San Jose should retain child pornography unit

San Jose has long debated asking for help from other law enforcement agencies as a way to augment patrol staffing. This is not a new idea, as approximately 200 cities in California contract with another law enforcement agency.

Unfortunately, the city council action Tuesday will remove staffing from the child pornography unit. Given the choice, I believe most residents would rather have a Sheriff or California Highway Patrol vehicle in their neighborhood than see a reduction in staffing in the child pornography unit.

Opponents will say the CHP is not qualified to give out tickets for unsafe driving or that this arrangement is impossible due to cultural differences. Nonsense. The truth is that it will take more than 10 years for the San Jose Police Department to reach historical staffing levels. We cannot afford to wait and should not be too proud to ask for help right now.

Pierluigi Oliverio Member, San Jose City Council, District 6