Dear Source:

I read with amusement and horror a couple of stories relating to the police here. Acting St Croix Chief Benta testifies in the Prosser bankruptcy proceedings that he knew nothing of a $10,000 cash reporting threshold, although he claims to have FBI training, U.S. Secret Service training, U.S. Marshal training and extensive experience cooperating with federal authorities through the local High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) task force. Now, I have not had any such training but I have been a sentient human and therefore I know about the $10,000 limit.
This ignorance, professed, coupled with Commissioner McCall's lamenting the inability of locals to pass the police entrance exam paint a pathetic picture of our problems. The acting chief is as ignorant as the applicants they reject, yet he holds the office of chief. Is there a systemic problem here? I think so. The lack of education coupled with corruption, incompetence, arrogance, or some combination of the above gives us this remarkable "blind leading the lame" situation in critical areas like police and health care.
Scary, no?

John Fuller
St. John

Editor's note: We welcome and encourage readers to keep the dialogue going by responding to Source commentary. Letters should be e-mailed with name and place of residence to [email protected].