Re: cops, avoiding tickets, and speed traps. Last post.

[Tanthor@domain.elided]

In a message dated 7/2/99 1:16:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
redbakstark@domain.elided writes:

> > That's why courts have said cops aren't responsible 
>  > for protecting people, 
>  
> Which courts?  I've been talking about and comparing
> situations between two US states, California, Texas,
> and one Australian State, NSW. 

Yes, cops have protect and serve on the side of their cars, however, ask any 
cop.  The court I was referring to was a federal court in NY State that ruled 
that the police are not required to protect citizens.  This ruling was in the 
case of 2 women who's home was broken into.  They called the police, the 
police came and looked around the house and left after seeing nothing amiss.  
Unfortunately inside the women were raped and tortured for the entire night 
in the basement.  The judge ruled that the police were not responsible for 
not protecting those women even though they had been called by those very 
same women.
But you are right, I have gone way off track from the original argument.
Yes, people believe that the police are there to protect them.  The police 
would love to be able to but they know that it isn't possible.

>Consider also that in some places they even go to the
>trouble of parking cop cars in strategic locations,
>just to create the impression of a presence.  I have no
>evidence of the effectiveness of this procedure, but I
>doubt it would impose upon any freedoms.

Yes, this is no imposition and it is effective to some degree.  More so in 
some cases than others.

>What does this have to do with speed limits and the
>way that cops hide in order to raise revenue?  Please
>understand that in most parts of the world people do
>not generally feel a need to own firearms. 

Of course in most parts of the world people also don't enjoy the freedoms 
that we do in the United States.  I also understand that they have been 
without these freedoms so long they don't miss them in many cases.  The first 
act of a dictator is to disarm the public.  Yes, I know many places are now 
no longer pure dictatorships but the lack of freedoms still stand.

I'm not really sure how we got off onto this tangent.  However, this will be 
my last post on the subject via the digest since this has nothing to do with 
Alfa's.  If you want to continue debating it we can do it by e-mail.

Ed Gibbs,

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