31 October 08 - 00:12Sorry Charlie, Police are here to get YOU
I know Nigel was meaning well when he indicated how hard the police have it. Let's face it. We make it that way. It is our cultural decision to spend the majority of the time the police monitor the public focusing on traffic incidents, most of which are rated at a severity of less than a misdemeanor. In otherwords, we choose as a society to spend our police protection dollars sending the police out to bust us for practically meaningless crimes while what could be called "real crime" is not considered to be "stoppable."
I am tired of this topic, but wish to point out that my son who lives in Plano, TX in a middle of the road neighborhood (home value over $200,000) has had his car broken into four times. Once when the car belonged to his sister, twice when he owned it and parked it in Plano and one time in Arizona City, AZ, which is very near the armpit of the world.
Three car burgleries in Plano, TX over the life of a 2002 model Dodge. The last time $150 worth of broken window (on a car he left unlocked to prevent that, knowing that police in Plano are impotent to protect against this sort of crime) got the thief a handful of old CD's without the cases. He thinks the number may be four CD's.
It is not just Plano, it is the American way. In my opinion, what we have our police doing ranks with what the petty thieves are doing. Nickel and diming us for a few dollars of pain to relieve an itch.
Plano has spent millions on lights to catch common citizens running red lights. Are the people doing that really the bad guys?
Go law enforcement, go.
Lincoln - default -
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21 October 08 - 00:17A Cop is a Cop, of Course, of Course....
Quote from the San Francisco Chronicle from 2007 - "A veteran San Francisco police captain has been reassigned amid complaints he wasn't embracing a foot-patrol plan imposed by the Board of Supervisors -- a mandate he said earlier this week was getting in his way of effectively responding to a string of robberies in the upscale Marina district."
Don't get me wrong on this. I think that there is such a fixation with the automobile in this country that we cannot think clearly. Look at the myriad of highways. Look at the complex interchanges and complicated safety mechanisms all about on the highways. We are driven in this country by pressure groups, and it is obvious that the "safety" crowd has made their mark on highways. This is not a bad thing, only an expensive thing.
The sad thing is, people spend more time at home, at play, and at work than they do driving. It seems that police do the opposite. The current theory is to have them drive around all over the place and if there is a crime radio them and send them to the scene.
I guess I need to study crimes in the United States and see what percentage of aggrevated crimes occur in traffic and what percentage occur elsewhere. We seem to be deploying police to monitor and control traffic, but not other things. I could go on discussing how I have been told by police they will not act on a crime even though I can give them the name of the "perp", the particulars and what not. They just don't bother.
As an example, my favorite ex-wife had credit card fraud occur. On her own, she identified the thief, the thief's name, address, and about anything the police might need to know. They did nothing and the credit card company gladly covered the thousands of dollars of money stolen on the credit card. Where are the police, lawyers, and governmental leaders when it actually comes to locating, charging, and penalizing criminals.
Watching the monitors and tapes of folks who run red lights, I suspect. It's all about money.
Lincoln - default -
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14 October 08 - 23:28What a way to think
Nigel writes to me about a recent rant I had about police, who I think are basically traffic cops and nothing else. They have a traffic mentality and go after the green (money) and make excuses for the rest. Here is what Nigel says and my response.
Your message seems full of sarcasm. (Nigel is very perceptive. -Lincoln) If I misread it that way, I
apologise, otherwise, if you have a problem with Plano, how about you
go live somewhere else. Let me address your concerns. (I actually am living somewhere else, but not because of Nigel's advice. More on this later. -Lincoln)
1) Plano has some 1000 miles of streets serving over 260,000 people.
It's impossible for every street to be patrolled every day. Are you
home 24/7 so you can see if an officer makes a pass? (Perception is reality, they say. -Lincoln)
2) If you have a car radio stolen in any city in the world with over
250,000, you're unlikely to ever get it back. In fact, there's probably
just as little chance in a city of 100,000 people. (This is my point. -Lincoln)
3) Red light cameras. Why are you so against them? Surely you don't run
red lights so you have nothing to worry about. I expect you'd be the
person crying if someone ran a stop light and hit you then drove off.
The red light camera would be able to pick them up...but you wouldn't
want that information because you're happy paying your own medical
bills. (My problem is with the unwarranted expense and the poorly managed targeting of resources. Go for the green. -Lincoln)
4) There's a city ordnance that states you can only have 2 garage sales
a year, or something like that, and you must have a permit. Ignorance
is not a defense. It stops people running a business from the back of
their house. Maybe if you did clear out the junk from your garage and
put your car in it, you wouldn't get your radio stolen, eh? (This guy is a real people person isn't he. Probably a copper himself. Protecting and Serving. -Lincoln [Yup, more sarcasm]
----------------------------------- My response
Nigel,
I appreciate your seemingly common sense approach to this. You are
obviously a liberal, such as my wife. She thinks the government is
right in anything they do and we should amend our ways to suit the
their whims.
If your arguements make sense to you, please live in peace and have a nice life.
My latest disappointment with police comes from an experience in
Houston. I am unfamiliar with the area, and, of course, ignorance is
no excuse, RIGHT BIG GUY?
I am driving to where I am staying and a car stops abruptly in front of
me to make a left hand turn without signalling. I swing right as
little as possible to avoid the car and anger the wild eyed woman
behind me.
The woman starts throwing chunks (very large, they left dents in my
car) of ice at me. I called 911 and the police officer asked me if I
felt threatened. Dumb question, why would I call 911 if there was not
a problem. The chunks were large and if they had hit a window they
would have shattered it.
The officer was sarcastic and unbelieving. In my world, the police are lazy, power hungry, and look stupid in their sunglasses.
Sorry, Nigel, just the way I see it.
We put our money where it seems important. Do millions of dollars on
red light cameras seem to be a solution to a problem worth the
expense? No. If you think otherwise, I don't respect that, but I do
accept it.
Lincoln
Last word for now......
Police walked the streets when I was growing up. They checked doors on businesses. They talked to people and were a part of the local fabric. Nigel apparently is a young guy or grew up in the big city.
Later.......
Lincoln - default -
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