 GO AHEAD MAKE MY BREAKFAST |
Posted on 02/23/2013 3:22:17 AM PST by Road Warrior ‘04
Sub headline: Report: Legislators should scrutinize neighborhood watch groups. (The sub-head makes me chuckle)
More inaccurate, irresponsible reporting.
Good on the stand your ground.
Not good on the “scrutinize neighborhood watch groups”, fostering this error and leading to even more govt intrusion.
GO AHEAD MAKE MY BREAKFAST |
Neighborhood watch groups don’t need scrutiny. However, they do benefit from local police advisers, who do just that, give advice. And not just police, but fire and EMS as well.
Among other things, the police can keep them informed if there are crimes in the area, the proper use of less lethal tools like Tasers, stun guns and pepper spray, how not to disturb evidence at a crime scene, etc.
They can also have a direct liaison at the PD, to avoid going through 911 directly, and so that the police adviser can give the police on scene situational advice.
With meetings maybe twice a year, this can be a big help to a neighborhood watch.
so freedom of assembly has to be restricted?
attack the second amend using the first and just take out the 4th and 5th while at it?
the problem is police believe they “know it all”. their advice would be do nothing until we get there. (see rape whistle)
there has to be a “get over yourself” for government officials.
It's just mere words on paper that a judge can ignore as the Zimmerman case is demonstrating.
You’re reading way too much into it. The vast majority of places are low crime, and with block watches that are passive watches, which amount to little more than signs which say, “If we see you doing something illegal, or you look like a seedy character hanging out in our neighborhood, we will call the cops on you.”
And yes, that matters, because a neighborhood that *doesn’t* call the cops when the people who live there see something, do get an increase in crime.
As crime increases in a neighborhood, even in a gated community, the block watch becomes more active, and also more interactive with the police. And the police *do* help, though they usually don’t have to that often.
Things that I mentioned, such as information about area crimes, is very useful to a block watch. If they know about con men, gang activity, vandalism, etc., it gives them a big lead in stopping it.
And yes, if they see kids spray painting graffiti, it is far better that they call the cops on them - if the cops show up - than to draw down on them for a petty misdemeanor.
I like to think of Americans as “Every man a lawman”, but police as hired guns, to both provide more muscle as needed, to keep at it 24/7, and to collect evidence and doggedly pursue offenders. Most people have other fish to fry, so are more than happy to pay for these hired guns.
If you need one, they can be awful handy. But don’t assume they are there all the time, so you still have to be responsible, and only call them when you need one or more of those three things done.
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