Posted on 04/22/2012 6:00:25 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The sensationalism by the media against George Zimmerman for the shooting of Trayvon Martin, clouds the real reason a shooting occurred in the first place.
The pundits, the community organizers, the pot stirrers, are all trying to find a scapegoat and the convenient one to blame is George Zimmerman. But Zimmerman is but the symptom of a government failing in its prime function: To provide protection and security for its citizens. If government does not provide protection for its citizens, then the citizens will provide it for themselves...and what the citizens provide will not be as professional and polished as a trained police force.
The gated community that George Zimmerman is a resident, has been the repeated target of crime. Zimmerman himself had made repeated phone calls to the local police to report suspicious behavior/crime as had been requested by that department. Other members of the community had made calls as well. As far as the cops were concerned, that wasn’t excessive in a neighborhood fighting petty crime.
The neighborhood was on edge, particularly since they had suffered 8 burglaries in the past 14 months. Including the terrifying experience of resident Olivia Bertalan:
21 year old Bertalan was home alone with her infant son one morning last August when a man came to her door, knocked, and rang the bell. She peered out the window and didn't recognize the man. But then called police when another man came to her back door.
She ran upstairs clutching her son and locked herself in a bedroom as the second man entered her home. Terrified, both she and her son cried as the man tried to enter through the locked door of the bedroom. Both men ran when police arrived, but not before stealing a laptop and digital camera.
After the crime she was afraid to come home. She and her husband got a dog, as advised by police. "It was terrible," said Bertalan, who moved from the neighborhood last month because of this and other burglaries.
"There was definitely a sense of fear in the neighborhood after all of this started happening, and it just kept on happening. It wasn't just a one time thing. It was every week," she said. "Our next-door neighbor actually said if someone came into his yard or house he would shoot him. Everyone felt afraid and scared."
For years, Twin Lakes has been beset by crime which finally lead them to start a neighborhood-watch organization last September. The burglary of Olivia Bertalan’s home in August seems to have been a catalyst
There was a large sign post at the entrance of this gated community saying it had neighborhood watch and suspicious people would be reported to 911. This should give someone new in the neighborhood fair warning as to why they may be followed or watched and should invoke a sense of cooperation and understanding from those visiting.
As state and local governments drown in debt, they are cutting back. The California town of Vallejo went bankrupt due to spiraling costs. As a result city managers asked for concessions from public employee unions to help get the city back on sound fiscal footing. The unions wouldn't give up benefits or wages, as a result the town had to lay off police and fire forces and is now skeleton staffed with less, but more expensive personnel.
Oakland California, a financial basket case, did not have enough police officers last fall to respond to a violent beating which resulted in a death of one of its citizens in their own front yard. Police forces were busy patrolling the Occupy Oakland gathering.
These stories will be repeated around the country as budgets get tightened. Critical numbers of law enforcement will be reduced and response times to crimes will be lengthened. Some juristictions will no longer respond to certain types of crime because they just can't afford to hire enough police to respond. Revenue enhancement policing will be increased as municipalities struggle to bring in more money to their coffers. Speed traps are on the increase and traffic violations are watched for with an eagle eye as they bring in fines.
Communities are having to come to grips with the costs involved of protecting their citizens. Some communities are trying to cut costs by having non police dept technicians collect evidence at crime scenes. There is also talk of privatizing some segments of police work, such as traffic enforcement and other non violent crime areas.
Some communites are getting rid of their local departments of police and fire altogether, finding them too expensive to maintain, they are sub contracting with regional sheriff and fire depts to serve their needs. Many communities are now using private fire fighting services and considering using private security companies to proivide basic protections.
All of this doesn't bode well to the citizen that think instant help will be there with a 911 call. In many cases when danger is seconds away, the police are just minutes away and the difference between you living to be able to defend yourself in court, or dying and being carried away in a casket....is your right to bear fire arms.
There will be calls for tighter gun controls because of the Trayvon Martin shooting, but more restrictions only give the criminals a bigger advantage. Look at the cities with the tightest gun controls, it doesn't put a dent in the criminals owning guns. As a result citizens feel the need to enhance their security with more neighborhood watches and by purchasing fire arms for their personal protection.
not be as professional and polished as a trained police force.
Seems Zimmerman is a little more polished no innocent dogs were involved. only the thug got shot.
Great post!
The area where I live is patrolled by precinct constables. We were told their staff has been cut by 60%. We were told not to expect immediate response.
In this day and age you’d best be armed.
What’s a precinct constable? You don’t have cops?
There will be calls for tighter gun controls because of the Trayvon Martin shooting, but more restrictions only give the criminals a bigger advantage. Look at the cities with the tightest gun controls, it doesn't put a dent in the criminals owning guns. As a result citizens feel the need to enhance their security with more neighborhood watches and by purchasing fire arms for their personal protection.Unless you are a lying filthy leftist (and there's no other kind of leftist), or severely mentally retarded, the above paragraph is self-evidently true.
Read what our founders did:
Committees of Safety formed in 1774 to keep watch on the distrusted royal government. By 1775 they had become the operating government of all the colonies, as the royal officials were expelled.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Safety_(American_Revolution)
Each precinct has an elected constable. That constable has deputies. They have the same power as deputy sheriffs. Texas is full of them. But we especially need them in areas that are heavily populated but not within a city’s jurisdiction. So, no, we don’t have city cops where I live.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Constable
http://voices.yahoo.com/what-constable-texas-5445871.html
Learn some thing every day...
It really doesn’t matter how great the local constabulary is. They usually aren’t where the crime is happening until it’s in progress or a past event.
- From Olivia Bertalan's Twitter posts
- From Olivia Bertalan's Twitter posts
Zimmerman was the only person to volunteer when the homeowners association wanted to organize a community watch.
Police had been called to The Retreat at Twin Lakes 402 times from January 1, 2011, to February 26, 2012. Zimmerman was the caller on 12 of those calls in that time frame. Crimes committed at The Retreat in the year prior to Martin’s death included eight burglaries, nine thefts and one shooting. The media’s central narrative ( PMSNBC being the worst) that Trayvon was a normal, happy, well-adjusted teenager. Instead of that, we are seeing long suspensions from school, tattoos, racially-charged epitaphs, and violence. During a school search, his backpack contained 12 pieces of jewelry, a watch , silver wedding bands, earrings with diamond, and a large flathead screwdriver.
His Twitter account refers to Trayvon more than a dozen times using the @NO_LIMIT_NIGGA nickname. One such post makes reference to Trayvon having “swung on a bus driver” a few days before he died. This is a textbook self-defense case, and I’d urge anyone reading to look at the full set of facts before drawing conclusions.
A couple of very harsh realities folks:
First, via a court decision your local police officers are not required by law to provide you with protection. The police exist for the safety of the community (aka the local government and its leaders).
Second, unless they are already on the scene there is no way a uniform officer can prevent a crime. An extremely harsh statement but look at the real world folks, if they are next door they are too far away.
Finally, remember when seconds count the police are minutes, if not hours away.
We ALL need to be force multipliers both in observation (neighborhood watch programs) and enforcement in order to provide the local police department with the detailed information required to convict repeated offenders. And yes, to me enforcement means the use of deadly force when required.
re: During a school search, his backpack contained 12 pieces of jewelry, a watch , silver wedding bands, earrings with diamond, and a large flathead screwdriver.
My guess is that will never be allowed to be entered as evidence.
The real “issue” for Sharpscum and his ilk is that they are losing their “entitlement” to rob and rape at will.
The predators are enraged that their prey are shooting back.
“The predators are enraged that their prey are shooting back.”
Bingo.
To save money police must stop babysitting black communities. Everyone must get the same police protection - if the black community goes totally lawless they can form community watch programs like the rest of us have been forced to do.
We need a post with all the facts - in one place... Great job, Colorado.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.