Law Enforcement Officers Work at Our Delegation

"Cops don't prevent crime."

That's what "all cops are 'bad'" people say.

They'll point out that the police show up after a crime has been committed, and don't do much to make the situation better, such as actually retrieving stolen property.

The Left dislikes cops because they hinder their theft, destruction, child molestation, drug abuse, and prostitution. Those last two (maybe three) reasons are also why some libertarians hate police. 

The assertion that "cops don't prevent crime" completely ignores deterrence and recurrence. Ever notice how speeding drivers slow down when a marked police vehicle appears on the highway? That's deterrence. Criminals who are in prison can't assault people outside of that prison or steal things from them or destroy their property. That prevents recurrence.

It's true that, if a package is stolen off of your doorstep, the odds that the thief will be caught and successfully prosecuted for that particular instance of theft aren't good.

We have a justice system with the presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt as the standard for conviction, privacy rights, and the police and prosecutors must make decisions about who to investigate, arrest, and prosecute in the first place. Also, all of the people involved are fallible people who can make mistakes and be corrupt. Like any other organization, a police department can become about protecting and empowering itself and certain individuals within it, rather than "protecting and serving" the public.

But what's the alternative? Law enforcement officers work at our delegation. They are public servants. The alternative is armed clans or their directly hired private guns engaging in a series of back-and-forth attacks. Steal from me? I or my buddy try to track you down, and if we do, we "take back" our property or the equivalent. But that's not likely to happen without violence. Who has the biggest clans and the most guns? They tend to be Right-wingers. Who can hire their own soldiers? The wealthy.

We found that "three strikes" worked. We locked up the career criminals and crime rates dropped. I can agree that law enforcement shouldn't focus as much on "sex for money" or killing yourself with substance abuse (but then I don't like government health care for most people). They should focus on assault, theft, and destruction. And yes, we should lock people up for those things, so we need enough prison space for them. The alternative is making them "work off" their debt under the direct armed control of their victims.

I am increasingly preferential of sheriffs who are elected directly by the people of a county as opposed to police chiefs who are political appointees.

But if someone wants to do away with police and sheriff departments, then we'll all need private security, surveillance, documentation, defense, and "restitution." That's going to involve a lot of guns.