Fatal Month for Police

14 Police Officers Killed in January

Two St. Petersburg Florida Police Officers were shot and killed Monday, and a US Marshal shot and wounded when they were serving a warrant on a long time criminal with prior convictions for armed robbery and sexual battery. The suspect was also listed with the state as a sex offender and had failed to register with authorities in December.

January 2011 has started as a violent month for Law Enforcement with 14 Police Officers being killed.  During 2010 a total of 162 Law Enforcement Officers were killed nationwide.  Statistics maintained by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund http://www.nleomf.com/ provide detailed information on Law Enforcement fatalities and other Law Enforcement statistics. 

During 2010, more officers were killed in Texas, 18, than in any other state; followed by California with 11; Illinois with 10; Florida with nine; and Georgia with seven. The two law enforcement agencies with the most deaths in 2010 were the California Highway Patrol and the Chicago (IL) Police Department, each with five. Eleven of the officers killed nationwide in 2010 served with federal law enforcement agencies. Six female officers died in 2010, compared to only one in 2009. On average, the officers who died in 2010 were 41 years old and had served for 12 years.

Opinion

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan

While I love Ronald Reagan and his philosophy, I very reluctantly must now disagree with the above quote, not because society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker, No, on the contrary, but because society is to blame for allowing the criminals to commit the crimes. Our society has allowed the mostly violent repeat offenders to continue to commit violent crimes against our citizens and in doing so have enabled the criminal justice system to be overburdened, overcrowded and abused to the point where victims of violent and sexual related crimes are given Life Sentences for being a victim, while the criminals are given short sentences, probation, and opportunity to repeat their prior crime again, and again.

“We must now accept the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty. Society is guilty of allowing those appointed and elected to let criminals repeat their previous crimes, and guilty of failing to protect those who appointed and elected them. Society is guilty of once identifying those who committed crimes against children, allowing then and giving them opportunity to do it again. Society is guilty of continuing to allow itself to be victimized and not demanding that the rights of victims override the rights of the known and convicted criminal.”   

Society should, like it does for causes like saving the forest and animals, petition to save our society from predators and criminals, and reverse the cycle of sentencing victims of crimes to sentencing the criminals.