Welcome to the Post Register's first Live Wire chat. Tonight's guest is Idaho Falls Police Chief J. Kent Livsey. He will answer as many questions as he can in the next hour. Please note that he may not be able to answer questions on cases that are still open or pending.

Good evening,

I would like to know if you beleive that all the principles involved in the Kimball Mason case have been identified and will they face legal sanctions?

Joe: I believe they have. That said, the investigation is extensive and there have been a few surprises. As far as the sanctions, it is the Attorney General's case and I am not in a position to speak for him.

Chief,

Can you talk a little bit about your decision to no longer proceed with property forfeitures on misdemeanor drug cases? Was that a direct result of the suburban fiasco with KM? Did forfeitures on misdemeanor cases provide much financially for the department?

Nakkula: Actually the Mason case brought the issue to a head. Philosophically, I think the government can go too far regarding certain things. I believe that if we continued seizing property and money on misdemeanor cases, the legislature might possibly step in and end the practice altogether. It is a good tool for felony cases and I would not want to risk it by using it inappropriately. The state to our south has limited the police's ability to seize property because of these types of issues.

Kent, What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the city of Idaho Falls?

Joe: Growth. Our city relies mainly on property tax for government services. As you know, property taxes are not popular. It will be a challange for our local politicians to deal with future growth with the limited resources available.

What has been the most difficult case you have had to deal with in since becoming Chief?

Spudz,

We're having technical problems and are working to post the chief's answer.

Kortny Rolston

Joe: Depends on your definition of difficult. We had a case in the late 90s where a young woman threw her newborn baby in a dumpster. I won't go into the details, but it was a very difficult case to deal with emotionally. There are lots of those. The Angie Doege case has been a challange. Every time we beleive we are close, it turns cold again.

Chief: There is a lot of speculation in town that the reason KM was able to get away with his crimes for so long was the existence of a "good old boys'" network that has created a lax environment among various law enforcement agencies. How would you respond to this?

Spudz: For some reason your question will not transfer from the master computer to this terminal. The answer to your question is that I do not believe there is a good old boy network. I believe the fact that he was caught makes the point. As far as getting away with his crimes for a long time. Most embezzlers get away with their crimes for a long time. They are usually trusted individuals. I think you can look all around the state and see people in government that have done that very thing. When they are caught, there is always the same question... how did they get away with it. I would remind you that Mr. Mason did not get away with it.

Do think the Darwin Vest disappearance is related to any other disappearances?

Joe: We have reviewed the Vest case many times. It is a true mystery. I don't know of other disappearances it may be related to. Unless we find out what happened to him and under what circumstances, it would be difficult to tie it into anything else.

Chief: Your assertion that there's no good old boy network -- for lack of a better term -- doesn't strike me as plausible. It's hard to imagine a town the size of this one that doesn't have an informal network of people who have known each other and worked together for years. In itself that's not necessarily a bad thing. But in reviewing the facts of the KM case it certainly appears that an over-familiarity inside law enforcement allowed this situation to happen.

Spuds: again your question is not transfering. However, I beleive you are wrong about the good old boy thing. When a possible criminal act comes to our attention, we look into it, period. Many crimes go undetected for a period of time for many reasons. This crime got a lot of headlines, and may lead to speculation. However, I have been in the business for a long time. This case was discovered because of good police work and the system has acted expeditiously

Besides Darwin Vest and Angie Dodge, what other unsolved crimes are there?

Joe: there are lots of unsolved crimes. We solve approximately 40% of the crimes we investigate. That is about twice the national average, however. Most are not what you would consider serious crime. The Angie Dodge case was partially solved and one man is in prison for murder regarding that case. It's just that we know there was more than one person involved.

I truly admire your willingness to speak to the public, Thank You

Joe: Thanks, I appreciate the opportunity. One of the problems in our line of work is that we often are unable to speak because of pending cases and the like. It is nice to be able to sit down and discuss issues.

chief,

it's been reported that the IFPD's use of force policy regarding Taser usage is more liberal than the county sheriff's. Have you ever given any thought to revising the policy? Is the department's use of force policy regarding tasers on par with other departments across the country?

Nakkula: Your e-mail will not transfer either. You ask about our taser policy and If I am considering revising our policy regarding its' use. The answer is that we have, in my opinion, a good policy. It is more restrictive than some departments and a little more liberal than others. It is a tool that is only used when a fight is going to ensue if it is not used. We have reviewed every instance of usage and continue to do so. Remember when there is a fight, it is usually both parties that get hurt. When comparing the first six months of its use by our officers, there have been only two officers needing medical attention because of injuries due to a fight. Last year for the same time period when we did not have the tool there were seven officers that had to go to the hospital for aid. It speaks for itself. Finally, If a person does not want to risk being tased, all they have to do is not resist the lawful command of an officer and discontinue their insistance of resisting by force. Our officers' families apreciate it when they come home alive and in one piece every night. It is my obligation to do all that I can to help that happen.

Chief: Sorry to beat a dead horse, but... I agree that good police work led to KM's arrest. I guess my question is whether conditions inside the PD, court system and prosecutor's office should have been different before these crimes were discovered, and whether they have changed since these crimes were uncovered.

Spudz: Not to be trite, but you should read the PR a little more often. There have been many reviews and an audit. Our business has been public and well covered. You are right. The dead horse has now been completely beaten.

chief,

there's seemingly an awful lot of sex crimes perpetrated in the I.F. area. I imagine these cases are difficult to investigate and make arrests on. What's your reaction when a sex offender is prosecuted and the judge gives him a slap on the wrist as far as a sentence, maybe sending him to cottonwood or the like?

Nakkula: You asked about the number of sex crimes in I.F. and my opinion about the sentencing of some of sex-crime criminals. I do not believe we have more sex crimes than other places. It's just that we have less violent, news worthy crimes, such as armed robberies and murders. That fact brings the sex crimes to the front page. I am sure I share your sentiments. Sex crime criminals should be severly punished.

Thanks, chief. Your coming on here was a good precedent for others in positions of authority.

Spudz: Thanks for the dialoge.

Thanks for logging onto tonight's Live Wire chat. We apologize for the technical problems that prevented some of your questions from being posted. They will appear in the transcript that we will post on http://chat.postregister.com.