Philly killers stick to their guns

[thorn726]

no right, i should be more accurate-
the people refuse to fund proper enforcement, and when it comes down to it, we dont want it.

duh, the LE dont write the laws, but sometimes with issues of gun control, i mean the police do have an impact on what laws are written, gun control often comes with the support of the police......
and i wonder how they feel about it. its a funny thing-
in some states it seems the police partly EXpect you to defend yourself, in others they are against it.

the DEA certainly isnt a legislative branch, but does have an impact, etc...

im really curious how my local LEs feel about gun control

and i am frustrated at the way OBVIOUS drug corners are allowed to persevere because protocol calls for detectives to arrange a buy and bust rather than beat cops just jack these jerks up. they see more than enough for a stop and pat down at the least, but dont.

lack of funding or fear of BG bugging and trying to shoot them?

 

[Art Eatman]

thorn, many police chiefs (most?) are political appointees. They generally tend to follow the party line, commonly favoring gun control and speaking about the "easy acquisition of guns" and all that pap.

The street cops, mostly, seem to favor citizen ownership of firearms and their use for self-defense. They have the obvious concern that all of us do insofar as training and common sense...

As far as the "allowing" of drug corners, to some extent it's the fault of both the booking system (The dealer, varying with his lawyer, can be back on the street before the cop finishes the paperwork on the arrest.) and the prosecutorial/judicial as to charges, plea bargaining and sentencing. Some deals, from a cop's viewpoint, "Just ain't worth it."

Personal opinion: Solving a social problem can easily take as long as its creation. Most of today's serious problems got going bigtime with LBJ's Great Society and War on Poverty programs. That's forty years, now...

Yuck.

Art

 

[Tall Man]

As a society, nationwide, we don't want to pay enough taxes to have really good police departments.

The taxes that we do pay have funded some mighty impressive SWAT teams, Art. There's enough JBT threads archived on this forum to suggest that "really good police departments" (in the form of creeping militarization of our police forces) is not the solution here. I know that this isn't what you suggested, or perhaps even agree with, but it's a logical outgrowth of our discussion here.

And, for what it's worth, I don't want to pay "enough" taxes for anything.

TM

 

[geekWithA.45]

The PHL Dem org's had it in for guns for years.

If "the easy availability of guns" is as far as they're going to look for a solution to their rampant crime, gang and drug problem, well, they're never going to fix it.

Perhaps they should step aside and let some professionals have a whack at it.

 

[Adept]

3% wage tax, if you live or work in the city.

Wait, does this mean you only pay three percent of your wage in taxes?

Heck, I'm paying somewhere between 25% and 49%, depending on who I work for. 3% would be a god-send!

 

[jwmoore]

Wait, does this mean you only pay three percent of your wage in taxes?

No, it's an extra tax for the privlidge of working in Philadelphia. Fed, state & local taxes all still apply.:banghead:

(At least as I understand it - I don't work in the city, although my wife does.)

~W

 

[thorn726]

The street cops, mostly, seem to favor citizen ownership of firearms and their use for self-defense. They have the obvious concern that all of us do insofar as training and common sense...

hmmm. i wonder how true this is around here.

i like to think you are right.

cops did once suggest i carry pepper spray here.

 

[Art Eatman]

Tall Man, I was thinking more in terms of "presence". More numbers of cops per shift, not more SWAT teams or more military gear. I still believe that where there are "beat cops" as well as patrolling by automobile, there will be less crime.

A large part of our problems in patrolling came about after WW II, with the real beginning of urban sprawl and commuting by automobile. There was a large increase in the areas to be patrolled, and yet not all that many more people. Much larger residential lots, wider streets, that sort of thing. On-foot beat cops couldn't be nearly so effective, particularly as the residential populations became more transient. Instead of residents being known quantities for many, many years, two to four years became more of a norm. So, patrol cars.

The problem was, the older, multi-story areas also came to be patrolled via automobile, which tends to cut down or slow down information flow between the police and the citizenry.

Art

 

[Colt]

Wait, does this mean you only pay three percent of your wage in taxes?

No, it's an extra tax for the privlidge of working in Philadelphia. Fed, state & local taxes all still apply.

Correct. You pay all the usual local, state, fed taxes, and then if you work or live within city limits, you get to forfeit an extra 3% of your pay.

The wage is driving away businesses, and hence, workers. Companies don't want to be in the city, because they have to over-compensate their employees to counter the wage tax. Couple that with insane traffic in and out of the city, and you have a city that businesses avoid.

I wouldn't work in the city for twice my salary, and I've been offered jobs close to that level. An extra 2 hours of daily commuting at 10 mph, dealing with the city scum, and losing the 3% just isn't worth it.

 

[Joejojoba111]

"The young gunmen - who allegedly killed Andrews over ownership of a drug corner - told Edwards not to snitch, according to homicide insiders.

But Edwards did the right thing.

And when the killers found out that he had talked with police, they dragged him into a back lot and shot him in the head, homicide sources said."

Doesn't sound like he did the right thing.

For one thing, it got him killed. For another thing, it's insulting that police would give you a pat on the head and a dog biscuit, but not allow you to carry a weapon to defend yourself. They encourage people to 'do the right thing' and snitch on violent criminals. And they forbid those same people the means to defend themselves.

It's disgusting. Honestly they're accomplices in the murder, ooh it's so revolting how they act.

 

[griz]

Mantua activist C.B. Kimmins notes that residents should be aware of who has guns in their neighborhood.

My neighbors know I have guns, and we seem to get along OK. Of course I don't shoot my neighbors either, maybe that's the difference.


PS Another round of applause for the liquour store owner line. That perfectly sums up the effect of the WODs.

 

[Tall Man]

Tall Man, I was thinking more in terms of "presence". More numbers of cops per shift, not more SWAT teams or more military gear.

Yes, that's a valid position, Art.

If only we citizens could control the expenditure of our tax dollars so that we do indeed get more presence, and not more SWAT teams or military gear, I'd be more amenable to the "enough tax" argument. However, we cannot, so I am not.

I still believe that where there are "beat cops" as well as patrolling by automobile, there will be less crime.

So do I. I've observed this very dynamic in action (just as an observer, mind you )

TM