Copperhill residents and businesses need and deserve full time law enforcement protection. Anything less is not satisfactory. A look at recent drug arrests, multiple complaints by residents and business owners, and a close look at the city itself are proof.
Mayor Kathy Stewart says the city can’t afford the $10,000 or so a month a police force would cost.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies are doing the best they can to serve the city. But they are stretched too thin as is, covering everything from the Monroe County line to Copperhill, from the North Carolina line to the private boat takeout on Highway 64 and everything in between.
But there might be – in fact there should be – a solution.
Just across the river in McCaysville is a fully staffed, full time police department. Letting a spirit of cooperation take the lead could help both cities.
McCaysville officers could be certified in Tennessee through the state’s transition training. Then, they could patrol Copperhill – the kind of patrol the small city needs.
Copperhill, in turn, could pay McCaysville $5,000 a month as an example. McCaysville could use the money for its police force needs – not making a profit, but not loosing money either.
There would be details to be worked out such as liability insurance coverage, prisoner transports, dispatching, call priorities – and likely many others. They’re likely other hurdles, too, when two states need to work together for the good of both.
But with a full time, certified police force moments away, hogtied only by the restrictions of a state line, it only makes sense for the two cities to cooperate for a solution.
This is one idea. It deserves serious consideration, unless Copperhill can come up with a better one. And it hasn’t.