Stalwart Walls

Those purveyors of justice in Tronna - Metro's finest, have decided that, because of numerous cases of vandalism to cars parked in station lots, and even someone writing down license plate numbers, they had better pad the budget to build some fences. Working on the principle that good fences make good neighbours, they are building some really fine neighbourhoods. Palisades of power that will not be easily-scaled by nefarious evil-doers bent on tearing antennae from the 'beemers' of the fuzz.

We should be glad that ex-Belfast types are not present in greater numbers - although I would lay the 'wall' solution to them. Police stations in Belfast are 'fortresses' with concrete walls, razor wire ,surveillance cameras, sally ports and observation slits. They're also daubed like harlequins in a rainbow of paintspatters and blackened areas from molotov cocktails. The 'police' enter before day break in convoy, and leave in darkened vans at the end of shift. Bunker mentality assumes a whole new meaning with these guys. And now, because it's a mickey-mouse 'police service' over there, they've come over here for some real policin', with their walls.

The Chief was on TV justifying the 17.5 million dollar expense. When he's lying, he looks like he's sucking shit. He must have felt like he had Mr. Henke in there. Eyes rolling and lips pursing he was recounting how, sadly, his department seemed incapable of keeping idjits out of their own parking lot. Come on, give me a break, who's going to jack around in a parking lot behind a building filled with cops?

And then there's the writing down of the license plate numbers. Once you have a number you phone the license bureau right, and they'll give you all the info they've got, right? Only if your last name's 'Bullitt', or you're balling one of the clerks. You or I, however, might be just as well off using them to generate lottery picks. Those T.O. cops are hilarious!

At least they might be if they weren't so paranoid. A lot of police persons are paranoid. "The bad guys will find us and .... Ohhh BAAAAD! It's a dangerous job we do." Schoolteachers are in more danger! Geez, there are more carpenters killed on the job. And they don't have an arsenal to protect themselves, or even a kevlar vest!

It's a bit scary but some of these guys aren't educated enough to think their way through this stuff. Their 'GOOD' guys are cops and cops' friends - their BAD guys are , potentially, everybody else. And we arm these guys?

I recall a few years back some local asshole was plinking the back of my house one night with a pellet rifle. I called the police. After 20 minutes they showed up at the front door. The cop waited in the hall while I went to turn on all the lights in the back rooms of the house. He then made a careful search of the interior, looking out each window to see what he couldn't in the back yard. After 10 minutes of that, he drew his flashlight and headed for the front door. Sleuthing, I thought, nope just walking round the back. Of course the sniper was long gone, but at least the cop saw a pellet in the bathroom window frame, so he couldn't say I had hallucinated everything.

And to-day, he'd probably have wanted a gander at that .22 I've got registered.

Goes ta show ya tho', ya can't be too careful. That's why the WALLS.