Crime and Media

The crime scene in the original version of the game. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Tabetha Cooper

Murders happen all over the world in all forms; your regular single murders, mass murders, spree murders, and of course serial murders.  In the United States, serial murder has been captivating the mind of citizens for a long time with all the movies and television programs focusing on this issue.  It is important to remember though that much of what can be seen on television isn’t completely accurate.  Through an understanding of the global perspectives on serial murder and the investigative approach and tools used the most in these cases, a person can better identify what impact serial murders have on the media in the United States versus other countries.

            As Hickey (n.d.) points out, serial murder from a global perspective brings out some points that need to be addressed.  First is the definition of serial murder and how others see this phenomenon.  For example in the U.S. the FBI defines serial murder as a series of three or more murders over a period of time with a cooling off period in between each murder.  In addition most serial offenders in the U.S. are thought to be lust killers and each murder tends to share common characteristics (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2005).  On the other hand other countries have noted that most serial murderers do not classify as lust murders and that there are not always similarities in the murders (Hickey, n.d.).  Not every culture exploits serial murder as we do in the U.S.  The second thing to remember is that the differences in cultures between countries provide different motives for serial murders as well as different means to carry out the murders.  For example guns are a big weapon of choice in the United States but many other countries the weapon of choices tends to be a knife, as can be shown with the case of Jack the Ripper in England (Hickey, n.d.).  The last point to keep in mind is that largely due to the other two differences, the profiles given to serial murderers in the U.S. are far different from the profiles given by law enforcement personnel of other countries.  The ability to access important data may also play a role in the different profiles of serial murderers between other countries and the U.S.

            Since the popular television show Criminal Minds, when the average American thinks of approaches to catching a killer, profiling pops in their mind.  There are several types of profiling including: criminal profiling, victim profiling, and geographical profiling.  Profiling is just one tool used in the interdisciplinary approach.  This approach explores criminal behavior through the sciences of psychology, biology, and behavioral analysis (Hickey, n.d).  In other words the interdisciplinary approach utilizes forensic sciences.  Spatial mapping is another tool used in this approach.  Crimes committed within an area can be recorded to a map and through analysis of this information it is possible to figure out when and where the next crime in a series will be committed.  Computers aid a lot in the interdisciplinary approach, where data can be stored and retrieved quickly.

            In recent years there have been steps taken to fill in the gap between countries when it comes to crime.  The inability to access data concerning serial murders that travel internationally, data bases are being created for easier access to information.  One data base used by other countries is the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System or VICLAS.  This data base originated in Canada and is used in the United States, Canada, and Germany (Hickey, n.d.).  The International Crime Police Organization, better known as Interpol, was created in 1923 to also aid countries in sharing criminal information.  It was designed to help aid different organizations and law enforcement agencies in an effort to catch criminals that cross boarders and to prevent further crimes from being committed.  Since its start in 1923, 188 countries have become members of Interpol (www.interpol.int).

With the vast differences throughout the world when it comes to serial murder, it has to be asked: What role does the media play in the world of serial murder?  Many countries do not report serial murder in the news nor display such an interest in it through movies and television programs.  There have been countries in which suspected serial murderers were not publicized.  This has its benefits and downfalls!  If the public is not notified of a serial murderer running the streets then they have no idea to keep themselves safe.  If a killer is attacking women between the ages of thirty and fifty in dark allies only in the night, then those women don’t know to keep themselves out of that area during the dark hours of the day.  Although a benefit of not publicizing a serial murderer is not getting the entire town in an uproar.  Sometimes serial killers, such as the BTK killer (Dennis Radar), use media to contact the police.  Those who receive these types of messages need to take care with what is done with them.  The police should be notified before the message is publicized (www.fbi.com).

In the United States the media such as news papers report on the murder.  Depending on the information that they reporter gets their hands on, this can let the killer know what the police know.  This can cause the killer to change his modus operandi, is selection of victims, or even cause him to go into a cooling down period until the heat is off him.  If he relocates it takes the problem out of the place it originated but causes it to start somewhere else, which may go undetected for a period of time before the crimes can be linked as serial.  When so many people become privy to important information pertaining to a serial murder case it also opens a door for copy cat killers to use the same motives.  This can throw law enforcement personnel off the track of the actual killer.  When media puts such a great emphasis on the murderer it also takes light away from the victim (www.fbi.com).  Victims become forgotten easily, causing yet another injustice to both them and their families. Also with the fascination and glamorization television shows and movies give serial killers it desensitizes the incidences.  Women become fans and the killers begin to become idols to some. 

No matter the country or the definition of serial murder, a killer reeking havoc can be detrimental to everyone.  Some countries allow the media to cash in on the tragedies that seem to captivate the minds of many.  This can be good, but it can also be very bad.  In the United States, our Constitution guarantees us freedom of press and freedom of speech, so we can count on many more shows, movies, and news reports regarding serial murder.  

References

Hickey, E. W. (n.d.) Serial Murderers and Their Victims. 4^th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning

http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder

http://www.fbi.gov/publications/serial_murder.htm

http://www.interpol.int/public/icpo/default.asp

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Impact of Terrorism in the US Today

by Tina Handrick

Introduction

On September 11, 2001 the United States of America changed forever. This was the day that the U.S. realized how badly a job they were doing on making sure that this country was protected from outside attacks and corruption. There were many lives lost from the terrorist attacks 

September 11 2001 Bell in Saint Paul's Church next to Ground Zero (Photo credit: Whiskeygonebad)

that happened on September 11, 2001 and a huge blow to our country. On this day there were two planes that crashed into the twin towers in New York and another plane crashed into the Pentagon, in Northern Virginia, and a forth plane went down in rural Pennsylvania which was meant for Washington, D.C. thanks to the heroic effort of the passengers on that plane. Thousands of people lost their lives this day, many people lost a loved one, a wife, a husband, mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, and grandfather over something as senseless as another man’s greed and thought process.

Terrorism Impact

Since September 11, 2001 there has been disagreements on whom and how information should be shared within the network of public and country safety. Police Chiefs, Mayors, and City Managers have criticized the FBI for being too secretive about its counterterrorism investigations 

English: The Seal of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. For more information, see here. Español: El escudo del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI). Para obtener más información, véase aquí (Inglés). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(E.J. Delattre, pg. 413, 414). They believe that to make the best use of their manpower and the local knowledge in safeguarding the public the police are in need of the information that the FBI has regarding any terrorist suspects, networks, potential local targets, and any other likely attack that could be in the works. Terrorism prevention doesn’t only depend on mutual candor and cooperation from local, state and federal agencies it could also benefit from creating a first response program that allows a better response from police, firefighters, hazardous materials experts, hospitals and other emergency personnel. If prior knowledge is known throughout these types of organization about potential terrorist threats that are pending then maybe some of what happened on Sept. 11 can be avoided in the future.

On October 26, 2001 President Bush signed into law the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (U.S.A. Patriot Act), this new law enlarges the surveillance and search powers of federal agencies and expands their authority to share among themselves information and intelligence, including previously secret grand jury information. It allows for greater information to be shared with foreign governments. It grants the Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service access to criminal history records and other materials maintained by the National Crime Information Center and expands federal authority to deny admission to any alien “who has been associated with terrorist organization and intends while in the U.S. to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in activities that could endanger the welfare, safety, or security of the U.S.” (Section 411).

Seal of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), USA. — “Servicing Our Citizens” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Homeland Defense from terrorism requires police to undertake a larger mission to the public and government. Now police have to commit their personnel and budgets to expand to include new antiterrorism assignments, at the cost of other priorities, which means that the people and community that it serves suffers. Because police now have to move their officers around to now include historic sites and other targets of terrorism now it means taking away from areas that still have crime and the possibility of that crime rate going back of because of the changes. Sure these agencies receive money to help with some of the cost but with the rising economy, and the loss of jobs the streets just do not have the amount of police present that it needs to stop other crimes from happening. Most police agencies are already spread thin and when you add more work and fewer officers then you are looking at more criminal activity and corruption.

Social Stigma

Social stigma varies vastly from country to country. Depending on a country's foreign policies, including countries they are possibly at war with, or have immigration issues with another, the social stigma attached to certain ethnicities or creeds can have a great effect on the public. This attitude from the general public, or rather, sections of the public prejudice against other sections can directly influence law enforcement. Islam has perhaps been the biggest source of social stigma in the Western World over the past decade or so.

People argue and discuss with protestors at the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 While Islam is a peaceful, global religion with over a billion Muslims, the religion's reputation has come under unfair scrutiny because of insane or terrorist individuals. This is largely due to terrorist factions hiding behind the protection of their religion to justify their own misguided intentions that what they believe is what should be. After September 11, there was wide spread animosity towards people of an Asian ethnicity, often regardless of their religion; many Hindus, Sikhs and members of other religions were harassed indiscriminately just because of what or where they might have come from. The American Christian belief is that you can have your own religion without prosecution or ridicule; the same should be applied to any other country as well. Just because they may have a few rotten apples we should not judge all of them and put them in the same basket.

 These events and news stories cannot help but influence an individual's outlook of things. While the law is supposed to judge all members of its society equally and fairly, the people enforcing these laws are individuals in their own right. They may have professional codes of ethics to abide by, but in some situations, an officer of the law's own perceptions of threats can weigh in, sometimes for the better, and sometimes unfairly. It’s very important that when doing a job an officer is not looking at the color of a person skin but on how that person may be behaving and their mannerisms.

Ethical

Police abuse of force and police corruption usually follows accord with each other. If 

September 11, 2001 (Photo credit: wallyg)

an officer goes out and deals drugs or steals evidence to sell out on the street, is just as bad as having an suspect in custody and using force to obtain a confession or information that can be used against them or others in a court of law. It is everyone’s right to be treated fairly and without due harm. If someone is treated when in custody then anything that they have said could be thrown out of court due to the way the information was obtained and if their lawyer plays the right cards. Police officers need to use their training when dealing with potential suspect, or corruptive thoughts. You should follow the policies and procedures that your agency has so that you don’t have to worry about crossing any lines. If there are any other personnel that you know that are committing such crimes, ethically and morally you should report them to your supervisor as soon as possible with any proof that you might have attained. Some of the examples of this would be

·         Excessive use of deadly force

·         Excessive use of physical force

·         Discriminatory patterns of arrest

·         Patterns of harassment of such "undesirables" as the homeless, youth, minorities and gays, including aggressive and discriminatory use of the "stop-and-frisk" and overly harsh enforcement of petty offenses.

·         Chronic verbal abuse of citizen, including racist, sexist and homophobic slurs

·         Discriminatory non-enforcement of the law, such as the failure to respond quickly to calls in low-income areas, and half-hearted investigations of domestic violence, rape or hate crimes.

·         Spying on political activists.

·         Employment discrimination -- in hiring, promotion and assignments, and internal harassment of minority, women and gay or lesbian police personnel.

·         The "code of silence" and retaliation against officers who report abuse and/or support reforms.

·         Overreaction to "gang" problems, which is driven by the assumption that most or all associational activity, is gang-related. This includes illegal mass stops and arrests, and demanding photo IDs from young men based on their race and dress instead of their criminal conduct.

·         The "war on drugs," complete with overboard searches and other tactics that endanger innocent bystanders. This "war" wastes scarce resources on unproductive "buy and bust" operations to the neglect of more promising community-based approaches.

·         Lack of accountability, such as the failure to discipline or prosecute abusive officers, and the failure to deter abuse by denying promotions and/or particular assignments because of prior abusive behavior.

·         Crowd control tactics that infringe on free expression rights and lead to unnecessary use of physical force (N.A., 2004)

If for any reason anyone in an agency behaves in this manner then it would be a good idea to turn them into I.A. (Internal Affairs) and make it clear that you are not a part of the situation. Having strong ethics is a must when you are serving the public, you are constantly being judged from those that you are protecting and if for any reason the community is to doubt your judgment it could make it hard for them to trust you.

Training

When a new officer goes through training he/she goes through classes that can make it easier for them to deal with the public and the criminal elements. Hopefully this new recruit already has good ethics instilled into them because at this late date it is hard to change a person outlook in life

English: FBI Mobile Command Center in Washington DC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of the jobs that an officer has to undertake are:

·         Patrolling their districts, responding to calls for service, conducting preliminary investigations, investigating traffic related incidents, writing reports, pursuing and detaining suspects, and making arrests

·         Enforcing traffic and parking laws

·         Participating in Community Policing activities

·         Working with other police department units as well as other local, state, and federal entities

·         Preparing for and attending court appearances

·         Participating in mandatory and elective training

·         Keeping proficient with firearms

Learning how to use critical thinking skills is a plus when you are faced with a situation that doesn’t allow you to make a mistake. Training should be done every year as a refresher course so that you have the tools that you need in case there are in changes to policy or regulations.

Conclusion

Since September 11, 2001 the way that people look at each other in America is different. They are either against everything that the bombing has changed or they have united against it but one of the things that is more upsetting is that a lot of American’s are forgetting, and when that happens that allows for it to happen again.  All law enforcement agencies should help each other when it comes to terrorist threats and not withhold critical information when it is needed. The security 

US Navy 060911-N-9578C-002 Sailors from USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) read names of New York Fire and Police Department members who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

in America should be on top of the list to make sure that what happened on September 11 never happens again. By stopping some of the immigration into our country for a while can help keep some of these people out that can cause such destruction. The U.S. has enough inner turmoil that having outside terror as a constant threat just seems to be another layer of pressure on the law enforcement agencies.

References:

Ethics in Policing Character and Cops By: Edwin J. Delattre 2011

Plano Police Department; Assignments: http://www.plano.gov/Departments/Police/Employment/Pages/assignments.aspx

Preventing Police Abuse: PoliceCrimes.com http://www.policecrimes.com/police_abuse.html

Social Control and the Policing of Terrorism: Foundations for Sociology of Counter-Terrorism; http://www.cas.sc.edu/socy/faculty/deflem/zpolterror.html

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Today’s Investigative Special Report – February 11, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “Sexual Tourism Has Become a Reality”

By Lawrence W. Daly MSc

It sounds like something from the long ago television show “Fantasy Island” where you could travel to this island and your wishes and desires would be fulfilled. The two actors, Ricardo Montalban and Herve’ Villechaize played hosts to “Tales of visitors to a unique resort island that can fulfill literally any fantasy requested” this according to IMDB.

BKK sex tourism (Photo credit: bluemonkey.)

In reality the sexual slave business has never been in such demand. Juvenile prostitution is rampant in many countries such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Nepal, Columbia, Chile, and on and on. There are no barriers to the sexual tourism which is happening worldwide. Do to the social media network, the flood gates are now open and perverts are pursuing children for sexual purposes.

The sexual tourism is a multi-billion-dollar global business which is so out of control that just like any tourist’s attraction men and women arrange their travel to these countries with specific tourist businesses which arrange their flights, hotels, and sexual partners.

The problem of having sex with under age children is it is illegal but in the countries listed above and hundreds more not only support children being used as sex objects, but they do not prosecute those who engage in it, no matter what country you are from. The reason is it creates a thriving business for the hotels, the associated businesses, airlines, and anyone else involved where money can be made no matter the risks or laws which are being broken.

The exploitation of children has been occurring since the beginning of time, however, child sexual tourism has become such a large industry that the health of children in these countries has become a major concern. Some children may suffer from many diseases, such as HIV/Aids, drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and possibly death.

Embassy of the Dominican Republic to the United States. Located in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The theory that only pedophiles utilize the sexual tourism activities, opportunities, and benefits is incorrect. Situational and preferential abusers demand sex from children due to the disease risk being lower than that which stems from sexual contact with adult prostitutes.

Social media networking has made sexual tourism an industry where pedophiles, situational and preferential abusers, and anyone else can communicate over the Internet and talk about the type of sexual activities they can find in specific countries. Most of the countries are poor and although the sexual tourism trade is illegal in most countries the adults victimize the innocent and vulnerable.

Detection of those who engage in the child sexual tourism trade are difficult to apprehend because of the amount of money these people are willing to pay to receive and obtain their sexual gratification. Child sexual exploitation is a crime here in the United States, but still human trafficking, child pornography, and child sexual tourism continue to flourish.

Recently, under age prostitution came to the forefront when Secret Service Agents who were supposed to be guarding President Obama decided to use their off time in having sexual relations with prostitutes. Social media networks and sources stated that some of these sexual relations were with under age prostitutes.

This past week the allegation that “New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat and incoming chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denied on Wednesday allegations that he engaged in sex with underage prostitutes during free trips to the Dominican Republic” this according to Reuters reporter, David Adams, January 30, 2013.

Robert Menendez, member of the United States Senate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The conduct of Senator Menendez came about because of his association with a Dr. Salomon Melgen, 58 whose West Palm Beach’s medical-office complex where Melgen has his eye clinic was raided by the FBI.

In several interviews Senator Menendez denied any wrong doing or sexual inappropriate behavior while being in the company of Melgen. He has blamed several conservative right-wing blogs for spreading untrue information about him.

The problem with Senator Menendez’s response to the allegations is that generally when the FBI becomes involved then there usually is a criminal problem. The FBI has better things to do than chase another Senator around the world for inappropriate behavior. It is like Menendez’s response to half of the story that he failed to report that he had flown on Melgen’s private jet to the Dominican Republic on several occasions. He stated that he thought that it had been reported and immediately paid the $50,000.00 plus that he owed. Therefore, the theory that where there is smoke there may be a fire is apropos.

Whoever decided to bring the information to the FBI it doesn’t seem reasonable that the underage prostitution information was wrong, but the flights and costs were right. The FBI will be responsible to conduct a thorough and complete investigation without interference from Congress or the Whitehouse.

The FBI should have the investigative ability to do whatever is necessary to uncover just who is involved in the cover up and those parties need to be identified, apprehended, detained, prosecuted, and incarcerated.

What discipline Congress decides to give Senator Menendez is not relevant as he would not lose his freedom, maybe his job, but it will generally be politics as usual. If the FBI finds he committed a crime than his freedom may become an issue, which if the sexual allegations are true, then he should be incarcerated no matter what his status is.

English: The Seal of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. For more information, see here. Español: El escudo del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI). Para obtener más información, véase aquí (Inglés). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Former Federal Prosecutor Marc Mukasey stated that the United States began investigating individuals traveling to other countries to have sex with children who were under the age of 18 years. He states a task force was formed in 1996 and has been pursuing United States citizens who commit crimes against children in other countries. He stated that just because you live the United States doesn’t mean that you can travel to another country and commit a crime which is illegal here.

Mukasey stated that any Federal Law Enforcement Agency who works under the Department of Justice can investigate a sexual tourism type crime. It is up to the Federal Law Enforcement Officer to report his findings to his supervisor and let the supervisor decide to do what they want with the information.

If the Federal Government is made aware of any Congressman traveling to a country where children are being prostituted out as a business, then there needs to be an immediate investigation into the actions of the Congressman. There is no personal or business reason any Federal Government employee should be spending time in one of the countries listed above unless it is for government reasons and that their itinerary is known to other officials who can monitor the behavior of the employee. All federal employees traveling actions has to be above board; accountable at all times.

Until such time the Department of Justice makes child sexual tourism a priority in apprehending pedophiles, situational and preferential abusers, and other people who prey upon innocent and vulnerable children a priority this industry will continue to flourish. It takes money, manpower, and a commitment by society that the sexual and physical exploitation of children is harmful and needs to be stopped.

Without a direction, mission statement, and a vision by the Department of Justice, these individuals who fly from the United States to the above listed countries will continue to expend their money to achieve the sexual fantasies they find difficult to achieve here in the United States.

           

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

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Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 17, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “Would Retired Law Enforcement Be The Answer To Protect Children?”

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Forensic Expert – Senior Author

 Of the 100,000 school districts in the United States there are 10,000 school districts which have hired over the years retired and off-duty law enforcement officers and security to protect students in a school environment. The major question is “How is this working for everyone across America?” This sounds harsh but is simply a reality. It isn’t working nor will it continue to work as long as the politicians and law makers focus on what type of a gun an individual owns. This ideology is antiquated and all studies have demonstrated that gun restrictions do not have anything to with when and where they are used, and on whom.

It seems every day now another shooting is occurring if not at a school, but a business environment. Basically, the mentally violent deranged animals are out of their cages and people have become their targets making them the shooting victims.

Parents and others want their children protected when in a school environment. However, this is the ‘band aid’ effect, where placing the ‘band aid’ on the problem will never stop the problem. Politicians want Americans to believe that if they restrict the type of guns which individuals have the right to own under the Second Amendment, there will be a change in people’s behavior.

Restrictions on what types of guns can own may be a method to stop the madness. Unfortunately, this does not address the major issues which are as follows:

1.      How does the government stop individuals who have criminal records from obtaining a gun?

2.      How does the government stop individuals who have no criminal records from obtaining a gun and shooting people?

3.      How does the government monitor and control the mentally violent deranged individuals who are become obsessed with their guns and accessories and want to and do murder people?

4.      How does the government say no to individuals who may be mentally violent deranged individuals who are legally capable of obtaining a gun, but the seller believes the sell is a bad idea?

5.      How does the government make people who are in possession of illegal guns to register such guns?

The above questions are just the beginning of asking those who are gun owner’s questions which the government somehow in their wisdom may be capable of obtaining the information and then having all of those who have the illegal guns register them. The fear that the government wants everything they have from property to guns to money is something which continues to spew out of the white house which is alarming and a different subject matter.

The government wants people who sell guns to be psychologists. They are not trained to be psychologists nor do they want to be the gun police. If they don’t want to abide by all of the laws then there is a problem. The seller does not have the education, training, or experience to make a decision about who should own a gun or who should not.

The policies which are in place restrict those who have been convicted of specific crimes

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 from purchasing and owning a gun. The seller can have an individual fill out a form and then fax or email the form to those who perform background checks and they either deny or confirm the purchase.

President Obama and Vice-President Biden want the gun lawsto be about the protection of children. If this ideology is the road President Obama wants to travel it will become immediately obvious that no matter how many gun laws are passed, people will find the guns they want to own. The mentally violent deranged individual who has a monomania problem will kill whomever he has targeted and then he will turn the gun on himself.

There is no way to stop these types of individuals in doing what they have planned and set-out to accomplish. Trying to understand who these individuals is a simple process as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a Behavior Unit which profiles and has profiled these individuals. So what does the FBI profile say about these people; who are they and how can they be stopped? Great question, but no one including the FBI has any way of predicting behavior of a specific individual unless the individual comes under their radar. This is the catch, how does law enforcement identify and apprehend the mentally violent deranged individual before he enters a school and murders innocent children.

The preventive aspect of the awareness of who these murderers are needs to be posted on every telephone from the west coast to the east coast.

Under the new gun laws which are being introduced to restrict the types of guns people may own, therapists now have to report individuals who they are concerned pose a threat. This bill doesn’t go far enough. What the law needs to include is this mentally violent deranged individuals family, relatives, friends, peers, and basically anyone who identifies that something is not right with this individual, especially someone who in a short period of time is obtaining numerous guns, the types of guns, and ammunition which a person could fight a war with, needs to be reported immediately to law enforcement.

The utopia of what President Obama wants to change to, simply will not work. It isn’t the criminals killing students it is law abiding citizens who are killing students. These individuals are the individuals who have the right to purchase any guns and accessories and as many as they want. In fact, the person killing people have a psychology of personalities. These multiple personalities make it difficult for law enforcement to identify them, apprehend them, and etc.

In the movie “The Minority Report” the actor Tom Cruise plays a law enforcement officer and during this futuristic movie law enforcement has created a criminal justice system which identifies a future criminal act. This allows law enforcement to stop the crime from occurring. Everything goes well until Cruise is identified as someone who will commit a crime in the future.

English: The Seal of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. For more information, see here. Español: El escudo del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI). Para obtener más información, vease aquí (Inglés). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, “The Minority Report System” does not exist and to date no one has created such a similar system which would stop people from committing a crime. Therefore, America has to deal with the current system in which there are no fortune tellers of future criminal behavior. Our only asset is the FBI and other professionals in the law enforcement community can profile people, when others are not yelling about being discriminated against or having their rights violated. However, it is reasonable and logical that if a life can be saved then law enforcement must do whatever makes common sensical and doesn’t violate the Constitution.  

Restricting gun control by passing laws which outline which gun an individual can own will not stop the mentally violent disturbed from killing any one. What is needed is education and training to make people aware that the professionals, the experts, and those who understand violence need to begin educating the public in the type of atmosphere which promotes accountability and responsibility of the protection of themselves, children, and others.

No one can protect the future and President Obama’s actions are admirable, but in the end will not be sufficient. If he is going to expend time and money on how to curtail or prevent future shootings, he needs to create a Gun Czar who will begin a nationwide education program which is “effective.” He can establish State Agencies who have individuals who have the authority to establish and hold city meetings where people can come to hear how to protect themselves and their children. Further, a prevention videotape needs to be created to be posted all across the Internet especially YouTube and Google, which does the following:

1.      Establishes just who these mentally violent deranged individuals are. Taking the FBI or any other professional violent expert’s profile which educates people about the psychology of personalities of who they are. Simply, people need to open their eyes, know who the people are who play a role in their lives, and report any odd and illicit behavior. The title of being a “snitch” should be something the community supports and advocates.

2.      Establishes specific training for current or former law enforcement officers or security guards on how to handle one of these mentally violently deranged individuals. This program needs to be put into effect right now. The assumption that because the retired or off-duty law enforcement officer knows how to deal with school violence is a mistake Americans can’t and shouldn’t make. In small towns in America law enforcement agencies do not have the ability or finances to properly, completely, and thoroughly train their officers. The Federal Government which finds itself financially underwater because of the over spending of the past and current administration need to find the money to support these law enforcement and security education and training programs.

3.      Establishes media coverage of who these mentally violent deranged people are. This is not naming names, but teaching Americans what the signs are to look for. Further, that if it is determined at a later time that they knew this individual was demonstrating “concerning” behavior, e.g. collecting guns and ammunition, acting odd or violent then they will be prosecuted to the fullest if they don’t take the necessary steps to contact law enforcement about what they have observed. It is time to make people understand the need to call law enforcement when things just don’t seem right.

4.      Establishes programs which eliminate politicians from using children to attempt to influence others that people possessing specific guns is the problem and the reason there are shootings at schools. The problem is not this simple to understand and to stop. It will take a community of all to change things. It will take all Americans to step forward and do their part. It will take law enforcement much time to educate and train themselves and others that mentally deranged individuals generally behave in a specific way.

5.      Establishes programs which teach individuals how to dial 911 when an individual is beginning to concern them. This does not mean to call law enforcement because someone put garbage in the wrong bin. This exactly means when the actions of others are concerning they need to call the police. Professionals in the community can educate and train people how and when law enforcement needs to be called. The information can become a trickle-down effect where everyone is learning and reporting. Always remember the past mentally violent deranged murderers were known in their community as being “special” something being different or wrong with their family member, a friend, a co-worker, and etc. Someone knew something again was not right with this individual, but nobody reported their behavior to law enforcement.

President Obama should take the time to communicate with Congress that he needs their assistance in building an education, training, media campaign in “Prevention, Recognition, and Reporting Program” of how to identify these mentally violent deranged individuals and how Americans can report their behavior to law enforcement.

This “Prevention, Recognition, and Reporting Program” will allow educated and trained retired and current law enforcement officers in how to investigate any complaint of a possible mentally violent deranged individual acting odd, different, or unusual.

Tomorrow when President Obama’s signs all the Executive Orders reference gun control and restrictions, it will only be a matter of time to demonstrate that this avenue of gun restrictions was the wrong road to take. I pray and hope that he is right and I am wrong. To date too many ch

DC Gun Law Outlawed by Appellate Court (Photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com)

ildren lives have been taken away. There can be no reason or excuse for the taking of an innocent life no matter what their age is.

The answer isn’t politics, the us against them mentality i.e. Democrats versus Republicans. However, it is about protecting everyone, and it all begins with law enforcement being responsible to protect and serve their community by establishing a strong “Prevention, Recognition, and Reporting Program.” It is time to educate and train law enforcement officers in how to recognize mentally violent deranged individuals, how to handle them, how to avert a deadly situation, and how to resolve conflict without the loss of life. The community must partner with their local, county, state, and federal law enforcement officials in finding anyway to communicate that someone they know just might be a danger to himself and others. 

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

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