The idea of Community Policing, as I was led to understand it, had a great intention. If the officers that worked in an area actually lived in the same area, and did business in the same area, it would be a benefit for both the community and the officer. The officer would... Well, it would be good for him to... I mean... At least his taxes will help pay his salary. That benefits him, right?
At least the community would see a benefit. Who else can you go to on a Saturday morning and ask, "Hey, I got this ticket, what can I do to beat it?" Where else can you go for neighborhood disputes, knocking on a stranger's door at what amounts to their 4 a.m., demanding that they do something about a kid's Frisbee landing close to 'My brand new car, and he better hope he doesn't scratch it, or there will be hell to pay." Who else can answer your legal questions at the neighborhood barbecue?
Some people wonder why I want to live as far away from my work area as I can, but still be convenient and not have to spend my whole paycheck on gas. Some people ask me why I haven't fully embraced the concept of "Community Policing".
I tried. I really did. A few years ago, I moved MUCH closer than I was actually comfortable with to my work area. I started doing business in the general area, and some other business in my actual jurisdiction.
Now, we all know that no matter how hard you try, you are NEVER going to be able to fully avoid stopping in the shops in your area, nor, really, should you. You should be a face that the public sees, someone that represents your agency with the pride and professionalism that the public that you serve deserves. I don't mean that you should spend two hours drinking coffee standing at the corner with your beat buddies, but if you stop for a cup of coffee to go, who cares? (Remember, though, Joe the Rag Man, even in these 'tough economic times' has to pay for his coffee, so pay for yours, m'kay?)
But, sure enough, sooner or later, those people, the 'community' that I was supposed to become a part of, made me regret my choice to move into the area. First, it was the, "Hey, we're friends, so if you see me speeding by, remember to just wave" BS that frankly, I try to ignore. However, they weren't so happy when they did go tooling by at a speed much greater than was posted, and I not only stopped them, but I actually WROTE THEM A TICKET!!! How DARE I? Weren't we friends?
Then, on a Sunday night, I made an arrest. Not only did the suspect make it home before I did, but the next morning, (okay, afternoon), when I finally woke up and checked my mail, who did I see hanging out at the house RIGHT next to mine?
The final straw was when I not only led a narcotics investigation on the guy that lived right upstairs from me, but I then did another, on-view, narcotics arrest on the same guy a few months later. He thought that because he lived so close to me, that I was 'cool' with it. Um, no, and you, my idiot 'friend', are under arrest. There are so many more examples, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this, so story time ends here.
So I moved. Not so far away that I can't respond within a half hour, if needed, but far enough away that I wouldn't be bothered by running into the people that I arrested, ALL THE TIME. Or so I thought, until the narcotics task force that I'm a part of executed a drug search and arrest warrant on the house, two doors down from mine. Sigh...
Friday, November 2, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Welcome to America. Leaders aren't wanted. (Or, "Why I'll never run for political office")
Driving around in a car for seven hours can be boring. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, there just isn't anyone to arrest, or even stop. At times like this, my mind tends to wander. And to wonder. And that results in rants like this:
This country, which is, with all of it's problems, issues, and clusterfucks, still the greatest nation in the world, is suffering from a severe lack of leadership. We have a plethora of politicians, who it seems have the goal of being re-elected solely as their focal point. (Arlen Specter, I'm talking to you.)
I have never, ever, heard a politician say, "You know what, I really screwed the pooch on that. I could have done that so much better." Instead, they flip-flop, or they claim misunderstanding, or that their quotes are taken out of context. Now, I don't expect people to be perfect, but dammit, do better than, "I was for the war before I was against it." I don't speak for anyone but myself, but wouldn't it have made better sense to say something more akin to, "Based upon the information that I had available to me at the time, from sources that I felt were reliable, I supported military action to eliminate a threat to our nation, or it's citizens. However, I have now learned that this information was incorrect, and therefore, I have changed my position. But be that as it may, I still support the troops that have their lives on the line." I'm pretty sure that this may have been taken better than the other bullshit.
Instead, our elected representatives choose to spin the crap that they do to make them or their party look good, at the expense of the other guy. They write campaign slogans that are designed to offend no one and to say nothing of substance. They give mush-mouth interviews that do nothing to answer real questions that they have been asked. The point is, most of them are pretty worthless.
This year, we again get to elect someone to be the "Leader of the Free World." A job that people spend MILLIONS of dollars to acheive, that, even if they serve a full eight years, doesn't pay them back the MILLIONS of dollars that they have invested. And why? To have everything that they say, do, and eat, get criticized, scrutinized, and critiqued. "I can't believe the President had a German beer. Where is his pride in the USA?"
Recently, someone was attempting to sway my vote towards a specific political candidate. I didn't agree with their opinion, and, (I know that those of you that know me will be surprised by this), I let them know it in no uncertain terms. I don't agree with their candidate's opinions on certain things. According to the person I was in this discussion with, "Then you're not a real Republican. You're a RINO." I expressed my opinion about who I'd want to see win, and that was met with "Hell, if you vote for him, you might as well not vote. You'd just be throwing it away."
Hey, buddy, let me explain this to you. I'd rather vote for someone who shares my beliefs, ideals, and opinions, then to vote for the POS that you have posited for me. My vote is what counts to me. Don't like it? Too bad. (Somehow, when I said it to this person, it sounded more like, "Fuck off." But it was supposed to be spelled "t-o-o b-a-d")
But, here is my question: Where are our LEADERS? Where are men like Colin Powell, Allen West, or H. Norman Schwarzkopf? Yes, I am biased towards military leaders. Leaders that have shown that they will place their lives on the line to take care of the people under their care. People that say things like, "If it's about the lives of my soldiers at stake, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." or "If I am speaking the truth, I am not going to stop speaking the truth. The truth is not subjective."
Instead, what you hear now is one person saying, "Blah, blah, blah, A." and then his spokesperson saying, "What he meant was 'blah, blah, blah, b." and the other party saying "I can't believe that he didn't say, 'blah, blah, blah, c.' What was he thinking?"
How about this: How about a real leader stepping up and saying, "This is in the best interest of the country that I have sworn to serve. I am (stepping down, stepping up, willing to lead, willing to let someone else lead, willing to serve, or willing to retire)." How about a real leader saying, "This is what I believe. Period. If you don't like it, then vote for someone else." Hell, I may not agree with you. I may not vote for you. But at least I'd respect you. This is why I'd never run for political office. I'm too blunt. I'm not tactful. But at least you know where I stand. (That, and there ain't enough closets in the White House for my skeletons.)
Where is this generation's Lee Iacocca, someone who is willing to make decisions that others resist? Iacocca took a bail-out from the government way before all of the other auto-makers and banks did. Then, he turned right around, built his company back up, and paid the loans back, SEVEN YEARS before he was expected to. He didn't sit around and bitch about not "being the 99%". He worked, and he worked hard, to keep his promises. Like real leaders do.
Rant over.
This country, which is, with all of it's problems, issues, and clusterfucks, still the greatest nation in the world, is suffering from a severe lack of leadership. We have a plethora of politicians, who it seems have the goal of being re-elected solely as their focal point. (Arlen Specter, I'm talking to you.)
I have never, ever, heard a politician say, "You know what, I really screwed the pooch on that. I could have done that so much better." Instead, they flip-flop, or they claim misunderstanding, or that their quotes are taken out of context. Now, I don't expect people to be perfect, but dammit, do better than, "I was for the war before I was against it." I don't speak for anyone but myself, but wouldn't it have made better sense to say something more akin to, "Based upon the information that I had available to me at the time, from sources that I felt were reliable, I supported military action to eliminate a threat to our nation, or it's citizens. However, I have now learned that this information was incorrect, and therefore, I have changed my position. But be that as it may, I still support the troops that have their lives on the line." I'm pretty sure that this may have been taken better than the other bullshit.
Instead, our elected representatives choose to spin the crap that they do to make them or their party look good, at the expense of the other guy. They write campaign slogans that are designed to offend no one and to say nothing of substance. They give mush-mouth interviews that do nothing to answer real questions that they have been asked. The point is, most of them are pretty worthless.
This year, we again get to elect someone to be the "Leader of the Free World." A job that people spend MILLIONS of dollars to acheive, that, even if they serve a full eight years, doesn't pay them back the MILLIONS of dollars that they have invested. And why? To have everything that they say, do, and eat, get criticized, scrutinized, and critiqued. "I can't believe the President had a German beer. Where is his pride in the USA?"
Recently, someone was attempting to sway my vote towards a specific political candidate. I didn't agree with their opinion, and, (I know that those of you that know me will be surprised by this), I let them know it in no uncertain terms. I don't agree with their candidate's opinions on certain things. According to the person I was in this discussion with, "Then you're not a real Republican. You're a RINO." I expressed my opinion about who I'd want to see win, and that was met with "Hell, if you vote for him, you might as well not vote. You'd just be throwing it away."
Hey, buddy, let me explain this to you. I'd rather vote for someone who shares my beliefs, ideals, and opinions, then to vote for the POS that you have posited for me. My vote is what counts to me. Don't like it? Too bad. (Somehow, when I said it to this person, it sounded more like, "Fuck off." But it was supposed to be spelled "t-o-o b-a-d")
But, here is my question: Where are our LEADERS? Where are men like Colin Powell, Allen West, or H. Norman Schwarzkopf? Yes, I am biased towards military leaders. Leaders that have shown that they will place their lives on the line to take care of the people under their care. People that say things like, "If it's about the lives of my soldiers at stake, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." or "If I am speaking the truth, I am not going to stop speaking the truth. The truth is not subjective."
Instead, what you hear now is one person saying, "Blah, blah, blah, A." and then his spokesperson saying, "What he meant was 'blah, blah, blah, b." and the other party saying "I can't believe that he didn't say, 'blah, blah, blah, c.' What was he thinking?"
How about this: How about a real leader stepping up and saying, "This is in the best interest of the country that I have sworn to serve. I am (stepping down, stepping up, willing to lead, willing to let someone else lead, willing to serve, or willing to retire)." How about a real leader saying, "This is what I believe. Period. If you don't like it, then vote for someone else." Hell, I may not agree with you. I may not vote for you. But at least I'd respect you. This is why I'd never run for political office. I'm too blunt. I'm not tactful. But at least you know where I stand. (That, and there ain't enough closets in the White House for my skeletons.)
Where is this generation's Lee Iacocca, someone who is willing to make decisions that others resist? Iacocca took a bail-out from the government way before all of the other auto-makers and banks did. Then, he turned right around, built his company back up, and paid the loans back, SEVEN YEARS before he was expected to. He didn't sit around and bitch about not "being the 99%". He worked, and he worked hard, to keep his promises. Like real leaders do.
Rant over.
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