Now that the movement to defund Police Departments is underway, I thought I would do some research on the way the New Normal will look. I tried to get as many opinions from as many sources as I could.
911 Call
My study started with the dreaded 911 call. In my first
attempt, I was put on hold for about a minute. Then I got a recording, “Due to
the increased volume of calls, all our representatives are currently busy
answering other calls. You’re estimated wait time is (pause) 12 minutes.”
Well that didn’t go well. So, I decided to wait this one
out. The conversation went like this.
“How can I help?”
“I have an emergency. I think someone is trying to break
into my house.”
“I am sorry to hear that. Let me look for availability in
your area. Okay. I can schedule someone to come out tomorrow from noon to four.
Also, you can report your event to a meter reader who is scheduled to be in the
area next Monday. They have been trained to take incident reports.”
Communication Center
That wasn’t good. So, I thought I would check into the
communication problem I just went through. I had a friend who knew one of the
city councilmen, so I reached out to our elected official. This is how that
went.
We discussed my call.
“We are working on the problem. I assure you we will be
moving the communications back to the States. Because of the time delay, we are
seeing the wait time is unacceptable,” he said.
“We are taking the money from the police budget and
remodeling the former police station downtown. We are going to turn it into a state-of-the-art
communication center. We will be hiring people from the area and creating new
jobs. Also, one floor will be devoted only to personal videos from people’s
cellphones that they send us.”
“As you know, there is a push to not allow any evidence
except for the personal videos at trials. And because suspect’s past-records are not
admissible, we have turned the evidence locker in the basement of the station
into a workout center to help our new employees adjust.”
Crime is Up and Down
When I asked the councilman about the increase in crime,
he responded positively.
“When we started, we didn’t know what would happen. The murders and shootings increased almost
immediately but it looks like their curve is flattening. Other crimes and
assaults have increased. We are waiting for their curve to stop going up. You
know we are doing all this with video from our cameras, personal videos and
security sources. It will take time for everyone to adjust.”
Annual Police Bake Sale and Auction
One thing I look forward to each year is the county fair.
Well I had accepted the fact this was going to be different. Probably forever.
The New Normal.
The Annual Police Bake Sale was always the big event at
the fair. People looked forward to eating the cake and pastries and mingle with
our first responders. The kids got to see policemen in person, turn on the
siren, and flash the lights. A positive experience for them.
Well, that had changed dramatically. The food was catered
in, clowns replaced the officers, and the kids had to ride a horse carousel.
One of the new things was the police equipment auction. Everything
was on sale. They were selling used police cars and other equipment. Even guns
from officers and the evidence locker were on display.
The police cars were a great deal, selling at a fraction
of their value. The sirens, warning lights, and floodlights had been removed.
The logos had been sprayed over although it was unclear if the department had
done that or they had hired a tagger to do the work.
The cage wire between the front and back seats was
optional.
Cop Shows
There is even a movement to ban Cop movies, TV shows and
certain CARTOONS under certain conditions. I’m going to miss Harmon. I’m going
to miss Snipes. I’m going to miss Dirty Harry.
BUY
DIRTY HARRY TODAY while you still can.
Man on the Street
As I left the fair, a man was holding a sign that caught
my eye.
The sign read, ‘Please don’t close the Police Station.’
I needed to talk to this guy. His sign was against the
protester's point of view. He explained it to me.
“I usually spend the weekend in lockup. I live on the
street and I get my best meals there. I know where the patrolmen hang out for
donuts and I try to get in their way. The next thing I know, I’m sitting in a
cell. It works every time.”
Our Real Heroes
Our
condolences to those who have lost love ones and to the patients and their family
members that continue to fight COVID-19.
A
big salute to our doctors and medical workers and our first responders.
A salute to Calvin Munerlyn, 43, a father of
eight and a black security guard who was murdered doing his job.
And to black federal
law enforcement officer, Dave Patrick Underwood, 53, who was shot and killed while
providing security at the U.S. courthouse in Oakland during a protest. He died
from gunshot wounds sustained after someone fired shots from an unidentified
vehicle.
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