Should those on Neighborhood Watch carry guns?
Sister Jean
2012/05/05 15:37:22
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36 votes
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Top Opinion
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**StarzAbove** 2012/05/05 15:39:38
If any residents here ever decide to start a community watch, I will support them regardless of whether or not they choose to be armed, however, I will ask that they be trained in weapons safety, communications, use-of-force and proper procedures regarding security -- as we all should be just to carry a weapon -- and that they work closely with the Sheriff's Department for their own safety and the safety of the responding deputies and residents.
To say thats what the police are paid for is an absurd statement. Since Star Trek Transporter technology has not been perfected yet, even if we are only a couple of miles away from a call, it will take us minutes to arrive. Too many disturbance calls come in, but by the time we arrive on the scene, it becomes a crime (battery, robbery, assault, rape or murder) crime scene.
What the media doesn't report is the tens of thousands of crimes that were thwarted because a Community Watch person yelled “stop or I'll shoot” instead of “stop, I'm calling the police”. Normally the latter becomes just another one of the victims on the scene.
There are statistics that can be looked up that show that gun carry actually lower the crime rate. The media very rarely reports the success of a foiled crime, but every once in a while they will report how “Joe (or Jane) citizen foiled a crime by being armed.
The criminal mind does not work like you would hope to believe it would. The damage, whether an assault, robbery, rape or killing can be done with absolutely no fear of others being around, especially if they know that the other person is unarmed.
Drugs are a present danger, and these are the people who are normally the unwanted guests. They are either high, and looking for a thrill, or they are dry and looking to score money for their fix.
In either case, they are dangerous and not easily chased away by someone just calling the Police on their Cell Phone.
We have just a little over 50 Community Watches in my County, and only 9 of them are affiliated with the NSA. Out of those 9, 4 allow their watches to carry. Most of the others do have members who carry.
If heaven forbid, your wife, daughter (if you have one), or granddaughter (if you have one) were attacked in a neighborhood with a Neighborhood watch. Keepin...
There are statistics that can be looked up that show that gun carry actually lower the crime rate. The media very rarely reports the success of a foiled crime, but every once in a while they will report how “Joe (or Jane) citizen foiled a crime by being armed.
The criminal mind does not work like you would hope to believe it would. The damage, whether an assault, robbery, rape or killing can be done with absolutely no fear of others being around, especially if they know that the other person is unarmed.
Drugs are a present danger, and these are the people who are normally the unwanted guests. They are either high, and looking for a thrill, or they are dry and looking to score money for their fix.
In either case, they are dangerous and not easily chased away by someone just calling the Police on their Cell Phone.
We have just a little over 50 Community Watches in my County, and only 9 of them are affiliated with the NSA. Out of those 9, 4 allow their watches to carry. Most of the others do have members who carry.
If heaven forbid, your wife, daughter (if you have one), or granddaughter (if you have one) were attacked in a neighborhood with a Neighborhood watch. Keeping in mind that in order for a person to be allowed to carry a gun, must be trained and certified by the State, would you be more comfortable with an unarmed Community Watch calling 911 while your wife, daughter or granddaughter was being......... well you get the picture, or would be thankful that the Community watch was armed and able to stop it then and there?
I wonder if Zimmerman received such training. By ignoring the 9/11 operator it would seem not or such training might be ineffective. I think armed watches will eventually result in someone being shot dead. Never a good outcome regardless of who is shot.
None of us (not even I with our inter Departmental communications) knows anything of substance in this case. The media had made a circus of it by manipulating and in some instances lying about what they claimed at the time to be credible information.
Observe how the media has been awful silent lately about the case.
Even if Zimmerman is found guilty, his case, as overblown as it was, is far from being the rule.
And just a bit of information from a Law Enforcement Officer (me), a 911 Dispatcher is not a Sworn Law Enforcement officer, and even if they did give an order, which they didn't if you review the call (it was a suggestion), Zimmerman was under no obligation to follow it.
Once again, there are just over 50 Community watches in my County, and most of those members carry. There are a minimum of 4 calls from them a Month informing us of an intruder that was chased off by just the display of their weapon (and with their help, we eventually pick the suspect up). Communicating with surrounding Sheriff's Offices, our statistics are in line, so just visualize 4 thwarted crimes a month in just about every County (where States have CCW permit laws) in the United States, and you will see that the Zimmerman case is just one of those cases that the media wanted to exploit.
As a Vietnam Combat Veteran, and currently a Law Enforcement Officer, I have a different record.
Now I see that you have a strong opinion about guns, and I truly respect that. My postings are not attempting to sway a persons deep seeded beliefs. They are written to give a professional perspective.
Have a safe day..
Several are affiliated with the National Sheriff's Association which has a list of recommendations (not mandatory rules) for the associated organizations to follow. One is the suggestion to not be armed. Most of our Community Watches are not affiliated with the NSA though.
Besides being a Law Enforcement Officer, I am an avid 2nd Amendment Rights supporter, and an advocate of the right of Americans to protect themselves and their neighbors.
I've read some of the comments here stating that Community Watch personnel are not “Cops”, and should just report suspicious activity, and allow the Police to do the pursuit. I can appreciate their confidence in our (Law Enforcement) ability, but sad to say, we can not always be on the scene minutes after a call, and it takes less than a minute for a suspect to pull a weapon, and either injure or end the life of a person, whether it be the Community Watch, or just a victim of a robbery or worse.
One comment that I read stated that Community Watch personnel do not have Police training or authority.. While that may be true, what they do have is a Carry Permit that entails training and certification on not only th...
Several are affiliated with the National Sheriff's Association which has a list of recommendations (not mandatory rules) for the associated organizations to follow. One is the suggestion to not be armed. Most of our Community Watches are not affiliated with the NSA though.
Besides being a Law Enforcement Officer, I am an avid 2nd Amendment Rights supporter, and an advocate of the right of Americans to protect themselves and their neighbors.
I've read some of the comments here stating that Community Watch personnel are not “Cops”, and should just report suspicious activity, and allow the Police to do the pursuit. I can appreciate their confidence in our (Law Enforcement) ability, but sad to say, we can not always be on the scene minutes after a call, and it takes less than a minute for a suspect to pull a weapon, and either injure or end the life of a person, whether it be the Community Watch, or just a victim of a robbery or worse.
One comment that I read stated that Community Watch personnel do not have Police training or authority.. While that may be true, what they do have is a Carry Permit that entails training and certification on not only the weapon itself, but in laws and regulations in the use of the weapon. They also receive every other Month (at least in my County) instructional seminars from Local and County law Enforcement.
To say that Community Watchers are just a bunch of yahoo cop wanabees is insulting and demeaning, and those who make such statements should be ashamed of themselves.
Community Watch members are men and women who are concerned about the safety of their community and neighbors, and are exposing themselves to anyone who comes into their Community with the intention of committing a crime.
The critics here of Community watch personnel being armed, better hope that if they are the ones attacked by some criminal who wonders in their neighborhood, the Community Watch person has more than a Cell Phone to stop the criminal from doing a job (whatever that job is) on you.
Your question is specific, and who better to answer it thoroughly so that there is no confusion on the subject, than a professional who not only has first hand knowledge of Community Watches, but is active in their training and function.
We have over 50 Community Watch organizations in my County alone, most have members that carry while on patrol. A few months back I even did some off duty time with two members of a Community Watch who were concerned because their Church was burglarized, and they wanted to keep an eye on it to make sure it didn't happen again.
These folks are just as dedicated to keeping their Neighbors safe than any Sworn LEO, and in all honesty, if we got in a bind, I would feel comfortable with their ability to handle the situation in an above board fashion.
We are in constant communication with these Watches, and our working partnership is excellent. There isn't a Month that passes that we don't get at a minimum of 4 calls, informing us that one of the Watches chased off a would be intruder by just making his weapon visible.
One nice thing about being armed is most of the time just the presence of the weapon is the deterrent. This is a hard thing to understand by most folks who are anti-gun. You and I know, because we have been there and done that, that you don't need to even draw a weapon for it to be effective. But of course if circumstances warrant it, you best be trained (as all CCW permit holders are) and know when and how to use it.
Thanks again..
Mike
In all fairness, and for what it’s worth, our Taser problems happened in the 80s. They may have improved since then.