Proposition Would Help Combat Crime

The first thought in case of fire, burglary, robbery, or in fact, any kind of emergency, is to call 911. But what if 911 isn’t working? Sometimes, the Alhambra 911 system isn’t working because it is inadequate.

And what about earthquakes? We get little ones all the time, Caltech seismologists tell us, and they say that the big one is sure to come.

But Alhambra’s emergency disaster center is located in the only available room of the police station--a tiny basement section of our 35-year-old facility, built before present earthquake-proof standards existed.

In case of a major shake, the help you may need might be knocked out of service, or worse, buried.

People complain about criminals being released only hours after their arrest. Why? Well, in Alhambra’s case, our jail houses only 16 prisoners, yet our police make more than 400 arrests per month, an average of 13 to 14 a day.

Each year, the number of our arrests increases 10%.

Where can we hold prisoners if the County Jail can’t accept their transfer? The answer is, we can’t. Alhambra needs a jail at least twice the size of our present one.

No one could foresee in 1955, when the police station and jail on Woodward Avenue were built, that drug-related crimes would change all our lives. But we can’t sit still, wring our hands and do nothing.

One basic principle that stands the test of time is: “All it takes for evil (and crime) to flourish is for good people to do nothing.”

Alhambra citizens have an opportunity to do something to combat crime. They can support Proposition A on the Sept. 17 ballot to build a bigger police station/jail.

The cost to homeowners amounts to $49 per year, less than $1 per week. Condo owners would be assessed only $37 per year.

Failure to vote that day for Proposition A is a vote in favor of criminals.

FAME RYBICKI

Alhambra