View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > July > 10
Thursday, July 10, 2008
An eye on crime keeps thieves away
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since the beginning of time and man, back when the Stones had their first “final” tour, people figured out that good stuff is good to have.
At the same time, others who, too, liked the good stuff decided that working for it was hard to do so they made a deal with the devil and left their morals behind.
They decided stealing it was easier. Thus began the long back and forth—the whole crime thing.
O.K, we move forward several hundred—perhaps thousands of years to when the people with all the stuff realized they couldn’t control the bad people so they created the police.
This came about the time the Stones did their third, maybe fourth, “final” tour. What the police found was that the crooks weren’t necessarily that smart, but they were somewhat committed to stealing. In other words, if they see something, they take it, unlike us who stop to think about the consequences.
You should take heart in knowing that most of us are honest.
Of course, there are reasons we’re honest. Not all of us are because we’re brought up to be good moral souls of good faith and believe that it is wrong to steal. Those guys are called “Orthodox Honest People” or OHPs.
The fact is that many of us are honest because we believe that the one time we dip into the depths of the criminal cesspool, well, we’ll get caught. Murphy’s Law. Like my Uncle Dewey says: “Whatever keeps your fingers out of the cookie jar.” (It was actually one of the rare moments when he made sense.)
What the police found, after years of patrolling and looking for bad guys, was that crooks were good at moving fast to steal what they wanted but skittish about where they stole from. Seemed they didn’t like being caught. Ah hah! Now we had a plan to deter them thus the first concept of the Neighborhood Watch Program.
Early NW programs were basic. Each home was set on hundreds of acres of land so the owner of the house posted signs showing a moose trampling a man who was in the process of stealing a chicken.
The program proved difficult because of the price of moose so people soon started watching out for each other and talking. Soon Neighborhood Watches spread all across the land bringing new hope to victims of crimes and a new popularity to the moose world.
Fast forward again to the present. The Stones dropped the word “final” from their tour motto and Neighborhood Watch has proved an effective crime prevention tool. It is, in fact, the single most effective anti-crime program that you can participate in, outside of Alaska where you can still employ the moose.
If your police department has a NW, sign up or start your own program. Learn the benefits of risk vs opportunity and know how to make your home, car and, well you, unattractive to the crook.
It’s much cheaper than spreading moose poop around your house.
