More Cops equates to more victimless arrests / by kevin murray

There are so many laws on the books already, that in fairness to everybody in the general public, there is bound to be some obscure law or even a general law, that most people violate on some level at some given point, signifying that just about anybody can be arrested at anytime, if the authorities so desire to do so.  In actuality, it is even worse, for the police can simply arrest anybody that they so desire by asserting that you have violated a law, even when you have not, if they are determined to do so, or have been instructed by higher authorities to do so, which is why it is extremely dangerous to have a list of laws so long, so convoluted, and so contradictory, that anyone at anytime can be arrested.  This is the type of thing that we see in dictatorial, or tyrannical societies, of which, those that oppose the party in power, and are considered to be a threat to such authority, are arrested under the most dubious of circumstances and accusations.

 

There are a lot of constructive ways to work with people, that appear to need help, of which, one of the very worse, is to arrest them, convict them, and to incarcerate them, for that typically upends a person's life, loses them their means of employment, rips apart their family life, annihilates their bankroll, and destroys their future prospects.  For instance, the amount of arrests that are made each and every day for crimes, which are not even really crimes, such as victimless crimes, is an outrage foisted upon the American public, as some sort of public safety issue when it really isn't anything of the sort.  Victimless crimes such as illicit drug usage or sales, prostitution, illicit gambling, public intoxication, loitering, and so on and so forth, can be dealt with in a manner that does not necessitate an arrest, or incarceration, for these aren't really crimes in the first place, because there isn't any victim, and there isn't any real reason why the policing authority of the state needs to arrest these people, as opposed to perhaps issuing something akin to a traffic ticket or similar or just leaving them alone.

 

If, America, has an abiding interest in reducing illicit drug usage, or of reducing prostitution, than it should address these things on a community level, which deals with people as human beings, deserving of respect, consideration, and caring, as opposed to dealing with them as criminals.  There is a massive difference between the two, and punishment is virtually never an effective way to get someone to change their mindset or behavior whatsoever, whereas, getting to know someone, have a conversation with someone, learning about someone, is an effective way to bring understanding and empathy to a given situation. 

 

There is such a thing known as freedom, of which, people should be entitled to make decisions and to do things that they so desire to do that are personal choices with personal repercussions, and if those things include things that you do not approve of, that you do not personally do, that you consider to be a moral wrong, what of it, for unless you then take the energy, time, and consideration, to express to that person in a concerned way, how these choices made, may not be the best choices, and thereby give them an opportunity and chance to respond to you, than aren't you judging them, denying them their freedom or free expression, before having walked in their shoes, and who made you the Supreme Judge of them, anyway? 

 

We don't need more laws, we don't need more cops, we don't need victimless crimes to be crimes, but what we do need, is for the hypocrites and busybodies to first get their own house in order, and to stop treading on others with ill intent.