Sheriff knows what he’s doing in crime battle

In response to Wesley Juhl’s April 20 article, “Outside gang impact debated”:

Mr. Juhl quotes a self-proclaimed “expert” in gang matters, Wes McBride from Los Angeles. He claims that the sheriff’s decentralization of the gang unit has encouraged Southern California gangs to come to Las Vegas because “the word is out that the city now lacks effective gang and narcotics units.” Does he really think that all the L.A. gang members got together and said, “Hey, let’s all go to Las Vegas, they’ve decentralized the gang unit”?

Highly unlikely.

I believe I can speak with some authority on this subject as I have had the pleasure of working with the narcotics units of both Metro and North Las Vegas. I worked with these men for the better part of five years as a special agent of the FBI. These police officers are their department’s finest. They know how to adapt to challenges.

In reality, Sheriff Joe Lombardo has expanded Metro’s presence throughout the county by localizing Metro’s efforts in every neighborhood where gangs flourish and prey on citizens. This strategy allows the officers to better understand the demographics of a particular neighborhood and to zero in on the specific gangs and crime unique to that area. Knowing a neighborhood and the gang members who hang out there allows officers to gather intelligence, enforce the laws and prevent crime.

Even the FBI decentralizes by assigning its 10,000 agents to hundreds of cities throughout the United States in order to handle crime specific to those communities.

Los Angeles, with more cops per capita than we have, has a much larger gang problem than we do. Sheriff Lombardo is being very creative in his strategy to combat violent crime with such a small force. Clark County should be proud to have such a hard-working, diligent and devoted sheriff as Joe Lombardo.

Dick Tomasso

Las Vegas

Testing policy

I would like to respond to Bill Hanlon’s April 24 commentary on secondary testing. Mr. Hanlon advocates doing away with having students pass any type of proficiency or end-of-year test for high school graduation. I believe this is wrong.

I will be retiring this June from teaching, the past 25 years in the Clark County School District (43 years of teaching, overall). For the next two years, there are no requirements for students to pass any type of test to graduate. Consequently, you will see graduation rates rise. It will appear schools and administrators are doing a better job of getting students to graduate.

The reality is much different, though.

Last year, the school from which I am retiring adopted a minimum grade of “F.” Students must receive a minimum grade of 50 percent on any assignment regardless of whether they have done the assignment or not. The students quickly learn that it takes only a few completed assignments to get to 60 percent and earn a passing grade of D, They can skip several assignments and still pass. As Mr. Hanlon stated, there is pressure from school administrators to get students to pass. This means don’t fail students.

The public needs to be aware that we will be graduating students who may not have the necessary academic skills to make them successful in the workplace or in society.

David Holst

Henderson

Ballot issue

It amazes me that so many people can form an opinion on Question 1, which deals with firearm background checks. Where are they getting all the facts? I contacted the Clark County Election Department and was told they couldn’t print out Question 1 information until October. How are people making an informed decision when the proposed “law” hasn’t been clarified?

We already have so many laws on the books that govern the purchase of weapons and background checks. Liberals think if they pass another feel-good law things will change? Do they really think that all the gang bangers are going to buy their guns at a store? Laws affect only the honest person.

Bob Swift

Boulder City