It is ridiculous to suggest we don’t need law enforcement. A nation without law and order isn’t a nation at all.
The United States is a nation of laws and those laws are useless if there is not someone willing to enforce them. Enforcement stands between a moral society and anarchy. People need a system of consequences and deterrents and need to be held accountable when they intentionally violate the laws that this country has created to protect its citizenry and property.
The Minneapolis city council is hell-bent on dismantling its police department after four of the city’s officers were charged in the death of George Floyd. But have they even asked the taxpaying homeowners of their community about this move? What will happen to home values there if they actually disband the police? How many people will buy a home where there is no police protection? Will more homeowners arm themselves?
To give you an idea of what our country would look like without law enforcement, I took the yearly stats from the FBI 2019 Uniformed Crime Report and simply divided by 365 days.
On average, every day the people in this country are victims of 47 murders, 372 rapes, 875 robberies, 2,221 aggravated assaults 1,154 child abductions, 3,561 home invasions, 3,836 DUIs and 6,849 burglaries.
That’s just one day.
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Those numbers are staggering, and they are happening WITH a system of consequences, deterrents and punishments. Those numbers are happening even with an abundance of professional law enforcement.
My question to those calling to abolish or defund the police is simple: What would these numbers look like after defunding or abolishment? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the numbers would vastly increase.
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For instance, how many people don’t have that last drink because they fear a DUI? If they knew there was no enforcement, would more of them take the chance? More than 10,000 people die each year in a DUI accident. How many more are we willing to accept? For me, none.
We’ve seen our country turned upside down the past two weeks. Besides the peaceful protests, which are one of the things that make this country great, we’ve also gotten a crash course in what happens when police don’t respond in a timely manner or are held back by politicians. Violent rioters felt free to commit robbery, loot, assault, murder and commit arson.
Most people will do the right thing, the morally correct thing, in situations but for the others, knowing there are consequences for bad behavior is a deterrent to criminal activity. Look what happened over the last two weeks. When the police or National Guard stepped up, the rioting diminished.
Bad police need to be held accountable, no question. But punishing all law enforcement officers for the acts of a few is an overreaction. It would increase crime and make our communities less safe.
Professional law enforcement systems and response capabilities prevent crime and save lives.
Bad police need to be held accountable, no question. But punishing all law enforcement officers for the acts of a few is an overreaction. It would increase crime and make our communities less safe.
If you were unfortunate enough to have to call 911 and seek police assistance at some point, you get it.
If you were the victim of a serious crime and the police either protected you or arrested the perpetrator, you get it.
If you were alone on a stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere and the police stood by you until a tow truck arrived to ensure your safety, you get it. I can’t count the number of times I changed a flat tire for someone in my career.
When someone is in trouble, the bright blue and red lights pulling up helps put them at ease. It provides a sense of relief.
The vast majority of cops are the good guys. In my 34 years as a law enforcement officer, I have worked with and dealt with thousands of cops. Were there some bad ones? Yes, and they were dealt with.
From that experience I know we can hold officers accountable without tearing down the entire system. We don’t have to put our communities at risk.
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Many people are quick to opine on the police and they have that right. I can assure you, though, that many of those same people will call the police when they need help. And when they do, the help will come.
How many of those who attack our officers would step up and put themselves in harm’s way to protect people they don’t know and property that isn’t theirs? Not many. But the police will. The police are there, for people they don’t know or will never meet, and even for those who despise them.
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