Strickland's Department of Public Safety just can't stay out of trouble.

If it's not one thing, it's another.

This time it's a failure to develop guidelines on handling allegations of criminal conduct raised by state agencies.

After the State Highway Patrol failed to investigate a case of "obvious" criminal fraud involving a state contractor, Charles' investigation released Jan. 14 called for development of a policy on how to handle the referral of criminal complaints by state agencies.

[...]

In her response to Charles' latest report dated Friday, Collins-Taylor said the policy still is being developed. (The Dispatch requested the department's response Friday, but did not receive it until late this afternoon.)

First off, this policy should read pretty simply. In fact, I took a couple months to develop my own draft. Here it is:

1. Call the Patrol.
2. Stay out of their way.

Second, you'd think Collins-Taylor, with her job on the line, would pay a little more attention to important issues like this one. Why ignore the Inspector General? Apparently Strickland's "kick the can" way of doing things has caught on with his cabinet.

Finally, is it really a good idea to ignore the Dispatch? Seriously?

In other Public Safety news, I'd like to welcome the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the party. Glad to see you guys figured out just how important Troopergate has become.