Dial 911 And . . . Get A Private Citizen

Updated: Tuesday, April 1, 2008, 12:24 pm -- Interesting viewpoint from Dave Hardy. This trend, he says, harkens to the day when the militia, sheriff's posse and police auxiliaries were adjuncts to the active force.

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With all due respect, I detest the headline on this story, "Civilians Help With Minor Police Duties." A civilian in the American culture is anyone who is NOT in the United States Military. This includes our law enforcement officers. That is why they are referred to as, civilian law enforcement.

Now, with that rant over, this is a very good, yet troubling story, about how non-uniformed police department employees are responding to calls. It has started with responses to "minor" needs, such as a traffic accident. But non-officers responding to burglarized homes?

It has been obvious for some time that with departments stretched, sometimes severly, they will turn to non-uniformed staff for certain tasks. Not a bad idea, actually. Many 911 call centers are staffed by highly professiona, non-uniformed police employees.

But it appears with this trend, there will be less and less investigation of theft out in the field.

As self defense activists have stated for years, you are your first line of defense. The police cannot get there in time, and really just take a report after the fact. Protecting your life, in your home for example, is your responsibility. Which is why self defense advocates recommend a firearm for that once-in-a-lifetime emergency. No one wants to ever have to use it, but its there if you need it.

So are LE organizations now in agreement with this assessment of their role in society? And as such, are they now actively choosing not to be report-takers, and instead are turning the report-taking role over to hourly clerical staff?

Police are hard-pressed to conduct full burglary investigatations these days due to budget constraints. Will such investigations disappear completely now that the report-taking is being turned over to someone in a polo shirt?