“Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has reassigned the 135-officer Narcotics Strike Force to more general crime-fighting duties.” This from Andrew Maykuth and Barbara Boyer’s article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
I’m all for it.
The Commissioner called the department “overspecialized.” Right on!
“It may be disappointing to you,” he said. “A lot of people thought my crime plan was going to be something, but it’s very fundamental: Back to basics, and more uniformed patrols.” I like this guy.
I would recommend a tactical/directed patrol unit. These officers could work in or out of uniform and could stake out areas that are experiencing a noticible pattern of crimes (robberies, burglaries, etc.). They also might tail career criminals, assist with fugitive investiagtions, or conduct decoy operations. Now I know that thugs that are caught red-handed–and a few disingenuous lawyers–will try to cry entrapment when cops set up a decoy operation. But any competent judge will laugh them out of court. When police act as decoys they are getting between criminals and potential victims. This is REAL police work. These kinds of creative solutions to crime could be more commonplace if we curtail the drug war.