We have freedoms in this country. You can not jail pe0ple for what they post on youtube (unless you actually threaten the President). You can not commit someone unless they are an ACTIVE DANGER TO THEMSELVES OR OTHERS AT THE TIME OF THE POLICE VISIT. Police can not monitor every person in a city who is stupid, goofy, says threatening stuff or is off balance. You have no idea how many citizens that would be.
Of course, if YOU want to give the State that power to detain and hold anyone who might do something at some future date...change the law and oh, btw, you might feel “safer” in a totalitarian country where that is tolerated, all in the name of “public safety”.
I can’t believe how many people on this thread are screaming for the police—THE STAE, THE GOVT—to ‘do something!!!” so we can be safer. Hitler was very , very popular for making Germany “safer” and the Germans were very happy to see the sudden reduction in crime.
Most jurisdictions now have laws against "terroristic threats", although it may be referred to by something else. California does ("Criminal Threats"):
CA PENAL CODE SECTION 422-422.4
"422. (a) Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out, which, on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate family's safety, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison."
I agree, but that was the case here. Elliot Rodger's parents had become very concerned with his threats, and they called the cops. The stuff he had posted - his "manifesto" - constituted a crime in California. And rightly so. He made specific threats of violence directed at well-defined groups of persons. That constitutes the crime of "terrorist threats" in California.
Had the cops and the DA done their jobs, Rodgers would have been arrested and properly convicted of at least a misdemeanor, maybe a felony. That would have placed him in the criminal justice system at least A WHOLE YEAR before his murderous rampage.
He would have probably done some jail time and been evaluated for a mental condition. He would then have been placed on probation, maybe depending on the results even on ankle monitor. With him being on probation, he would have been under a direct court order not to possess a firearm and to stay away from UCSB. The Probation Department would have monitored him, and had he posted something else, like he actually did a few days ago, he'd be re-arrested. If they found a gun on him, he'd go away for a long time. Actually, the knife would have been enough.
We will always have crazy people like Rodgers. And we have a system, as imperfect as it is, to prevent the mentally ill from getting guns and hurting people. But the system only works when we have competent people running the system. It's pretty clear that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff messed this up big time and they have blood on their hands. There's no excuse for what happened.
Based on my experience, it's probably something as stupid as the cop in charge of the case was on vacation or at training or something and nobody else stepped in because it was a holiday weekend. I can't prove that, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it true.
I wonder how many of those guys would be real good at shooting your dog when they break into your house because they put the wrong address on the search warrant (believe me, it happens all the time).