I saw this article the other day and it really jumped out at me! Alabama signs a law to allow Briarwood Church School to form their own Police Force It wasn't because this school and religious campus will now be able to have their own police force that struck me in the face, but the reason they felt they needed to have their own police force.
It is all a result of the times, no doubt. With the increasing number of active shootings and the rising number of vandalism directed toward Houses of Worship, I can totally see why this group would want to protect themselves. In fact, I was surprised to find out that they needed to get a law passed in order to have their own police force.
Section 16-22-1 of Alabama Code allows for universities and colleges to hire their own police officers and with the new update, the Briarwood Presbyterian Church will be able to do it as well. The Church wanted a force that would be able to enforce laws, and campus rules, all the while able to arrest, detain, and carry a firearm. According to this article, they have been trying since 2015 to get this passed. That's four years and some change. And it brings me to my question.
Do the police make us safe?
Apparently, they didn't for this church. They felt so unsafe and insecure that they lobbied for four years to get their own. Should this mean that we should employ our own police as well?
As a former police officer, I am surprised how much people believe in the Police. I see it in the movies and in television shows that when the going gets rough or the crap hits the fan, the actor shouts, "Someone, call the police." And the next scene shows the police, handcuffing someone an ambulance patching someone up and a firetruck somewhere in the background even though there was no need for a firetruck. I guess they're just cool or something. Well, News flash it doesn't work like that. Even for an active shooter, the police take a minimum of 12 minutes to arrive (as a national average) So from the moment the crap hits the fan, a random person calls the police and the police arrive it might be a loooooong time. So the answer is "Nope. The Police don't make us secure."
It's sad but true. And it's not because of a lack of trying. The police really want to serve and protect, but they have a laundry list of other activities they are asked to perform, and they can't be in all places at all times.
According to the 2017 census, Dallas has approximately 1.341 Million people. In a 2019 article in the Dallas Observer, the Dallas Police are reported to have 3,014 officers. So let's take that number and divide it equally into 3 watches. That gives us about 1,004 officers for the entire city at any given time. The national average is 1:476 officers to population.
Forgive me for picking on Dallas. I shouldn't. This issue is everywhere, and it's not just because of the police officer per population that makes the difference. The issue is the population's unfounded expectation that the police will save them.
The fact is that when the crap hits the fan there is no "backup".
You are all you have.
That, is the underlying story here.
Are you prepared?
The Presbyterian church felt that the way to prepare was to get their own police force. I assure you that we are no less in danger that they are.
So the moral of the lesson is to be prepared.
