Greetings, everyone. I'd like to share a little anecdote about police tactics in this day and age.
This past Saturday night, one of my friends held a party. Many people came, and we carried on well into the early morning. (I myself didn't get there until nearly midnight.) Due to our noise-making, one of my friend's neighbors called the police. Upon their arrival, the police could easily see that we were partying and drinking. They told my friend that everyone had to leave. Some people did leave, but most of us (including me) stayed. Our impression was that the cops would wait for some people to leave, figure the party would die down, and then leave themselves.
As it turns out, our impressions were only partly correct. We soon heard, from those who had left, that the cops were waiting patiently by the front entrance to the subdivision. At least one driver was pulled over by one of the cops and was told to perform a field sobriety test, which I believe he passed. However, the point is clear. The cops, having seen that we were drinking, said that we had to leave, i.e. drive home. In the meantime, knowing that at least some of us would probably obey, they waited for cars to pass them by, which they would then pull over in the hopes of charging the driver with a DUI. There is a term for this procedure. It is called entrapment, and it is supposed to be illegal.
Due to this and other incidents, it seems apparent to me that the police are making entrapment part of their standard procedure. For those who don't know, the formal definition of "entrapment" is "forcing a person to commit a crime that they have not yet committed and otherwise would not commit". To me, this perfectly demonstrates the flawed foundation of modern police forces. They supposedly exist to fight and prevent crime, yet they depend on crime for their livelihood. In other words, the less crime that occurs, the less of a justification they have to keep operating at the same levels. Therefore, it is in the interests of police to maximize the amount of behavior that is considered to be crime so that they can continue to justify current (and higher) operating levels. Of course, it should come as no surprise that this is how all bureaucracies work, and that modern police forces constitute a bureaucracy.
As a result, I think my story serves to show how the police do not actually try to fight or prevent crime. Rather, they seek out crime so that they can get more money. In other words, crime may not pay for criminals, but it does pay for cops.
Any thoughts?
- Rob