Occupy proved that; this is only confirmation:
"Some police agencies sold on sponsorship deals; They help pay for services, but raise concerns" by Ben Dobbin | Associated Press, December 26, 2011
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A high-tech helicopter has helped Sheriff Kevin Walsh chase down fugitives, carry accident victims to the hospital, and spearhead search-and-rescue missions in the Syracuse region since 1999. In 2012, Air-1 could be grounded by budget cuts.
Walsh’s proposed solution is to slap a corporate logo on the Bell 407 copter to raise ad revenue and keep it flying.
I think politician$ should have to do the $ame thing, if you know what I mean.
Police “have put up with doughnut jokes for our entire existence. I think we can tolerate jokes about the Price Chopper chopper or the Wegmans whirlybird showing up,’’ Walsh said, referring to two supermarket chains. “I don’t like the idea of our having to fund public services with private donations, but the option is not to have that public service.’’
Do I look like I'm laughing much here?
While selling the right to name municipal stadiums, parks, mass-transit stations, and other public entities is nothing new for the nation’s cash-strapped cities, sponsorship deals with police agencies are much less common, and typically less lucrative.
On top of that, watchdog groups - and many in uniform - are wary about potential conflicts when law enforcement cozies up with advertisers, such as officers possibly looking the other way on matters involving corporate sponsors....
Yeah, that's the first thing I thought.
In 2002, dozens of cities jumped at an offer by a Charlotte, N.C., company to provide new police cars for $1 each in exchange for festooning them with race car-style logos. The venture fizzled, in part because the line between tactful and tacky advertising can be a narrow one, and the company has gone out of business....
In Syracuse, the sheriff’s budget woes in recent years deepened this fall when the county Legislature eliminated $591,000 in taxpayer aid in 2012 for the helicopter known by its radio call sign. Bought for $2.3 million, Air-1 costs around an average $500,000 a year to operate and maintain.
Maybe you guys should fly Jersey. Last I heard he was heading nawth to New Hampsha for Romney(?).
Walsh has appealed for private donations and hopes to secure federal grants to help pay for Air-1’s four-pilot roster. Getting a commercial operator’s license from the Federal Aviation Administration to allow him to charge fees for medical flights might come through soon, potentially raising $125,000 to $200,000 a year.
Selling naming rights could prove vital in filling the gap. Talks are underway with two potential sponsors who remain unidentified, and Walsh’s administrative chief, John Balloni, hopes to add at least $100,000 a year in advertising revenue.
While conceding that Air-1 might have to stop operations in 2012, Balloni said: “There will be some revenue streams coming in and we have full expectation we’ll keep it in the air.’’
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Related: RI city considering ads on school buses
Schools have been corporatized for a long time now.
The real cops on the beat:
"SEC revises settling of fraud cases" by Edward Wyatt | new york times, January 07, 2012
WASHINGTON - The “neither admit nor deny’’ practice has been in use for years by many government agencies in addition to the SEC. But it has attracted renewed criticism recently.
Mostly intelligence and national security.
The SEC has defended the practice, saying that by settling with companies, it saves the commission the far greater expense - and potential risk - of fighting them in court. The agency says it is usually able to get as much money from a settlement as it could win in a protracted legal case, with money being returned to investors more quickly.
A slap on the wrist is better than nothing at all(?).
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Related: SEC chided over destroyed records
Just like any other cops I suppose.
