EDITORIAL: Law enforcement should be fully funded

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is facing $1 million in budget cuts and may have to reduce staff. 

There’s talk of leaving unfilled positions vacant in Coeur d’Alene to help balance the budget, and that could impact the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. 

We don’t want to see either agency lose personnel. Public safety is too important for cutbacks. If anything, we would like to see more money for law enforcement. Consider it a wise investment. We have heard the stories of towns unwilling to pay for police. We don't want that to be our story.

We are blessed in North Idaho with strong law enforcement that is appreciated by those who live here. If you conducted a survey, property owners here would tell you they are glad to pay their share to have police and sheriff personnel on the job. We like seeing Coeur d’Alene police vehicles in town. A large police presence is a deterrent to those who would do wrong. Most of us feel safer when we see the police. In Coeur d'Alene, you don't have to wonder where the police are. They are there when we need them, and even when we don't.

While trimming law enforcement is one way to save money, it could end up costing far more than expected in the long run. With fewer officers and deputies on the streets, we should expect to see a rise in crime. We should expect to see more criminal behavior. We would rather not.

We hope the SCSO is not forced to make drastic cuts it is looking at, which includes six patrol deputies, a dispatcher and a courthouse security officer. And as Sheriff Holly Lindsey pointed out, those reductions would mean losing patrol coverage and deputies would no longer respond to civil disputes, suspicious activity, noise and animal complaints and a host of other issues. Daily patrols would drop to one deputy for the entire county. Active patrols along the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River and the St. Joe River region would end. No one except criminals wants that.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office recently outlined a proposed budget for fiscal year 2026. The agency’s proposed budget is $54 million, a figure that includes about $4.5 million in new funding requests. 

We support those requests. The KCSO should be fully funded to the degree as deemed necessary by Sheriff Bob Norris. Their role is too important to be shortchanged.

We appreciate our government leaders trying to hold the line on spending. They are being responsible with taxpayer dollars, as we should expect. They should look where they can for savings.

But law enforcement is not the place to save money. It could prove to give criminals the opening they’re looking for, and it could end up costing locals the sense of security that makes this a great place to live. That's a price we're not willing to pay.