Homewood, I understand where you are coming from and you're probably right in your assessment of why there was a small armada of MP vessels at the West Alton Sandbar.
My problem is that while they were are the sandbar, what was slipping through the cracks? We don't know because no one publishes the Marine Patrol Logbook, you know the one, it's where the dispatcher logs in calls they get for help, complaints etc. and assign MP vessels to investigate.
So we don't know if tying up several vessels and crew at the sandbar on a given weekend meant the officers were out of position to handle emergencies because, like is the case with all depts, manpower is limited so to beef up enforcement in one area you have to move an officier from another location.
As far as the MP informing a snorkler 50' off her property that she was violating the law, as you said attitude and first impressions are everything, but that is a 2-way street! Was he rude or was he the friendly policeman helping out? I wasn't there, I don't know but just based on the reaction it prompted from the woman's husband I would guess that he was closer to the rude end of the spectrum than not.
If we (the public) had even the limited information contained in the Marine Patrol logbook it would go a long way toward allowing us a greater understanding of what is going on at MPHQ and whether they are utilizing manpower effectively or not.
So I again call on local media to publish the MP Log in the same column with the police and fire dept logs they already publish.
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