War on Cops?

[Ron-Solo]

14 in January of last year 14 this year. WOW what a MASSIVE escalation.

Dude, you're in the wrong forum for this kind of attitude.

[geeknow]

It does seem as though there have been more LE shot/shot at in recent past. My hunch is that it has more to do with the horrendous cutbacks and shortages that affect all .gov operations to some extent, and not something focused particularly towards LE.

It certainly is a reminder to all to ratchet up your personal 'situational awareness'. With less LE out there, response times/abilities are commensurately less.

stay safe, all.

[Spanky8601]

I searched first .. dumb question if I may- Exactly how many officers in CA are shot and killed by a BG each year? last 10 years? last 20 years?

I would expect it to have risen quite a bit from when i was younger for various reasons including more people with more guns and a more blatant disregard for life from criminals, etc.. curious though

How many officers shot and killed is not the real story. What is important is the number of felony assaults on officers. These have risen quite a bit.

[Jack L]

In my career that's what I saw when working with LE. I was a paramedic. It became clear there was less and less respect for authority. The LE uniform and the 'command voice' meant nothing to the breed out on the streets these days. I got to the point I was angry and hoped for a beat down on some of the criminals. You start to get a warped view of society at large. At least I did. I didn't trust anyone at scene except for my partner and LE. The rest were suspect until under some kind of control. I'm still cynical even though I retired in 2004. I always support more taxes for LE personnel and equipment because once you've seen working conditions first hand, it will never be enough.

[Samuelx]

At this point, I do not know if it's a war on cops or a war on civilized law abiding society, maybe both.

I say both but moreso on the latter - we LEOs often suffer the consequences of toeing the line and standing in the way.

One big problem, IMO, is that the quote in Batman Begins is too true -"Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding."

IF you (society in general, the lawmakers, and judicial systems) want to curb criminal behavior, primarily the prevention of repeat [insert your criminal offense of choice here], you'd better make some changes because what you're doing now is definitely Not Working.

[Dr Rockso]

How many officers shot and killed is not the real story. What is important is the number of felony assaults on officers. These have risen quite a bit.

I recall reading an article a while back (regrettably I can't find it now) that talked about the UFC/MMA craze that's apparently swept through the prison system. As a result you have ex-convicts that have been immersed in this prison fight-centric culture (watching it on TV where possible, talking about it amongst themselves, recreationally fighting with each other) and have actually developed skills as a result.

On the other hand, the whole article could have been total BS, but it might help explain a rise in felony assaults on officers who might now seem like an easy target for an experienced grappler.

I would expect it to have risen quite a bit from when i was younger for various reasons including more people with more guns and a more blatant disregard for life from criminals, etc.. curious though

Unfortunately this sort tragic headline sells very well in the media, which gives most people a very skewed perception of the world. Most people I talk to have some intuitive sense that crime is at an all-time high, yet if you actually look at the data by most metrics it's the lowest it's been since the late 1960s or early 1970s, and has been continually decreasing since peaking in about 1990 (at least as of the most recent FBI UCR stats I could find from the first half of 2010).

I really do hope that the recent shootings are a statistical anomaly, and that we're not seeing the beginnings of a trend in the opposite direction.

[fullrearview]

Well the state has to do something about all the criminals that have better health care than me, I own and operate my own shop for 12 years, have 4 employees but for the first time in my life can't afford health care, yeah I know. Why don't we kill all the idiots on death row asap, if we can't afford to keep them in prison. Why does an inmate even get health care in prison? My buddy works at Chino (prison) and tells me how well they have it, no wonder they want to commit crimes and get back... Its sad to see officers take the heat from criminals, they need to figure out something quick in Ca, but to bad our liberal government the ones in charge of us, is the one causing all these problems!

Look at the crime results in Pima county Vs. Maricopa county... Apply that here, problem improved, but not quite solved.

[fullrearview]

I searched first .. dumb question if I may- Exactly how many officers in CA are shot and killed by a BG each year? last 10 years? last 20 years?

I would expect it to have risen quite a bit from when i was younger for various reasons including more people with more guns and a more blatant disregard for life from criminals, etc.. curious though

You can't really look at deaths... Look at the assaults on officers. It shows a more accurate disregard. The reason the deaths have been kept down, is because of the technology improvements in equipment, and medical advances.

[Samuelx]

IMO, having more people in society with the proper morals/values (e.g. following the golden rule, no lying, no cheating, no stealing, taking responsibility for your own actions, ETC) and hiring the right people for the job (e.g. not lowering standards to appease special interest groups, not making exceptions for whatever reason for otherwise crappy candidates, ETC) would go much farther than simply increasing pay. Problem is, it would actually be easier to increase pay than to work on the other things... (and, as pointed out, money-related criminal/improper behavior is only one of Many kinds of wrongdoings)...

[Civilitant]

.... it would actually be easier to increase pay than to work on the other things... (and, as pointed out, money-related criminal/improper behavior is only one of Many kinds of wrongdoings)...[/QUOTE]

very true. very hard work if such a high standard is to be set.

[Notorious]

Well... there was an open war declared on LEO's in two eastern seaboard states last few weeks due to a massive manhunt on a copkiller... not at liberty to say more since our memo said it was U/OUO... but two major groups got together to sanction it. No intel on it coming here to the west coast or if the green light is still on.

In any event, it makes no difference. We need to be vigilant at all times. War or not, there will be those who want to kill us anyway just because. Look at the Lakewood shooting. That was not gang related, just a psychotic turd who wanted to kill cops.

[fullrearview]

.... it would actually be easier to increase pay than to work on the other things... (and, as pointed out, money-related criminal/improper behavior is only one of Many kinds of wrongdoings)...

very true. very hard work if such a high standard is to be set.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't mind making 1/4 mil a year... But I didn't do this job for the money either... If I was in it for the money, I definitely would not have been a cop.

[Notorious]

If I wanted to make money and be a cop... I would not be an American cop. We have the least authority and power of any police force in the free world and I can say we are some of the most ethical people as far as being honest on the job that I have seen in many different fields of work.

That's in part due to the punishment and the abundant oversight, of course, but it is also a part of what makes an American policeman different than those in other countries. There is a good reason why American cops are sought out by foreign dignitaries and VIP's who want good protection agents/bodyguards.

[Jack L]

I always like to quote Sergeant Joe Friday. As a kid growing up I loved the show Dragnet. It was cool.

Anyway Sergeant Friday told Frank his partner after they busted a bad cop; "When you have to recruit from the human race, you're going to get a few bad apples" I always love that quote.

Very few cops go bad. We have the best LE in the world. Over 305,000,000 people living in the USA now and I say the record of protecting and serving that many is pretty darn good.

[tyrist]

If I wanted to make money and be a cop... I would not be an American cop. We have the least authority and power of any police force in the free world and I can say we are some of the most ethical people as far as being honest on the job that I have seen in many different fields of work.

That's in part due to the punishment and the abundant oversight, of course, but it is also a part of what makes an American policeman different than those in other countries. There is a good reason why American cops are sought out by foreign dignitaries and VIP's who want good protection agents/bodyguards.

Ya they know American cops won't kidnap them for ransom or sell them out.