Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 9, 2000
It is hard to imagine a more serious situation in a police department: Officers are said to be having sex with members of the Police Explorer program for young people. If true or left unresolved, the allegations could undermine the credibility of the law enforcement agency and the trust people put in police officers.
That is the difficult position the Largo Police Department finds itself in today. Allegations have been made that one or more police officers have had sexual relationships with members of Largo's Explorer program.
To their credit, Largo City Manager Steve Stanton and police Chief Jerry Bloechle have taken the problem seriously and begun an independent investigation by a labor-relations law firm out of Tampa.
Of course, Largo residents might also wonder what took Stanton and Bloechle so long to follow up on the suspicions about their Explorer program.
Allegations of improper contact between police officers and female Explorers have arisen more than once.
In 1994, police officials got a complaint about the relationship between a 16-year-old Explorer and Officer Tom Faircloth, who resigned after an internal investigation.
In 1998, a suicide note left by Officer John Ferraro, who was facing arrest for having sex with a 16-year-old girl, included this statement: "I'm not the only person who's had sex with a minor at the police department, or with Explorers who no longer are with the department. They really need to tighten up the rules with those Explorers."
Recently, in TV and newspaper reports, one former officer, Patrick McKeever, admitted he had sex with a female Explorer.
Now, the very future of the Explorer program -- which is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America -- is in question. It is a good program that, if run correctly, engenders good will in the community and introduces young people to possible careers in law enforcement. But if Largo officials cannot guarantee parents and the public that young people will be protected from sexual exploitation, the program should end.
After the 1994 investigation, the Police Department established clear rules for the program and its officers. For example, the directive for the Explorer program states: "Dating and intimate relationships between department employees and (Explorer) post members will not be permitted."
The problem, then, is in supervision and oversight of the program. Those are responsibilities Stanton and Bloechle cannot leave to chance. The current investigation should not only punish police employees who have violated department rules, it also should fix what is wrong with the program.
Explorer activities obviously need more scrutiny. Whoever is put in charge of the program needs training, resources and the chief's ear. It should not be an add-on responsibility for an employee engaged in other full-time duties.
When the investigation is completed, the Largo City Commission should give this order to its city manager and police chief: Operate the program properly, or end it.