troopers assigned to such areas of state police responsibility such as criminal investigation and Fish and Wildlife enforcement. These functions, however, had to be paid for out of Oregon’s General Fund. That made us the enemy with some politicians.
Past Governor’s and legislative leadership have been of little help . After the days of Governor Hatfield, Governor McCall,Governor Straub and Governor Atiyeh the Oregon State Police have had exceptional support in the area of lip service but have been sold out politically time and time again. The legislature has not been any better in terms of meaningful support generally. Oh sure, legislative leadership has always demonstrated a remarkable confidence in the State Police by heaping on the statutory enforcement responsibilities in a myriad of areas and expressing great confidence, never sending any money to support it.
Just prior to 1980 elements of a perfect political storm were forming. The oncoming recession, a calculated run on the state’s highway trust fund by big construction interests, clueless state police leadership, and the Rope-a Dope legislative strategy were converging. Then in 1980, the Oregon State Police traffic enforcement funding was moved to the political shark tank, Oregon’s General Fund. State Police leadership were mere appetizers to the great whites swimming in those waters.
The negative results were almost immediate. State Police troopers began disappearing from Portland Metro freeways. State Police offices began disappearing not in the metro area but across the state. By the mid 1980’s State Police troopers ended their presence as the primary traffic enforcement agency in the metro area. Smokey Bear hats which symbolized meaningful traffic safety, virtually disappeared from the Portland area. The statewide 24 hour patrols were pared back.
This fact is even more problematic when you consider just the opposite dynamic is out work in the states of Washington and California where funding for the Washington State Patrol and California Highway Patrol staffing are still protected by dedicated funding. (Note to Reader: Patrol and Police are exact references with great distinction and dramatic difference in policing responsibility). Lets’ explore the difference.
The argument for asking voter to re-amend the Oregon Constitution and return the State Police traffic safety function to a dedicated funding source seems like a no-brainer. But wait.
* Convene a legislative commission to consider the mission of the Oregon State Police. The purpose to reconfirm the state police mission or change it. Do not assign this issue solely to a group of law enforcement types. They will make recommendations influenced by the state police that are at the edges of the real issue at hand and will get the same tired results. I have seen no less than ten of these over my 34 year law enforcement career.
*Consider whether the Oregon State Police needs to be spun off from its current traffic enforcement responsibilities. Perhaps its time to create the Oregon State Patrol focused funded and empowered in statute to concentrate on traffic safety and only traffic safety. Then decide what the remainder of the Oregon State Police should be to fill voids in law enforcement statewide and the willingness to fund it out of those duties from the General Fund. Different structured assignments for different regions or smaller divisions of the state.
* Create a ballot measure to amend the Oregon Constitution for 2012 that demonstrates a thorough examination of the state police mission. Dedicate a funding source and lock it away . Resist the urge to run a measure that drops the state police traffic enforcement back into competition with the existing resources within the highway. To do otherwise will spell certain defeat for the measure just as when the question failed during the past decade regardless of the party line to “make it happen” this time.
