Too many cops without much to do. They like to exercise once in a while and pretend the innocent victim is a perpetrator.
Here in the south we have so many small towns that hire police far out of proportion to the population and where there is very little crime. When a call finally comes in they swarm to the scene and act like apes. You see three and four cars out on an interstate, where they don’t belong anyway, for a speeder stop.
Sheriff departments, police departments need to be eliminated and the policing duties turned over to the state police. Like everything else in America there’s too damned much duplication and empire building!
Money used for police, is better spent on prosecutors, courts, and prisons. Police might catch a criminal, but if the courts and prisons are overloaded, then guess what, the guy is back on the street. With sufficient prosecution capability, there is less incentive to plea bargain, and a criminal, once caught, STAYS off the street.
But I do like the idea of having the chief law enforcement officer being directly elected by the people, as is the case with the sheriff.
I think it's Federal grants - they make up a grant name like "Drunk Driving Prevention" when all it does is funnel more money to the police and by-pass local control. Who doesn't think the government wants a police state?
Why stop at the state borders?
Mexico has a great system where the police work is done by the Federales...
Elimination of local police and centralization will ultimately lead to worse problems.
I agree with your observation. All local governments have to do to remedy the situation is to cut the budgets to their respective LE departments, raise the hiring standards and compensation. ie go for quality over quantity.
So many times, I see a car pulled over and there are 3 or 4 back-ups. That tells me there are way too many patrol cars and officers on the street with nothing to do.
You have the right idea, but the wrong end of it.
Eliminate all but the sheriff’s office.
Sheriffs are elected and therefore the only law enforcement group that is sensitive to the voters.
“Sheriff departments, police departments need to be eliminated and the policing duties turned over to the state police.”
Wrong! The only ones in your above comment responsible to ‘we the people’ are Sheriff’s. The bullies are generall in municipal police departments, and Arkansas is an example of what can go wrong if the State Police have state-wide police authority...abused by Clinton as Gov there.
In Ohio the State Highway Patrol has that as their only function. And rightly so. Only Sheriff’s have statewide policing authority. Best it stay that way, inspite of what Kasich wants.
“When a call finally comes in they swarm to the scene and act like apes. You see three and four cars out on an interstate, where they don’t belong anyway, for a speeder stop.”
Exactdly! I our town, where there is virtually no crime, a mid-evening traffic stop ( for say going 30 in a 25) draws every car that’s out. They are like flies around a toilet seat! And they are anxious for there to be some sort of a confrontation so that they can abuse a citizen just for fun!
(I'm going to assume - hope - that you have that opinion, IbJensen, because you aren't aware that the Sheriff is our ultimate protection from those who would usurp our freedoms, not because you would like to see that protection taken from us.)
Our Sheriffs, the only ones elected by the ;local public, are the LAST ones we need to eliminate.
Our Sheriff dept are the LAW OF THE LAND - even over the Feds. They can kick the Feds out of their states. We need to totally be sure we have the right people in office and back them up 200%. They trump all other agencies....and more and more of them are getting educated to that fact.
Check and see if YOUR Sheriff knows this and/or will honor his office.
And educate yourself.
Here's a starter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7aUrtroSk0
Might I humbly suggest that you - and all Freepers - listen to and save the above until you can cite verse an chapter.
and if you really give a damn, do some more research - starting with the following videos - and then checking online to see if YOUR state and local Sheriff departments and see if they are ‘Oath Keepers”.
Sherfidd Mack has done Herculean job since he punched Bubba and the Brady Law in the nose - via the SCOTUS - in educating out sheriff's - Here;s one example: (and there are some really interesting articles listed in the sidebar on that site)
Answer Mack's question at the end of this brief video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvdYy—piaI
and for those who give a damn about being anything but another nattering nabob, here's an in depth primer on our rights - with only the Sheriffs standing between us and feds: (If you don't want to educate yourself on our rights - then skip to minute marker 14:00 and learn how Sheriff Mack slayed Goliath...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ygEk7lvvg