Editor, Daily Nexus,

While I admire Henry Sarria’s opinion “Defending the Foot Patrol” (Daily Nexus, April 28,2003), it will go on deaf ears for many reasons. To start with, his intended audience, the Grand Jury, doesn’t have to listen or care. Only Isla Vistans care about I.V. (and judging by the weekly violence and vandalism, it may be the case that Isla Vistans don’t care either). While Sarria may be a long-time resident, 90 percent of us are in and out of I.V. around five years and have little political or voting power. We don’t have anything to offer the rest of the county except for our liberal bitching and our rising crime rates.

I.V., along with myself, is also the most hypocritical part of the county because we are constantly asking for change but we refuse to give up our reckless lifestyles. We hate SUVs and drilling in Alaska, but we whine when the county tries to take our I.V. parking spots. We complain about how the IVFP is ineffective at stopping some crimes, but we get upset the moment someone criticizes our police. Sarria asks if the Grand Jury ever bothered to come to I.V. If the Grand Jury did come to I.V., they’d be experiencing the truth behind this county’s nightmare.

Lastly, how does Sarria define the success of the IVFP, because I don’t see it. What I see is the IVFP turning the other way on pot and public drinking. I see people trying to “Take Back the Night,” but I don’t see police stopping the alarming drug problem that directly contributes to the harassment, abuse and rape of women. I know, for example, that the overall I.V. crime rate and drug frequency is higher then last year. Lastly, no one is to blame for David Attias’ acts except for Attias himself. But if he wasn’t a binge drinker and a drug experimenter, then that tragedy may not have happened. It is the truth that I.V. isn’t the only place in the county that has crime, but it is the only place where police are complacent when in reality they have their work cut out for them.