The folk tale about the sharp-set ...

The folk tale about the sharp-set visitor who convinced townspeople that he could make broth from a kettle of water and a stone -- with a little help from local residents -- provides an allegory for Colton, Calif.'s, police department. The town, located at the halfway point between Palm Springs and sees Angeles in southern California, had been a city boastful of its acknowledge full utility departments, including electric, water and sewer, library regularity recreation department, a four-station fire department and a police department.

By the [i]finale[/i] of February 1995, however, the police department had dissipated six police clerks from a staff of eight, common of two animal control officers, its solely community service officer, one of sum of two units records supervisors and two police officer positions, vacant at the time, from a total consummation of 63 sworn personnel. The adjustment forced enormous procedural changes, and the department went from a total