- Joined
- Aug 10, 2021
- Messages
- 1,353
- Reaction score
- 1,052
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
"Alarmed by growing numbers of carjackings and other street crimes, several neighborhoods on Chicago’s affluent North Side have signed up for patrols by armed off-duty police officers to create what some security companies are calling virtual gated communities." https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-chi...own-private-police-as-crime-rises-11651237201
When I lived in a small town our police force had a program where citizens could volunteer to patrol the streets. I was such a volunteer. We had uniforms and a badge. We went through a screening process. We used police cars that were available or drove our own cars. We rode bikes through neighborhoods. We were trained on what we could and could not do but we had no "power" to do any real police work other than to report if we saw something questionable.
It was good for the city, police and citizens, because we were all involved. More than once a crime was prevented due to the action of private citizens.
I do not understand why more cities do not allow their citizens to volunteer in such a manner. Is the answer liability? Laziness?
Having a private police force like the one in Chicago is not much different than what we did. I would like to see more cities adopt a system where caring citizens could become part of the solution.
When I lived in a small town our police force had a program where citizens could volunteer to patrol the streets. I was such a volunteer. We had uniforms and a badge. We went through a screening process. We used police cars that were available or drove our own cars. We rode bikes through neighborhoods. We were trained on what we could and could not do but we had no "power" to do any real police work other than to report if we saw something questionable.
It was good for the city, police and citizens, because we were all involved. More than once a crime was prevented due to the action of private citizens.
I do not understand why more cities do not allow their citizens to volunteer in such a manner. Is the answer liability? Laziness?
Having a private police force like the one in Chicago is not much different than what we did. I would like to see more cities adopt a system where caring citizens could become part of the solution.