Monday, June 28, 2010

Just Dial 911?

An interesting article from The Freeman:


Just Dial 911? The Myth of Police Protection

Most Police Have No Legal Duty to Protect Citizens from Criminal Attack

Richard Stevens is a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and author of Dial 911 and Die (Mazel Freedom Press, 1999).

Underlying all “gun control” ideology is this one belief.” “Private citizens don’t need firearms because the police will protect them from crime.” That belief is both false and dangerous for two reasons.

First, the police cannot and do not protect everyone from crime. Second, the government and the police in most localities owe no legal duty to protect individuals from criminal attack. When it comes to deterring crime and defending against criminals, individuals are ultimately responsible for themselves and their loved ones. Depending solely on police emergency response means relying on the telephone as the only defensive tool. Too often, citizens in trouble dial 911 . . . and die.

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Click on the title for the entire article. He includes some sad stories of people who depended on the "system" to protect them. I want to point out that this is not an anti-police story. Police cannot be everywhere and they cannot prevent every crime *because* they cannot be everywhere!

---Katie