This public safety threat demands attention from Gov. Rendell

There is a clear public safety threat looming for Pennsylvania, and the Rendell administration seems content to let it happen ("Shortage of State Troopers Looming," Dec. 29). The state recently graduated a small class of 80 cadets from the state police academy, but no money for hiring troopers is allocated for the 2009-10 state budget.

Typically, classes help replenish about 150 annual retirements, but the recent class fails to cover this. Making matters worse, an unusually large number of retirements are likely, as 1,000 troopers will become eligible to retire in 2010. Such retirement numbers are nearly unprecedented.

The administration's response to this glaring problem was troubling. A spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell said it comes down to "budgetary considerations."

Such considerations should never prevent the state from handling one of its primary duties -- protecting its citizens.

This stance is dumbfounding when you consider the state police is the sole law enforcement agency for more than 85 percent of the state. The department's technology, forensic and investigative services are used statewide and the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) is mobilized at a moment's notice. It was the Rendell administration that added patrol duties along the interstates in Philadelphia -- at the city's request -- further stretching department resources.

If, as Gov. Rendell says, he wants to remain relevant in his final year in office, then he'll make the decisions necessary to protect the 12 million citizens he represents.

Otherwise, Gov. Rendell's legacy will include this dubious fact: Pennsylvania, in a post-9/11 world, will have fewer troopers when he leaves office than when he took office in 2003.

JOSEPH E. SARKIS
Vice President
Pennsylvania State Troopers Association
Harrisburg