This is the third in a series of candidate question and answer features St. Tammany News will run before the upcoming elections. Each candidate was asked a series of the same five questions.

Ben Morris is no stranger to Slidell politics or to the Slidell Police Department. He was elected Slidell Chief of Police in 1990 and reelected in 1994. After that, Morris was elected Slidell mayor in 2002 and has served two terms as the mayor. Due to term limits, Morris will not be able to run for mayor March 27.

A former U.S. Army colonel, Morris says he has the experience in leadership to go back to running the SPD. He also said he is the best choice for the job, because before he became mayor, he was a law enforcement professional. Morris was an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency, and he holds a master’s degree in criminal justice. During his term as chief of police, he was instrumental in creating the police academy in Camp Villere, and he got accreditation for the SPD.

Ben Morris

Morris is married and has three daughters, and is a Repbublican.

What do you think is the biggest problem facing the Slidell Police Department, and what will you do to alleviate that problem? The economic downturn has reduced the availability of funding for projects for advanced technology. Some of these projects are ongoing and completion will depend on grants and innovative financing. In addition with the growth in population, the potential for an upturn in crime is possible, even though the crime levels are at a ten-year low. The greatest challenge will be reducing the crime rate even further.

Despite the city’s low crime rate, there seems to be an increase in illegal drug sales and use. How do you propose to combat these crimes? The Slidell Police Department is very active in counter-drug operations. Continued cooperation between all nearby law enforcement agencies and the federal agencies is imperative to slowing the distribution of drugs. However educating our young people on the dangers of drug use is one of our most daunting tasks. The Slidell Police Department must continue to work with our school and the school system to insure that anti-drug instruction is readily available.

With decreasing revenues coming into the city’s coffers, there will be a budget crunch. How do you plan to address this and still maintain an effective police force? There is a budget crunch — the effects on police operations is yet to be determined, however the intent is to limit as many effects on government services as possible. I am on a daily basis working with our director of finance to present a budget that is financially sound and at the same time limits the effect on our services and prevents a consideration of layoffs that would in effect, reduce services. Since public safety is a primary service, I will not allow any cuts that would reduce the effectiveness of the Slidell Police Department.

What more can be done to reach out to the residents of Slidell to make them more aware of the police department’s presence and increase the trust between residents and police officers? We currently have a very active involvement with our schools, home owner groups and neighborhood watch programs. We also offer citizen academies, kid’s camps and extensive Internet coverage of police activities and press releases offerings on almost a daily basis. This must continue and be enhanced where possible.

If the city continues to grow at its present rate, how will that effect the police department, and what can be done to face the challenge of more people, more traffic and more crime? Our city has grown to over 30,000 since Katrina. This poses the requirement on enhanced patrol activity and detective coverage for criminal activity. This will require possible changes in patrol schedules which must be determined when I take office and review coverage, number of officers on each shift and location and frequency of incidents.