“Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don’t sit in the dark hiding. It’s easy to hide and shout and waste people’s time.” —Billy Connolly
Ben Sarro, morning host of WNTK FM 99.7 related to me an anonymous e-mail he received from a listener. Ben had Jenn Coffey on this morning from the Second Amendment Sisters. From the context of the e-mail…sent anonymously, the discussion likely encompassed self-protection and police response times.
“You both made comments about people who live too far from police coverage and how risky it is for them to be safe when the police are so far away. To me, this felt like fear mongering. How many times does this happen really? Are there documented cases in New Hampshire of people calling the police for protection, and the police arriving to the scene after the crime was committed? I understand the point you two were trying to make, but it felt more like you were selectively choosing a point instead of speaking on an actual documented issue. Now maybe I am wrong, and there are documented cases of this happening.”
Several points can be made. First, How can this be fear-mongering when it is in-fact, a reality? Many Granite State towns have on-call police coverage after hours while other towns still have on on call only police departments. While many small towns have 24-hour coverage, often times that consists of just one officer. Now, do the math…If an officer has to get out of bed, get dressed, get into the car and respond, it is fair to say that he or she will spend 3-5 minutes getting dressed and getting out the door, not including the 30-45 seconds spent on the phone. If we conservatively estimate that the need for services destination is within 6-8 minutes, then we have an approximate response time of 12 minutes.
If an officer has to come from another town (Temple-Greenville Police) it might be 15-20 minutes. A town with no Police department of its own will wait perhaps an hour or more. Second, The cowardly e-mailer asked, “How many times does this happen really? How many times does it have to happen? We have had a couple of serious violent crimes. 2001: Half and Susana Zantop; 2009: Kimberly Cates? The two facts to be gleaned from those cases are their locations…Rural and somewhat remote.
Third, the cowardly e-mailer asks, “Are there documented cases in New Hampshire of people calling the police for protection, and the police arriving to the scene after the crime was committed?” That is an easy question to answer. Yes! The majority of crimes are reported to Police after they occur. Most other of crimes are reported while they are occurring and the assailants have fled when the police arrive. Fictitious cop shows teach us that much…Rare is the occasion where a police response shows while a criminal is still present. Calls to police are a reaction to something that has occurred or is occurring. That should be a hint that the question came from that emotional, visceral “happy little Kool-Aid-drinking place.
Commentary on slow police times are neither a criticism or slap at Police Departments. While cities like Nashua and Manchester have little excuse for slow response times, small towns face many variables that slow them down. That is the reality, not fear-mongering.
The message is simple here…Liberals are wrong about guns and they are naive and unrealistic about self protection. It is the liberals that give us self-preservation doctrines such as going up against a gunman with scissors, or a woman using her fingers to vomit on a would-be sex assault attacker. Guns are in fact, the great equalizer. We all, as citizens bear some modicum of responsibility in being proactive to protect ourselves and our families from deadly criminal threats in our homes. Merely making a call and hoping police arrive before the criminal acts is like buying a lottery ticket to bolster ones’ retirement. Indeed, it is a cliché but the fact is, When secondS count, the Police are minutes away. Let the liberals drink their Kool-Aid and I’ll keep my guns.
H/T Ben Sarro, WNTK 99.7 FM
