Our own vulnerability.

[Jules]

With the 9/11 attack and now snipers taking out victims at random, I have to think about the vulnerability of even a small town like mine.

Our town borders an interstate highway, and we get transient foot traffic on almost a daily basis.
Just the other day a man came off the highway, pulling a cart behind him and tried to get a motel room at the Ramada. Apparently he was turned down.
His next stop was a local tavern where he made his feelings known about the Ramada and he needed a ride to the next town. There were no takers.

Some smart-*** decided to be funny and sent him to the VFW down the street. He told the guy there was a corrections union meeting going on and if he asked for Bubba he would get his ride.

Fortunately, the bartender at the first bar called the VFW to warn of the guys' pending arrival.
The door was locked at the VFW, and shortly the transient showed up.

The bartender cracked the door open just enought to speak with him and told him he couldn't enter without a membership card. He didn't have one but he was a veteran who'd fought in Nam.

The guy put his knee in the door to prevent her from closing it, so the commander had to come over and shove the guy out the door.

Had this guy been packing, the whole club would have been full of dead bodies, starting with the commander.

It's almost everyday here that someone comes off the highway looking for trouble. They walk past my workplace, walk past my house, which sits on a highway.

I'm not going to ever delude myself into thinking it can't happen here. It can and sometimes strange things happen around here with guns and people going postal.

The thing that's really upsetting about my small town is that the cops go home at night, ALL of them, except the Sherrif who likes to take rides in the country after sundown looking for meth labs.

The first cops get on duty around eight in the morning, although I'm sure someone is always on call. It would be nice to have a patrol out there somewhere.

Sorry so long. I guess I was just thinking out loud.

[shooter1201]

I'm in a similar 'boat'. There are 19 guys in my PD, including the 2 part-timers, of which, I am one. On ANY night, between 0200 and 0600, there is only ONE officer on duty inside the city.

After 0200, ALL of the county deputies go home, but are subject to call. The new Sheriff is working on this, however.

We get a lot of transients, too. However, our local churches have pooled together and share the expenses(usually only 1 nite and 1 meal) of 'certain' individuals that are found to be down on their luck, stranded, etc.

In such instances, the individual(s) has a warrants check run and if cleared, is given a voucher for a hotel room and a meal.

BTW....GUESS who the only officer on duty was this past July when our local jail staff was taken hostage and an escape occured(0242hrs)? Yep...li'l ol' me.

[ 10-13-2002, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: shooter1201 ]

[MK219]

I feel just because of what happened last year and the recent sniper attacks,I don't think we are any more vulnerable. If anything we are less. Everytime something big happens it causes us to be more aware. I'm not saying that we should be on a panic alert 24/7. But we should now not forget the little things. Locking the doors. Keeping tags on our kids instead of just letting them go off without telling us where, when, and for how long.
Not not only be more safety concious but more gratefull for our friends and family. I kiss my family good-bye every morning, wether they are sleeping or not. If some thing does happen to me or them God forbid, I don't ant their last thought of me being one of a discpliner, or of anger. But of one of love.

as far as cops not being avaiable or as visible at night. how much danger is there where you live? does it require 24 policing? And are the surrounding towns as lack in their staffing?

[ 10-13-2002, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: Mortal Knight ]

[Jim Burnes]

What has been happening here in America is a nudge, not even to the level of a wake-up call. Americans are still among the most protected, and least disturbed by daily attacks, bombs and govermental abuse and oppresssion.

The balance of the world is dying from assaults from its own terrorists, its own warped government officials and agents. They are lucky to eat 2 meals, let alone 2 good meals. Their babies don't live past 5 years, their adults not much past 50.

These in-country terrorist attacks are going to continue here, until the people responsible are rubbed out. Psycho criminals like the sniper will as always be dealt with by the police and thats that. The sniper is a criminal, not a terrorist. The terrorists here are not criminals and that means we can shoot them like soldiers if that is what they want. And they do.

So what is happening is America is just scaring itself silly. The real action has yet to begin. When it does, and the military and police react to the threat like a military action, that is, wipe out the attackers on the street, I guess the left-wing liberals will be out in force wringing their hands and lamenting the dead.

American citizens should try to look just a little beyond their material problems.

Jim Burnes

[Jules]

quote:

---

as far as cops not being avaiable or as visible at night. how much danger is there where you live? does it require 24 policing? And are the surrounding towns as lack in their staffing?

---

Not the kind of danger that exists in the larger cities, but, as I mentioned on another topic, the drug problem here is a tad out of control. Also there are several bars in town, and the county bars stay open until four am.

Most of the time when somethimg serious occurs around here, it's after midnight. And the drug traffic occurs after midnight as well. A police presence after hours might just deter some of the drug traffic, I dunno.

I must say, though, that there is a somewhat unseen presence of State Police around here, which is great. They do most of the after hours DUI arrests.

There is a town in this county, about 15 miles from here, that is staffed with 1 full timer, and 1 part timer. Since the county Sheriff's department is here, deputies usually don't head up there unless they're called.