To Protect & Serve????

Back in 1999 when Mayor Palmer decided he wanted a police director rather than a chief of police, I was against the scheme.  My prime objection was that the police department would become a political football - and it did!  I wasn't crazy about Joe Constance, BUT I must admit he was not one to take crap.  The final vote was very close - 51% to 49%.  When the police began to bitch and moan,  they were not happy when I pointed out if more of them lived in Trenton, and voted, Mayor Palmer would have lost.  Blogolanders, if most of the police lived in Trenton, they would be one hell of a voting block.  They police rarely see it that way.  And Blogolanders, I have my own horror stories about the Trenton P.D.  Any sympathy I may have had, vanished years ago.

I do not, however, believe the half-assed police protection we now get is a racial issue; I believe it is an organization that is pissed and will do as little as possible.  Yes, they are shorthanded.  But Trentonians have also contributed to the problem.  We could have 5,000 officers and so long as some Trentonians run around with unlicensed guns and shoot each other just for fun, we will have crime. 

Think for a moment - if Trenton were to introduce a Stop & Frisk program there would be such a hue and cry about picking on young black males that the program would fail.  Any proaction would be labeled harrassment.  Example - one problem in my neighborhood is young people stopping in the middle of the street so the driver can talk to someone - usually a young woman.  I asked a police officer why they couldn't ask the driver to move - stop blocking traffic.  The answer?  We would be accused of harrassment.  Well, yeah.  Tough.  Don't block traffic. 

My issue with our current crime wave is mostly with the parents of these kids.  If parents behaved like parents and set boundaries and rules and regulations, Trenton would have fewer crimes.  Yes, there will always be kids who slip into crime, but we have far too many who slipped into crime because no one pulled them back. 

So I would really suggest that L.A. Parker write about poor parenting.