Motofixxer
Regular Member
I was on another forum I frequent and there was a discussion about firearms and defending yourself. Someone posed a question to hear from LEO. So one kindly replied and here is what he said.
"You want a cop's perspective? Here it is:
First, some facts. Your local PD has no legal duty to prevent crime. Others here have articulated this very well, but here's some more inside baseball. The law serves, at least in theory, to limit what the police can and cannot do as they interact with citizens and criminals. When you see a police response to an event, you are really seeing the SOPs of the agency at work. SOPs dictate things such as response time and what the police will do when they get to your crime scene. The SOPs say all kinds of cool things about serving, protecting, and making everyone feel good about the police.
These SOPs can be seen as the result of a lot of compromising and haggling between the citizens and their government......It's what you as a citizen are willing to put up with, expressed with your vote, and penned by the politicians and brass who hope to be re-elected and reappointed as a result of making you happy.
That pile of SOPs represents the compromise between your expectations of the police, and what you'll put up with to get those expectations met....Remember, the law does little more than compel the police to investigate....The SOPs and politics are what you see in action. An example: The law permits the cops to chase a car til the cows come home, for nearly anything. However, as citizens, you have decided, via your vote, that chasing speeders until they crash into innocents and kill them is unacceptable....so the SOP prohibits that. As citizens, you have decided, via your vote, that an acceptable response time for a Priority One call (burglary in progress at your home) is perhaps five minutes.
How did you all come up with five minutes? Because you recognized that your police budget only allows for a certain number of officers per zone, per grid, etc.....a simple resource allocation problem. Additionally, you all agreed that you would like the cops to properly clear intersections before driving through red lights. Moreover, some of your input resulted in SOPs that mandate top speeds regardless of the event.
These are simply the rules of engagement that we LEOs have to work within if we want be employed by your municipality. Fair enough.
Now, if you will let me, I can guarantee your safety. At all times. Forever. Here's what I need: A key to your home. A detailed list of where you'll be and when. Much more of your money. I need to install a few devices on your car. I need access to your communications.....I need to be able to protect you from all threats, the only way I can do that is to have you surrender your rights....
.....not gonna happen, right? And it shouldn't. The more freedom we reserve for ourselves, the more risk we accept. These risks include exposing ourselves to the risks inherent in interacting with others in an unfettered society. You are not, nor should you be, willing to give up the amount of freedom that it would take for the state to guarantee your safety. One of the problems we Americans have with other societies is their willingness to surrender too many freedoms in the name of safety; no big deal.....if you like that type of thing, live there, if not try the USofA on for size.....But we grimace at the idea of exporting that thinking here. Again, you do it your way, we'll do it ours.
There's folks in the US who really admire the increased role of government in people's lives....who really aspire to a "European" way of doing things. The day that their votes outweigh those of me and mine is the day things will change to their vision of America.....It'll be a sad day, but, the law will be the law, and I'll obey it.
The practical view of an LEO as it pertains to all this? We, more often than not, are not going to get there in time to save you. Why? Re-read the above paragraphs. How fast do most burglaries, robberies, rapes, etc go down? Far faster than any LEO response time. Face reality.
That burden you feel on your shoulders.....that weight bearing down on you....the thing to which you say, "I'll let someone else come take care of it".....is going to happen very quickly, without concern for the rules, and with little hope of mercy from the perpetrator. Answer this duty appropriately; prepare to defend yourself and your family. We are on a forum centered on self-help....the requirement for "self help" couldn't be more obvious here."
"You want a cop's perspective? Here it is:
First, some facts. Your local PD has no legal duty to prevent crime. Others here have articulated this very well, but here's some more inside baseball. The law serves, at least in theory, to limit what the police can and cannot do as they interact with citizens and criminals. When you see a police response to an event, you are really seeing the SOPs of the agency at work. SOPs dictate things such as response time and what the police will do when they get to your crime scene. The SOPs say all kinds of cool things about serving, protecting, and making everyone feel good about the police.
These SOPs can be seen as the result of a lot of compromising and haggling between the citizens and their government......It's what you as a citizen are willing to put up with, expressed with your vote, and penned by the politicians and brass who hope to be re-elected and reappointed as a result of making you happy.
That pile of SOPs represents the compromise between your expectations of the police, and what you'll put up with to get those expectations met....Remember, the law does little more than compel the police to investigate....The SOPs and politics are what you see in action. An example: The law permits the cops to chase a car til the cows come home, for nearly anything. However, as citizens, you have decided, via your vote, that chasing speeders until they crash into innocents and kill them is unacceptable....so the SOP prohibits that. As citizens, you have decided, via your vote, that an acceptable response time for a Priority One call (burglary in progress at your home) is perhaps five minutes.
How did you all come up with five minutes? Because you recognized that your police budget only allows for a certain number of officers per zone, per grid, etc.....a simple resource allocation problem. Additionally, you all agreed that you would like the cops to properly clear intersections before driving through red lights. Moreover, some of your input resulted in SOPs that mandate top speeds regardless of the event.
These are simply the rules of engagement that we LEOs have to work within if we want be employed by your municipality. Fair enough.
Now, if you will let me, I can guarantee your safety. At all times. Forever. Here's what I need: A key to your home. A detailed list of where you'll be and when. Much more of your money. I need to install a few devices on your car. I need access to your communications.....I need to be able to protect you from all threats, the only way I can do that is to have you surrender your rights....
.....not gonna happen, right? And it shouldn't. The more freedom we reserve for ourselves, the more risk we accept. These risks include exposing ourselves to the risks inherent in interacting with others in an unfettered society. You are not, nor should you be, willing to give up the amount of freedom that it would take for the state to guarantee your safety. One of the problems we Americans have with other societies is their willingness to surrender too many freedoms in the name of safety; no big deal.....if you like that type of thing, live there, if not try the USofA on for size.....But we grimace at the idea of exporting that thinking here. Again, you do it your way, we'll do it ours.
There's folks in the US who really admire the increased role of government in people's lives....who really aspire to a "European" way of doing things. The day that their votes outweigh those of me and mine is the day things will change to their vision of America.....It'll be a sad day, but, the law will be the law, and I'll obey it.
The practical view of an LEO as it pertains to all this? We, more often than not, are not going to get there in time to save you. Why? Re-read the above paragraphs. How fast do most burglaries, robberies, rapes, etc go down? Far faster than any LEO response time. Face reality.
That burden you feel on your shoulders.....that weight bearing down on you....the thing to which you say, "I'll let someone else come take care of it".....is going to happen very quickly, without concern for the rules, and with little hope of mercy from the perpetrator. Answer this duty appropriately; prepare to defend yourself and your family. We are on a forum centered on self-help....the requirement for "self help" couldn't be more obvious here."
