When you look around your community, do you feel that politicians’ and bureaucrats’ policies have reduced crime, or do you feel that they’re merely treading water, with every supposed ‘victory’ followed by subsequent crimes? Even small communities spend big sums on crime-fighting, but many of these efforts make no dent in crime. Carrying on as…
Police
Police, Politics
Small-town Bureaucratic Persistence in Edgerton, Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Over in Edgerton, Wisconsin, a place even smaller than my town of Whitewater, there’s been a sensible decision to “hold off on discussions over buying a new police dog until fall 2011, when the city plans for its 2012 budget.” See, Edgerton Delays Dog Decision. Edgerton’s former police dog bit a police officer from another…
Law, Police
Balko on Concealment and Dishonesty in Northern Virginia
by JOHN ADAMS •
The battle for openness in government is a difficult but necessary one. In some parts of the country, notably northern Virgina, some police departments are doing everything they can to prevent greater openness. Radley Balko of Reason writes about how departments in that state batten on the legitimate need for public safety to justify their…
Law, Liberty, Police
Instapundit – A Prosecutor on the War Against Photography
by JOHN ADAMS •
The principal attribute of a campaign against photography, or the encroachment on private property rights (see, “Is a Man’s Home Still His Castle? – Washington Examiner“) is that officials aim to take from American citizens rights that Americans now have, and have historically had. This is the dark – and reactionary — side of contemporary…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Police
Reason.tv: Five Ways the Drug War Hurts Kids: A Conversation with Neill Franklin of LEAP
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Whitewater’s Police Commission Meeting for 8-4-10
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a Police Commission meeting tonight in Whitewater, at 7 p.m. The agenda for the meeting appears below. First the agenda, and remarks thereafter. One standard for residents, an easier one for officials. At the bottom of the August 4th agenda, one reads that on August 2nd it was August 2, 2010 Emailed/mailed to PFC…
Beautiful Whitewater, City, Law, Police, Politics
Citizens’ Complaints and the Reaction of Misguided, Selfish Officials
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a question about (limited) government: If the residents of a town want an official fired, is the fundamental problem that they’re asking that he be fired, or the reason that they’re asking? In the Township of Linn, not far from Whitewater, a group of residents want the police chief fired. They’ve filed a complaint…
Laws/Regulations, Police
How Not to Voice a Complaint
by JOHN ADAMS •
Government Spending, Law, Laws/Regulations, Police
Sarah Palin’s Right: Minor Marijuana Arrests Are a Waste of Police Resources
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve supported reform of Wisconsin’s laws so that chronically ill people can take regulated medical marijuana lawfully. I think reform in Wisconsin is long overdue, and that although reform did not pass in our recent legislative session, it one day will. When that happens, Wisconsin will join many other states that allow medically prescribed marijuana.…
Police
Speed Camera Foe Buys Police Website Address
by JOHN ADAMS •
Lots of people complain about speeding tickets, but I have never heard of anyone doing what Brian McCrary did. McCrary saw that a local police department website’s address wasn’t properly renewed, so he purchased it for himself. He’s now the proud owner of www.bluffcitypd.com. I’m not sure how long he will have the domain, but…
Law, Laws/Regulations, Police
Maryland: Still Wrong on Civil Liberties
by JOHN ADAMS •
I have written about the disregard for civil liberties in Maryland before. See, Something’s Rotten about Policing in the State of Maryland, and Elsewhere. In that earlier post, I wrote about a SWAT raid gone bad — in almost every which way — at the home of the completely law-abiding mayor of Berwyn Heights. Maryland’s…
Police
Update: On Edgerton, Wisconsin’s Police Dog (Goodbye to the Biter)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a follow up to the story about which I posted yesterday, about a police dog in Edgerton, Wisconsin that bit a police officer and a city worker, but was nevertheless kept in service by Edgerton’s public safety committee. Sensibly, Edgerton’s city council voted unanimously last night to send the dog back to the kennel…
Police
On Edgerton, Wisconsin’s Police Dog
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s an old expression that “every dog gets one free bite.” The expression is sensible — a person may do something wrong, but one should be lenient with a first offense. One could apply the expression to either dogs or people — an initial misdeed offers no prior history or warning for misconduct. I’m sure…
City, Fire Dept, Police
On Whitewater’s Quarterly Police and Fire Commission Meeting
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a quarterly meeting of Whitewater’s Police and Fire Commission scheduled for tonight. The agenda is available online. One sees that on May 5th, this was the distribution of the agenda: May 5, 2010 Emailed/mailed to PFC members Faxed to the Whitewater Register for posting Faxed to the Library for posting Emailed to Channel 13…