MAILBAG: Newport Beach should run Harbor Patrol for sake of residents and boat owners

There have always been problems with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department being in charge of the Harbor Patrol (Recipe for Success, “Financial shortfall if city of Newport Beach takes over harbor,” May 3). We need dedicated, mariner-type individuals who didn’t just complete their tour of duty at the airport or Orange County Jail.

Law enforcement is of course important, but the job is much more than that, and a lot has to do with the attitude. Case in point: The position the Harbor Patrol took after the Rupert fiasco when they stated in a letter to the yacht clubs in the area that “we followed policy.”

The sheriff’s deputies have consistently demonstrated an overreaction with lights and sirens, damaging boats and docks — because they can.

We need a harbor patrol that is responsive to and answers to the needs of the boaters, residents and visitors of our harbor. We need a Newport Beach-run harbor patrol.

JOSH WALKER

Balboa Island

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