The depletion of America's at-home security forces

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Sugar got me thinking about this. The police force in america is being depleted because many national guard and army reservists are headed out to aid the U.S. military in Iraq.

I know some a2kers can't access the NYTimes online, so I'll pull some excerpts from the text:

"All across the United States, the call-up of reservists and National Guard members is carving big holes in the towns and cities they leave behind."

"Doctors. Nurses. Police officers. Firefighters. Lawyers. Teachers. Clerks. Cashiers. Mechanics. Truck drivers. Even mayors and school board members. All going or gone.

"By the Department of Defense's count this week, nearly 95,000 have reported to active duty."

"The problems associated with the stepped-up mobilizations are particularly acute for law enforcement. Just as their ranks are being depleted, local authorities are being asked to take on new responsibilities related to domestic security. At the same time, many police and sheriff departments are already well below their authorized staffing levels because of longstanding recruitment difficulties.

"A random survey of law enforcement agencies conducted last fall by the Police Executive Research Forum, an association of police chiefs, found that 44 percent of them had lost personnel to the military mobilizations, said Gerard R. Murphy, a senior research associate with the organization."

Mamas leaving infants and toddlers behind..... so sad.

NYTimes Article

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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 2,849 • Replies: 31

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Ya see how much damage Dubya is doing to our country? c.i.

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Talk about Saddam being a danger to our security. c.i.

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LittleK and CI:

All I can do is shake my head wonder what it takes for the American public to wake up. I am ashamed of America on so many levels!

Anon

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I'm more nervous about the whole thing than anything. Homeland defenses down - good time for anopther terrosit attack. But, more likely, the crappy economic climate may be leading to higher crime rates in general.

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LittleK:

I don't think there should be any terrorist attacks for a while, Bush is already pretty absorbed with Iraq, so we should be okay. If he doesn't get to blow the hell out of Iraq, then we should start worrying!

Anon

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hmmmm.... it's an old strategy - get the gander out to fight and attack the nest.

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I'm with littlek on this. It's a perfect time for someone to take advantage of the situation in the u.s. I've read similar articles in other mainstream u.s. papers. It's quite a concern to the people who are down on the ground, trying to figure out how to protect their communities.

There's some area in Arizona that has lost almost it's entire fire-fighting force to this effort. (trying to recall who posted the link ... and where ...)

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littlek, I don't have anything to back up my observations, but you have the same conclusion as I on the increase in crime as our economy dumps. I can only support my conclusion by saying that in my travels, the destinations with the highest unemployment has the highest rates of burglery and theft. c.i.

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Cic - it only makes sense. I have no evidence.

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High unemployment creates crooks of honest people. How are they to feed themselves and their familites if there are no government backup systems? In Madrid many years ago, when their unemployment was at 22 percent, I had about four guys lock me in where it was almost impossible to move, for their purpose to pickpocket. I yelled very loudly, and swung my arms very hard to get them to back off. After my yell, it got the attention I needed, and they broke the lock on me. c.i.

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phew, good luck that, Cic.

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littlek, I've not had any "phews" after that incident, and I've been to much poorer countries since. Wink

c.i.

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little k - little brother is getting recalled. The USCG is now considered "Homeland Security" and not Navy in wartime. They're sending him down to New York for patrol.

I also found out that USCG is 'first defense' in wartime. Because they have to secure the ports before anyone else moves in, the first people to go over are USCG - and they don't pull actives or reservists first, they pull inactive reserves because they are considered more expendable. They do not already perform daily or monthly duties so if they are lost it doesn't affect the expected manpower of a boat or station.

Not being crass, just reporting what I know.

Actives are then sent, but now in the case of the USCG the actives will be on long-time boat patrol (large cutters) and the active reservists will as well on bay patrol, both in the US.

Not everyone that gets recalled gets shipped out. Many men and women in all the armed forces stay right here in the US.

I agree that the daily security that we rely on from police and fire is greatly decreased. People don't realize this - I spoke with someone the other night and mentioned that I expect to see arise in petty crime, etc. and they just couldn't understand why. It doesn't always occur to people that one of the main reasons people get on a police force is because they belong to the military.

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Thanks for the details, Sugar! So, we keep our defense from foreign threat around us. Well, I feel better knowing that.

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Better be prepared for an attack against your home. Do you own an attack dog or a gun/knife? Twisted Evil

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I have a dog and a sword.

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I have a dog and a SECRET WEAPON! Twisted Evil

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Sug has a point, its not like our police force/military is one in the same but its also important to remember that many police are of military background. When the military gets called up, we dont take everyone and ship them somewhere either, I mean hello..that would be downright stupid. And we dont send our police force out to fight our military battles, that would also be silly, although its nice to have, its best to have them seperate as well.

Best buy the man a beer before his presence is missed...Sugar, who shall be crosswording with you..dang. He'll be back soon enough.

Invade our homes..thats freakin hysterical...all Im sayin.

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Oh and I have pepper spray <heehee>

Q - there are police forces that are fairly depleted, it's still an issue. Yes, the forces are out guarding the coast and such, but what about the house that was burgularized? The kidnapping? The stolen cars? What happens if there are two fires in downtown east-bf at the same time? Which one gets dowsed first?

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The depletion of America's at-home security forces

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