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Letter to the ed. from retired police inspector
In the Philadelphia Daily News:
"POLITICIANS, government officials and editorial boards have no business using the recent spate of shootings of police officers as grounds for their anti-gun position. They have no right to call for tougher gun laws "for the sake of those officers." Not unless they talk to them first and find out how they feel about the issue.
Police chiefs should also spend more time with their own troops before they join the chorus. Of course, that might mean going against the media who've decided they know more about fighting crime than the cops do."
Comments
The police have the same number of votes that we all have - one per person. Their opinions matter no more nor less than anyone else's with respect to our laws. To put it bluntly, making things easy for policemen is not one of our highest priorities.
Posted by: RKV at December 10, 2007 11:42 AM
But the police do have much more expertise on the effects of various laws (especially under-enforced laws, or ones poorly understood by the politicians and general public) on crime.
I believe that was the general thrust of the letter.
Posted by: karrde at December 10, 2007 01:29 PM
Karrde,
How is that? Yes, they know which laws are rarely enforced in their particular jurisdiction, or at least which laws that THEY rarely enforce. However, they don't necessarily have any idea as to the effect on crimes that are committed. It's like expecting a private, or even a corporal, to have a good idea as to the progress of a war. They know what is going on in their own corner of hell, but they have no idea normally about what is happening throughout the theatre of operations.
Posted by: Gregg at December 11, 2007 02:20 AM