Milwaukee park patrol opposition by County more about protecting turf than protecting public safety

This looks like a move to protect the status quo, not provide the best security for our public parks.

I frequent quite a few parks as you can imagine. Outside of an event being held at a park, I've never seen a Sheriff's Deputy "patrolling" a park. And how could they with their limited resources?

So this isn't about "public safety", it's about protecting a politician's budget from being touched and keeping the status quo firmly intact.

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. on Thursday continued his criticism of a plan by Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Chris Abele for shifting park patrols from the sheriff to the city Police Department – and picked up some backing from county supervisors.

In his annual appearance before the County Board's budget committee, Clarke said Abele's budget plan for the sheriff "continues his systematic dismantling of public safety in Milwaukee County." Clarke said Milwaukee police didn't have the time to patrol the lakefront and county parks inside the city.

Under the proposal, the county would pay the city $1.7 million next year to pick up park patrol duties from the county and take over more of the 911 emergency calls that are made from cellphones. Clarke has said any deal on park patrols between the city and county wouldn't be binding on him. – jsonline

I'm also curious to hear the logic from the Supervisors who are supporting this. Is it more about protecting County's "turf" and keeping parks control in their grasp, or doing what's best for the park system and the people who utilize it?

Supervisors Jason Haas, Russell Stamper II and Peggy Romo West told Clarke they opposed the park patrol switch. Other supervisors have also expressed skepticism about the idea.