Community Oriented Policing Programs
Law enforcement
can't be everywhere, resources are thin ... Community Oriented Policing (COPs) programs are a way in which the average citizen can
get involved in helping to protect their community.
So goes the rhetoric used to support
establishing COPs programs in communities nation-wide
... but what is the reality?
A COPs
program was established in the unincorporated area of Suncrest in southern
Stevens County in eastern Washington state. The program is called S.C.C.A.T. — Stevens County Community Action
Team. When it was established, back
in 1995, there was a great deal of fanfare with Sheriff Craig Thayer taking
every opportunity to ensure his name was connected with the establishing of the
program. At varying times, he shows
up at meetings to present an award of appreciation to a volunteer or volunteers. Various government agencies are invited
to speak at various meetings. The
group has a sheriff's deputy who acts as liaison to the Stevens County
Sheriff's Office.
What does S.C.C.A.T.
do? They are observers for law
enforcement. That, alone, should be
a heads up that something is amiss.
Rather sounds like a glorified snitch but it is far more and far worse
than that. The reality is that the S.C.C.A.T. program is there to protect the system and those
who support it. The word
"community" in Community Oriented Policing speaks to a concept in
which the rights of the individual are superseded by those of the collective.
In other words, COPs
is an outreach of democracy, rule by man in accordance with his own passions
and opinions, with rights afforded at the whim of those in control.
The links below concern the COPs concept and the reality of it. Those who believe the program is there
to protect them, do so at their own peril.
Links:
Community
Oriented Policing (Detective Phil Worts)
COPs / US Department of Justice