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It takes real partners to battle public corruption - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com¶
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sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorials/fl-dlyons-editorial-ethics-0803-20100803,0,4134167.story¶
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com¶
It takes real partners to battle public corruption¶
THE ISSUE: Law enforcement embrace anti-corruption efforts.¶
August 3, 2010¶
Public corruption reform is a big deal in Palm Beach County. How else to explain the embrace of new ethics initiatives, including the creation of an inspector general’s office and the possibility of a November vote to give that office jurisdiction over municipal governments as well as county government?¶
Now comes local law enforcement with an ethics bureaucracy of its own.¶
State Attorney Michael McAuliffe recently announced the creation of a Public Corruption Task Force that would investigate elected officials suspected of criminal activities.¶
McAuliffe has the support of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who jarred many reform supporters by initially refusing to voluntarily submit his office to be under the oversight of the inspector general and,¶
more recently, ordering his employees to skip the county’s new ethics training courses.¶
Unfortunately, Bradshaw insists the new ethics code and training don’t apply to him or his employees, which at best suggests a tone-deafness to a government reform that enjoys widespread support.¶
Palm Beach County, like its South Florida counterparts, has seen its share of elected officials charged and convicted of federal crimes. Unlike Broward and Miami-Dade counties, the grassroots push to enact major ethics reform caught fire and is now a political reality in Palm Beach County.¶
Bradshaw’s sentiments aside, there is a crucial role law enforcement must play if ethics reform has a chance of working. The county inspector general’s powers only go so far. Criminal investigations and prosecution clearly fall under the purview of the sheriff and state attorney, respectively.¶
A strong working relationship between the three agencies is essential. Clearly, the inspector general will need the help of law enforcement to put any real teeth into the program. McAuliffe and Bradshaw, on the other hand, can’t wrap themselves within a new bureaucracy and run roughshod over the inspector general’s efforts, either.¶
Ethics reform remains a work in progress in many parts of Florida. It would be a shame if the strides to bring ethics reform to Palm Beach County fall victim to bureaucratic infighting.¶
BOTTOM LINE: Law enforcement must work with inspector general to make reform work.¶
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel¶
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/editorials/fl-dlyons-editorial-ethics-0803-20100… 8/3/2010¶