Newsletter for July 11, 2010
Special on Law Enforcement
As an ex-law enforcement officer, I am well aware of the abilities and limitations that are placed on law enforcement officers. That is why I feel that the best topic to begin with for my newsletter is on Law Enforcement.
Law Enforcement is a difficult job, and is one of the most scrutinized careers any person could ever choose. Decisions are made in a split second that could not only change another persons life, but it could change their own. As in the example of Johannes Mehserle who was the cause of the Oakland Riots in early 2009, a law enforcement officers career could quickly change. Mehserle was a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) cop, which is very similar to a transit officer, but with more police power. On New Years Eve 2009, Mehserle was responding to fights breaking out in the subway system, which quickly turned into a very volatile and unsafe situation. During the arrest, Mehserle pulled out a gun and shot a person he was trying to arrest in the back. Mehserle has since been arrested for manslaughter and is awaiting trial. In this example, many people focus on whether or not Mehserle was justified in his decision to use lethal force. I have decided to withhold my judgement for this situation as I was not there for the incident. Many factors will be accounted for in his trial, where he will be tried by a jury and not by uninformed members of the public who make judgement calls based on things they hear or read in the media.
What I see in this story and the reason I tell it, is that law enforcement officers make quick decisions that will be analyzed for years to come. Many people are hard on law enforcement officers because they don't understand them. Another example of that would be when members of the public say that law enforcement officers should "shoot the gun out of a suspects hands." This notion is purely Hollywood and has no place in real life situations. Many law enforcement officers spend months training just to shoot the center mass of a target the size of a regular person.
So what type of expectations should you have from law enforcement? That is a great question, which I will answer with a simple story. Earlier this week, the license plate was stolen off of my personal vehicle. The person who removed my license plate bent down in front of my vehicle while I was asleep in my apartment and stole the license plate. I was able to find the screws in front of my car, meaning the person did take it and it didn't just fall off. So the first question I have is what would somebody want with my license plate? My best guess is that they want the Wyoming license plate.
My first step was to report the theft to law enforcement. I called the dispatcher and told them that I needed to report a theft. I spoke with a law enforcement officer on the phone and explained the situation. He asked me a few questions about the license plate and myself. I answered them as best as I could, and he gave me a case number. Then he told me that it was almost time to get my plates in Utah anyway. I never saw an actual law enforcement officer, and a law enforcement officer never came to my home. So, why am I not mad about my encounter?
The answer is very simple, I understand law enforcement and I know the abilities and restrictions placed on them. I did not expect anything more than what I received. Law enforcement has limited time to investigate these types of crimes. Actually, I am lucky somebody even took my call. Somewhere there is a line drawn in the sand where it is our responsibility to protect ourselves. So I moved my vehicle to a better lit spot. I also spoke with my landlord and asked for better lighting in that area. I also have a simple plan in place in case my landlord refuses. This will leave my vehicle better protected at night while I sleep. Three simple steps that will make my vehicle safer, and I didn't even have to complain about my local law enforcement.
At Yellen Security Consulting, my goal is to help you know what to do to protect your property and make you safe. An alarm system would not have prevented the theft. An alarm system would not have even gone off. My knowledge helped me to know exactly what to do to protect myself. I don't want to be selfish, I want to share this knowledge with everybody. Please give me a call and let me help you! Call 801-810-MORE.
Please feel free to comment on this newsletter in the comment section. You can also share any examples you would like.
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