P is for Police

““Mr. Valentine next door has lodged a complaint against you,” said the female officer.

David thought he was already white. Apparently there were different shades. As he stood in stunned silence, the cute police officer stepped closer and took his arm.

“Please sit down, Mr. Lavender. Before you fall down.””

 

- Loathe Your Neighbor ch. 5

 

Police are often called in to settle domestic disturbances, either between family members or neighbours. Alcohol is usually involved, and danger is ever present. I recall the story from last year in which a police officer was shot through the head with an arrow while attending a dispute between neighbors. He died as a result of his injuries. Those of us who live relatively trouble free lives tend to take the police for granted. We only talk about them in relation to the sneaky speed traps they set up on highways. We are aware of crime and although we may know victims of crime, it is rare that we ourselves are victims. That kind of thing always happens to someone else. There was a shooting recently in western Sydney which the victim’s boyfriend, who brought her to the hospital, alleged was random. I thought it was interesting that the police spokesman said that random shootings almost never happen. I only know one person who owns a gun. Anyway, I digress. I like seeing the police walking around. I like seeing them driving around. I like knowing they are there and that the reason they are there is to keep the peace. To protect us, and to get the bad guys. I feel safe and that’s because we are a lawful society and we have a strong agency of government to enforce the law. We must remember that the police themselves are also subject to the law. This means that can’t just do anything they want. Accountability is attached to their authority. That also makes me feel safe. In Loathe Your Neighbor, David Lavender brought trouble on himself. When the police came knocking on his door it was because his conduct had arrested their attention. Has your behaviour ever excited the interest of the police?

But for the grace of God

Last night I watched a great piece of television drama. Episode 227 of the multi award winning cop show, Blue Heelers. The episode called "The grace of God" focused on the murder of a police officer while on duty, the reactions of his family and his colleagues, and the subsequent hunt for his killer. One of the reasons Blue Heelers was such a popular series is that it was a very realistic portrayal of the lives of a group of police officers in a country town, but as real and as intense as this show and especially this episode were, in the end it was only fiction. Made for entertainment.

Two days ago in Sydney a feud between neighbours about a  bird aviary allegedly caused a violent altercation which resulted in the death of police Inspector Bryson Anderson. The 45 year old veteran was well known and well respected in his local community where he was heavily involved in charity work. Described by NSW police chief, Andrew Scipione as an excellent officer and a damn fine bloke, Anderson responded to a phone call about arrows being fired into someone's backyard by their neighbours. Within moments of arriving at the scene he was struck in the back of the head with a knife and died a short time later.

I feel incredibly sad and heavy hearted as I write this. These kinds of stories are shocking and depressing. However, I am not the wife of Inspector Bryson Anderson, who kissed him goodbye as he went to work but never saw him alive again. Nor am I one of his children who will have to grow up without their father because of a completely unjustified act of violence. I'm not one of Inspector Anderson's friends or colleagues, the latter saying to themselves that it could have been them, but for the grace of God.

When those whose job it is to protect us are killed in the line of duty, we all feel vulnerable. Police don't simply maintain order in society, they represent it. They do not merely enforce the law, they symbolize it. More than doing their best to keep our streets safe, they personify security, they epitomize safety. I don't know how they do it but I'm glad they are there, and they have my undying respect and gratitude.

The Failed War on Drugs

Should illegal drugs be legalized, or at least decriminalized?

In New South Wales, Australia, the Pharmacy Guild funds a needle syringe exchange program for injecting drug users. It provides a free exchange service for users of heroin. The rationale for this program is two fold. Firstly, it is designed to ensure that as many used syringes as possible are disposed of safely, and secondly, it aims to help stop the spread of infectious diseases among users. This program is largely unknown outside the ranks of chemists and drug users. Heroin itself has a fairly low profile these days. It is not fashionable: either for drug users or for media reporters. It is however still an illegal substance and there are heavy penalties for possession, use, and especially for trafficking. The question is why. Why have illicit drugs been demonised?

Is it because they cause people to act in an anti social manner? Is it because they damage people's health? Is it because, people commit crimes under the influence of drugs? Is it because of the violence that is associated with them? The answer to all those questions is yes, but how does that differ from the negative effects of alcohol abuse?

I'll tell you how it differs. Alcohol is much much worse. Although a legal and socially acceptable drug, it is a violent, and indiscriminate killer. Alcohol abuse is a rampant disease in our society. It is an evil curse.

Why don't we just allow people to use whatever substances they want? Almost everyone has something they use to dull the pain of past hurts, the weight of current expectations or the darkness of hopeless futures. If nobody else gets hurt, what's wrong with that? Could all the time, money and effort expended on the war against illegal drugs be better spent?

I heard about his guy named Norm Stamper who was a cop for 34 years and served as Seattle's Chief of Police from 1994-2000. He has written a book called Breaking Rank. He believes the war on drugs in the United States has done exactly the opposite for the people. He says, "tens of thousands of otherwise innocent Americans incarcerated, many for 20 years, some for life; families ripped apart; drug traffickers and blameless bystanders shot dead on city streets; narcotics officers assassinated here and abroad, with prosecutors, judges, and elected officials in Latin America gunned down for their courageous stands against the cartels; and all those dollars spent on federal, state, and local cops, courts, prosecutors, prisons, probation, parole, and pee-in-the-bottle programs. Even federal aid to bribe distant nations to stop feeding our habit."

This is typical of a society which has lost the ability to wisely choose which battles to fight, and which ones to walk way from. The situation in Australia is not as bad as that in the U.S. but surely we don't want to follow their lead.