“Police are there to arrest people after the fact, to put people in Jail, enforce probation, do all the things the criminal justice system needs enforcers for.”
Roles that can be performed with far, far fewer police than we currently have.
“John Lott’s research shows that the Criminal Justice sytem, as a whole, deters crime about as much as armed citizens do.”
Keep in mind Dr. Lott’s research was for the most part done many years ago. I wonder if with the long term increase in those carrying has actually shifted it from armed citizens being the predominant deterrent.
Keep in mind that police departments are a fairly recent innovation. They didn’t become popular until the mid to late 19th century.
“In fact, the two reinforce and support each other (in a sane society, which is still most of the U.S.)”
I think that’s becoming less true. Again, I wonder if there has been in shift in armed citizens being the predominant deterrent. Also, there is an increasing level of skepticism in the citizenry towards police. People are less likely to call the police (as this article alludes to). I think that many people, including myself, would happily have lower taxes and fewer police.