23 July 2010By Keith Johnson
Imagine coming home from a hard day’s work, only to
find that your front door has been kicked in and your
home ransacked.
You dial 9-1-1. There is a recording at the other
end of the line:
“…If you are reporting a crime in progress,
press 1. All other callers press 2.”
You press 2.
“If you would like to speak with a dispatcher,
a fee of $2.99 per minute will be generated on your
telephone service account and will appear on your next
statement as “police services.” If you accept these
charges, please press 1, or you can visit our website
at: www.yourlocapolicedepartment.com and file a
report online.”
You decide to press 2 and wait for a dispatcher.
Five minutes later, a dispatcher comes on the line
and you discuss the details of your burglary. You ask
for an officer to be dispatched to the scene. The
dispatcher advises you that a cursory inspection—to
determine if there is any forensic evidence—will run
you $29.99. However, the dispatcher says that the
department is running a special through the end of
this week. For just $99.99, you can get a preliminary
crime
scene investigation, as well as two
witness
statements from neighbors, and the processing
of up to two latent prints.
Having done an inventory of your loss, and
determining that a couple of your guns and a few of
your valuable family heirlooms have been pilfered, you
decide to go with the full package.
Two hours later, a patrol car pulls into your
driveway. Aside from the light bar, it’s hard to tell
the car apart from one plucked off a NASCAR track.
The vehicle is plastered with various advertisements:
Army National Guard, Quaker Oats,
Coca Cola and Prozac are among the
many sponsors hawking their wares.
Before the officer even steps into your house, he
asks, “How do you wish to pay for this?”
You present him with a VISA card. He then asks you
for your driver’s license as a form of ID, then asks
you to step inside the passenger’s side of his patrol
car so he can process the transaction. He swipes both
cards through a terminal.
On a screen, you see the $99.99 fee for the
preliminary crime scene investigation followed by two
more charges: one for $60.00 and another for $45
dollars.
The police officer says, “Looks like you’ve got
a couple unpaid parking tickets. You’ll have to take
care of that now before we go any further.”
You give him a reluctant nod and tell him,
“O.K., might as well…I guess.”
The officer then asks, “Would you like to
donate to the “Widows of Fallen Officer’s Fund?”
You want to say “no” but he’s giving you a hard
stare.
“Yeah…yeah, why don’t you put down $5.00.”
He’s still staring at you…
“Yeah, go ahead and make it $10.00…and while
you’re at it…put down 15%…make it 20% for yourself.”
Does this sound like something from a Philip K.
Dick novel? Or does this sound like a reasonable
prediction of how police services will be transacted
in the not-so-distant future?
If you live in
West
Covina, California, the likelihood of all these
things coming to fruition is likely to become a
reality if Police Commander Paul La Commare has his
way.
Recently, La Commare penned an article entitled
“Generating Revenue Streams” for
“Police Chiefs Magazine” encouraging other
departments to adopt his dystoptian policies of
austerity on the already strapped
American people.
La Commare cites from the
California Department of
Finance’s Economic
Indicators, January–February 2008 report
that states:
“the current economic slowdown afflicting
California and the nation is the result of a
one-two punch. The first blow fell in 2005 and 2006
when real estate markets peaked and began a gradual
slowdown. Late in 2006, it appeared that despite some
losses, home sales and prices had stabilized. The
second blow, though, fell in 2007 when the subprime
lending meltdown and rising foreclosures led to the
implosion of real estate mortgage markets. Residential
real estate markets were jolted by rising inventories
as too many homes were on the market and the number of
qualified buyers, particularly those looking to move
up, dwindled. Ominously, as 2007 progressed, the
likelihood steadily increased that rather than just
suffering through severe corrections in real estate
and home construction markets, the economy might run
into a full-fledged economic slowdown.”
In his article, La Commare expresses concern over
the current
economic downturn and predicts that most
American cities will soon be forced to provide only
the most basic services. He states:
Five years ago, the current state of the
economy facing cities and counties was not even a
concern. Now, however, many
law enforcement agencies are facing the reality
of severe budget cuts, reduced workforce, and the
elimination or reduction of many
law
enforcement programs. Today, police chiefs are
being asked to look for ways of economizing,
increasing efficiency, eliminating redundancies, and
finding revenue sources.
Some of the ideas that La Commare suggests police
departments across the nation adopt are:
- city
tow companies,
- fine
increases by 50 percent,
-
pay-per-call policing,
-
vacation house check fees,
-
public hours at police
firing range for a fee,
-
police department-run online
traffic school for
minor
traffic infractions,
-
department-based security service including home
checks and monitoring of security cameras by police
department,
- a
designated business to clean biological
crime
scenes,
- state
and court fees for all convicted felons returning to
the community,
-
allowing agency name to be used for advertisement
and branding,
-
triple driving-under-the-influence fines by the
court,
-
resident fee similar to a utility tax,
- tax
or fee on all alcohol sold in the city,
- tax
or fee on all ammunition sold in, the city,
-
public safety fees on all new development in the
city,
- 9-1-1
fee per use,
-
police department website with business
advertisement for support,
-
selling ride-a-longs to the public, and
-
police department–run firearm safety classes.
If Commander La Commare wishes to polarize police
from the communities they serve, then these are great
ideas. But for a responsible city government looking
for ways to trim their budgets, there are far more
reasonable solutions.
One idea would be to arm its citizenry. Last
April, a judge in Ashtabula County, Ohio advised
residents to arm themselves after the number of
deputies had been cut in half due to a budget crisis.
He also urged neighbors to organize anti-crime
block-watch groups.
"They have to be law-abiding, and if they are
not familiar with firearms they need to take a safety
course so they are not a threat to their family and
friends and themselves," said Judge Alfred
Mackey.
When asked—by WKYC-TV in Cleveland—how people
should respond to the budget cuts and limited patrols,
he said, "Arm themselves. Be very careful and just
be vigilant because we're going to have to look after
each other."
This isn’t a new idea. In fact, one town in
Georgia took this suggestion one step further when it
required its residents to own a firearm. In 1982, the
Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law
requiring heads of households to own at least one
firearm with ammunition. As a result, their crime
rate dropped 89%.
Another reasonable solution is to develop or expand
a police volunteer program. In the old west, this was
known as a posse. Today it is known as a “Police
Reserve” program. There is never any shortage of
people who would volunteer their time for the
opportunity to strap on a gun and badge. Many
community colleges provide training and most
applicants are required to purchase their own gun and
uniform.
The third solution is a bit trickier. It requires
municipal governments to take on the powerful police
unions that are crippling some American cities. In
Oakland, California, the website for the police
department boasts that it pays their officers some of
the highest salaries in California. The average
salary and benefits package for a police officer in
Oakland is $188,000.00 per year. This is absurd,
especially when you consider that the average salary
for a primary care physician—who on average spends 7
years in medical school— is $154,631.00 per year.
Recently, the
Oakland police department released a list of 44
crimes they will no longer respond to. Looking
through the list, you will notice that
revenue-generating crimes will still be enforced.
Drug
busts often lead to asset forfeitures and
traffic
tickets and DUI’s generate millions in revenues
from fines and court costs.
Whatever the future has in store for the
law
enforcement community, you can be sure that
your welfare is the last thing on their list of
priorities. I guess we can all say goodbye to Sheriff
Andy Taylor’s Mayberry and hello to the Robo-Cop world
of Detroit.
Buy a gun—you’re gonna need it!
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments
Save