"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
More often than you may realize, cops have to deal with situations which
involve no violation of the law. But, smart cops show up anyway because
they
know that if they don't, they'll have a REAL problem on their hands
otherwise.

You may want to ask a cop about this next thing, but I know you're not too
keen on getting involved with your local public servants.

Forget hostage situations. Forget armed robbers. Forget bomb scares. What
is
the most dangerous and unpredictable situation for which cops are called
regularly? Hint: 99% of the time, it initially involves no laws being
broken.

"Disturbance" calls.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

"Backyard Renegade" wrote in message
om...
"swatcop" wrote in message news:9RMCb.12536
Thank you for your input. Seems the jetskis are a common topic, and will
be
dealt with more severely.

I have been pretty impressed with what you have had to say, until now.
Hating jet skies as much as any other sane boater it is still my
opinion that if you go into this new assignment with that attitude,
and acting on that prejudice as you state you will, than you are just
another pain in the ass, bad cop.

As for the waterway, I'll be on the west coast in
the Gulf of Mexico. Thank you for the welcome and for the information, I
plan on making a POSITIVE change out there and not just becoming another
pain in the ass.

The way to make a positive change is to make your compadres see things
more from the user point of view and bring your practical experience
as a boater and a human to the job, not by going out with a "piggish"
attitude, looking for jetskiers and other (mostly law abiding) folks
who don't fall in line with your personal boating or even lifestyle,
preferences and treating them "more severely".

Scott Ingersoll, who has seen to many good cops fall into this trap...

I'm glad someone "pro-jetski" finally responded so I can get an even view of
the situation. As I stated in other replies, I am a fair guy. I won't
headhunt jetskis and hand out fistfulls of citations, but if all of the
boaters are complaining about the "water etiquette" usually displayed by
PWCs, then there's got to be a problem somewhere. I believe that I can get
the message out in my area that inconsiderate operation of PWCs will not be
acceptable without breaking out the ticket book. Once I warn someone,
though, I WILL issue a citation for subsequent offenses. That goes for PWCs,
boats, cars, skateboards, or whatever. Thanks for your input, yours will be
noted along with the rest of them.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

swatcop wrote:
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
If you want to talk about extremes, consider a situation where there's NO
enforcement. Then, citizens will take matters into their own hands. Not a
good idea.

Better yet, how about life in other less civilized countries? You steal,
they cut off your hand. You hit someone with your car and kill them, they
shoot you right there on the spot. And these crybabies are complaining about
having to wear a seatbelt, and a seatbelt's only purpose or function in life
is to save lives. Unreal.

You know, the crime rate is a lot lower in those other countries. Maybe we
should adopt some of their methods.


We're getting closer and closer...

--
Email sent to is never read.

Actually, you're not. The jet skiers' I see aren't rude. I
accidentally ran across a nice little lake her in NC where most
all of the folks boating aren't complete morons. The topic
started with watching for 'wreckless jet skiers' but somehow got
perverted to watch out for 'all jet skiers'.

-JimL




WaIIy wrote:

Am I the only boater here with no bad jet ski stories to tell? The
ones I see are just having fun and not bothering anyone.

Up on lake Conroe, the fishermen found that treble hooks cast just right
will keep the jetskiers away. Or hook 'em.

"JimL" wrote in message
...
Actually, you're not. The jet skiers' I see aren't rude. I
accidentally ran across a nice little lake her in NC where most
all of the folks boating aren't complete morons. The topic
started with watching for 'wreckless jet skiers' but somehow got
perverted to watch out for 'all jet skiers'.

-JimL




WaIIy wrote:

Am I the only boater here with no bad jet ski stories to tell? The
ones I see are just having fun and not bothering anyone.

Good for you. You're the exception, that's for sure!

"swatcop" wrote in message
om...



"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Keith" wrote in message
...
Most traffic laws and enforcement are only revenue generation
techniques,
having little to do with safety. For instance, why do you see so many
cops
out with radar guns on highways, when most accidents occur at
intersections?
Easier to bring in the $$ that way.

I'd agree. Each year, before the high-traffic holidays, a NY State
Police
spokesperson issues a little recording for radio stations who'd like to
use
it. It mentions the most dangerous things drivers can do. Frequently,
they
mention tailgating at highway speeds as something which causes more
pileups
than anything else, and I'm sure that's true.

In 35 years of driving, I've never spoken to ANYONE who's gotten a
ticket
for tailgating on a highway. Give me an unmarked car, and I could easily
write tickets all day long for that offense. But, it can't be measured
with
a radar or laser gun, so the cops never do it.

Never say never - I drive an unmarked Crown Vic, and I generally don't
have
a radar unit in my car. Most of my citations are for "Failure to observe a
traffic control device," meaning that the person ran a stop sign, red
light,
or whatever. I write speeding tickets as well, but usually only on special
traffic details that I get somehow assigned to.

I'd rather be pulling over the people who drive around town blatantly
violating a plethora of traffic laws than a speeder. You know the ones -
dog
in their lap while talking on the cell phone and eating a Big Mac driving
a
1970 station wagon that smells like a burnt oil refinery and could easily
replace the mosquito control vehicle. No turn signals, one working brake
light (if any), cracked windshield, broken antenna, with all of his
hospital
paperwork strewn from one side of the dashboard to the other. Then you
pull
them over and their license is suspended (which of course they had no idea
it was suspended). They root through the pile of empty Natural Ice cans to
get their expired registration out of the glove compartment. Of course
when
he opens the glove compartment a bag of weed falls out onto the pile of
beer
cans, but it isn't his - nope. His FRIEND must have left it in there. You
know, those type of people - THOSE are the ones that I like.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

Maybe it's time we re-examined this "it's a priviledge, not a right" line. I
guess when horses were the prevalent mode of transportation, driving an auto
was a "priviledge" of the rich, who could afford them. Nowadays, how would
one survive without a car, at least in most parts of the U.S.? You'd get
killed trying to ride a bike to work in a lot of big cities, run over by
those "Priviledged" auto drivers. Driver's licenses are still just another
revenue generation tool, since obviously there are plenty of accidents by
all those "trained and approved" drivers.

It reminds me of those parents who get their kid something like a bike or
horse, just to have something to take away to punish them later.

"swatcop" wrote in message
news



"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 15:46:03 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:

The seatbelts are the only thing that keep you behind the wheel in such
instances. If you're on the median at 50+ mph and you're still driving,
you've probably avoided hitting other cars. You have a much better
chance
of
finishing the episode alive if you're behind the wheel snugly so you
can
drive. Only an idiot would want to be bouncing around the car.

Doug, these laws that take away personal choice are just that. Although
I agree with you on the child protection issues, I strongly disagree
with seatbelt and helmet laws for adults.

No, I don't want to hear about how much it's costing us in medical
bills, blah, blah, blah.

It's erosion of personal freedom, plain and simple.

I disagree - it saves lives, plain and simple. Driving is a priveledge,
not
a constitutional right, therefore there are rules. Personal freedom
purtains
to freedom of religion, etc., not risking other people's lives or your
own.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

"swatcop" wrote in message
om...

I like the way you think.
--

So do my cop friends. I'd never be able to function that job, though. I have
no patience for procedures and paperwork. :-)

"swatcop" wrote in message
om...

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
If you want to talk about extremes, consider a situation where there's
NO
enforcement. Then, citizens will take matters into their own hands. Not
a
good idea.

Better yet, how about life in other less civilized countries? You steal,
they cut off your hand. You hit someone with your car and kill them, they
shoot you right there on the spot. And these crybabies are complaining
about
having to wear a seatbelt, and a seatbelt's only purpose or function in
life
is to save lives. Unreal.

You know, the crime rate is a lot lower in those other countries. Maybe we
should adopt some of their methods.

I've been reading a pretty scary book about what life is like in Colombia.
Scary stuff. Paramilitary (works for someone, but nobody's sure who - maybe
sugar plantation or factory owners) comes to a town and puts lists of names
in a town square. The list contains people who the pares believe are guilty
of crimes like theft or drug-running. Within a few days, everyone on the
list is gunned down in the street. Sometimes, they pith them, instead.
Remember pithing frogs in biology class? A needle through the base of the
skull? It apparently works with people as well.

Next the guerillas come to town and track down the paras they believe were
responsible for the executions, and administer their own justice. Sometimes,
the police, who are powerless, are blamed, so they are murdered. The
townspeople *know* the cops were innocent because nobody in town tipped them
off about which bad guys needed to be "handled". The cops are actually a
liability because they're prime targets of the guerillas. Innocent
bystanders are often hurt when guerillas drive by firing machine guns at a
group of cops. The locals get nervous when the police decide to build a new
police station right in the middle of town.

Very confusing. Very weird. Happening right now.

By the way, the cops aren't powerless for lack of weaponry. We send them
sophisticated stuff. They're powerless because the populace is afraid to
communicate with the cops. Too dangerous.

"Keith" wrote in message
...
Maybe it's time we re-examined this "it's a priviledge, not a right" line.
I
guess when horses were the prevalent mode of transportation, driving an
auto
was a "priviledge" of the rich, who could afford them. Nowadays, how would
one survive without a car, at least in most parts of the U.S.? You'd get
killed trying to ride a bike to work in a lot of big cities, run over by
those "Priviledged" auto drivers. Driver's licenses are still just another
revenue generation tool, since obviously there are plenty of accidents by
all those "trained and approved" drivers.


You have a right to travel anyplace you want in this country without some
goon asking to see "ze paperz, pleaze". How you travel is in no way
guaranteed, mentioned, suggested or alluded to in the bill of rights or the
constitution.

I'll tell ya what, though - if you'll do this, I'll forget the previous
paragraph and agree with you. Ready? Stand in a busy airport. Have yourself
chained to an immovable object. Distribute rotten fruit to the first 200
people who walk by. Distribute baseball size stones to perhaps 50 of those
people, and loaded pistols to perhaps a dozen people. Using a bullhorn,
announce that training and testing for airline pilots is a violation of some
imaginary rights and should be ended immediately. Continue making this
announcement until you lose consciousness.

Let me know which airport.