A few things to ponder this morning... -----Original Message----- Russell Sasaoka It's not just the police that has to worry, but the mental institutes that let these people out because either there is no room for them or because there is not enough funding to insure that those people are cured.
You could be a millionaire and that will not ensure that you get cured. We in this society seem to think that throwing money into everything can work miracles. We need to put money into the perspective that it belongs. It can aid in the progression toward cures and/or treatments (in health situations as well as educational processes), but a defined set of actions also need to be part of that. Just looking at an issue from one end doesn't mean that there is just one end, like a spectrum, there are several ends. People need to look at all of ends of the problem before taking a hardcore stand and placing the blame on one group of people. Keep in mind that the Police's main function is to enforce the law and not be psychiatrists or case workers... Enforcing the law IS the MAIN function, but to be critical thinkers and to utilize every available avenue to save lives while doing so comes as part of the job. I would say that applies to everyone no matter what profession you choose to be in. In this day and age when we have the everyday citizens taking on roles that our government could and should be doing, I have no qualms about expecting officers to do the same. I have a sister who has a mental illness, and at one time many years ago, we had the MPD looking for her. Thank goodness they were not the force of today. They treated her with the dignity she deserved. I'm not saying that every cop is good nor every cop is bad, just that they are faced with a new job description because the public safty is in danger and no matter what they do it's a catch 22. For example: they get called to a disturbance. The person could be mentally ill, they are able to resolve the situation through non-violent means and are in the process of taking the person into custody, however along the way, somehow the person overcomes the officer(s) and ends up killing them or seriously hurting them or ends up seriously hurting others or killing them. Now the public would say "Why didn't the police do something to prevent this situation or why didn't they do something to prevent the taking of a life? In the end there is no right or wrong answer, just that they did something to prevent something further from happening or they lose their lives. Maybe it doesn't matter that it was a officer's life was lost because that is the job that they chose or it's just a cop and who cares at least it wasn't me or the neighbor next door... but then again it probably doesn't matter that it's the police that are looking for that missing child, the sex offender that assaulted the person that you know or the police that are looking for the killer of 8 people. It's easy to suggest that the police department change from a lethal weapon to a non-leathal weapon, but at $500.00 a taser or $2.00 per bean bag shot and about $300.00 for a non-lethal shotgun and training that goes with that times the amount of officers that are on staff, the police department would go broke, then there would be no officers. Think of the money it will cost a family if the breadwinner of that family is shot and killed because their illness was not handled in a manner in which their life could be preserved. A family could be thrust into poverty, the burial costs may be a hardship (especially if they had not insurance). The emotional cost to the family may be hard to overcome as well. A taser...$500. A human life...priceless. Shooting for a leg or arm is not feasible either, because with adrenaline levels rising in a panic situation, you get tunnel vision and no matter how much training you have, the basic survival instinct will take over. This is why you have more than 4 shots per incident that a officer has to shoot. If officers can be trained to "shoot to kill" they can be trained to "shoot to save." It has been done before. I understand the public's frustration, but unless you're on the job, you don't know the situation. Sure it's easy to say all this and there will be people that will say that they don't want to or because they don't have to and that's why it's the way that they say it is, but I feel that it's an easy way out and closed minded to think this way. And unless you have a family member with a mental illness and/or have lost a loved one, you may also be taking a close-minded approach. I get frustrated with easy answers without looking into the whole situation, the police are frustrated, the public is frustrated, but you have to admit, it takes money to do this and it's money that the police department doesn't have to keep it's officers trained as much as the public would like. ...and the constituents are frustrated. Like it or not, a police officers job is to protect the public. So I look upon this type of training as essential to the job THEY CHOSE as a profession. Therefore, my sympathy for them is nil right now. In these times it is called for. It should be made a line item in the budget, however tight that budget is at present. And if there are corporate entities that are willing to give money for say, hmm... people to patrol streets on the Northside, perhaps they would be willing to put up money for the much needed training for the police officers. If law enforcement requirements start to include that they also get a degree in psychiatry or social services, then imagine how much less officers there will be, mostly because you get better pay as a psychiatrist. I think the mental health training will do as long as it is somewhat in depth, and not those topical "just read the pamphlet" type of deals. I'll end it here even though there is a lot more that I want to say and let the flames begin... Just let it be known, I do see the valid points of both sides, just that right now there needs to be some understanding of what goes on and the reasons that the police do what they do (even though there are incidents of individual officers that effect the department in a bad way). I too, will end this discourse after remarking on one last thing. They say life imitates art. Well, I watched a TV show last night called "Without A Trace". In real life a child is missing until 24 hours before they really do a search (unless this has changed and I missed it). On this show they were searching for this woman and had found her in less than 48. There was a lot of high tech stuff going on. And, there are so many shows dealing with the various departments of police work. In real life, none of this stuff seems to happen as far as getting ANYTHING solved quickly. I say, while we are getting some funding from corporations to fund patrols, we put together some proposals for some of the high tech stuff we are viewing on the television. We may then get some people (and possibly some of those individuals in society who are brilliant, but currently use their inherent powers for evil) to enter the law enforcement profession. And yes, some of them do think and speak like psychiatrists and social workers. Again, a sign of the times. I hope I have given you a little something to ponder over your morning coffee or tea. Have a great day Pamela Taylor (Who missed the gubernatorial debate last night and has to now read up on it, in Tampa) _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
