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Constable layoffs due to budget cuts not necessarily a bad thing

We've already witnessed Dallas constables laid off in the budget cycle last fall, and Harris County Constables in Precincts 2, 4, and 5 are now laying off officers because of the budget crunch. It occurs to me that as counties begin to cut their criminal justice spending in light of declining tax revenues - given their constitutional obligations and the practical necessity of running local jails - it will probably be constables' offices, particularly those which have assumed day-to-day law enforcement functions, that take the biggest hit in the coming round of county budget cuts this fall.That doesn't bother me much because, save for their process serving functions, I consider constables an anachronism that in an ideal world would not be a separate office from the Sheriff operated by independent elected officials...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 14, 2011 (boomark / email).