Civilian armed patrols may start up again in New Haven...

[SteveM]

The "Sounds of summer" have resumed in a New Haven neighborhood, and a citizens group may resume armed bicycle patrols in an area known for regular violence and inadequate police patrol. Funny things happen in the town once known for the Winchester factory (and Yale).

http://www.wtnh.com/global/story.asp?s=8228741

Another story on same subject:

http://newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/04/edgewood_patrol_3.php

[jeepnstein]

1. No problem with it.

If the lawful citizens of a neighborhood want to start a neighborhood crime watch, then good for them. As long as they aren't violating any laws, then it's a good thing. Citizens taking ownership of the crime problem in their own neighborhoods is a good thing, unless you're a criminal.

[AndyTiedye]

2. All Well and Good Until One of the Civilian Patrolers Shoots Someone

Do these "civilian patrols" have any kind of training?

[AtheistCrusader]

3. I would guess so.

At the very least, I hope they have reviewed local laws.

Here in Washington State we could do this, you can brandish a firearm if you witness someone in the commission of a felony, and you can shoot if a 'reasonable' person would believe someone was about to commit serious or grievous harm to another person (or themselves). Though a grand jury might not appreciate you going out and 'patrolling' or essentially 'looking' for problems. Might be sticky here, I wouldn't recommend it. Each State will have differing laws on this, and for states that do not have pre-emption over local laws, it could vary right down to the city.

Seems like a better method would be to sack the police chief and anyone else that might be hindering the police department, and allocate more money to it to hire and train more officers.

Edit: also, another good reason this might not be a fantastic idea, if you miss or over-penetrate and hit someone else, or their property, you could be held liable.

[SteveM]

4. As per MSM, there is no word on training/certification...

If the patrol consists of folks with concealed carry permits, then they would have the training which Connecticut requires. I don't know what Connecticut law says about open carry.

[Indy Lurker]

5. I don't see anything groundbreaking here

Whether it's an individual with a concealed carry permit walking home from the gym, or a group of 10 from the "Edgewood Park Defense Patrol" out on patrol, the rules are the same.

They apparently are not peace officers, and would be limited in their use of deadly force, (or any use of force) to the same degree as any other citizen of the state.

[jody]

6. Given the ubiquitous cell-phone and its GPS capability, why don’t cities use an emergency alert

system to notify everyone within the vicinity when a call comes in to 911 that a crime has been reported.

The approximate location of the crime is known and it should be a trivial task for a 911 operator to click on one icon and send a crime alert to all phones in a designated area,

Something like Ojai CA has is in operation at several locations in the U.S.
Emergency Alert System Comes to Ojai

The City of Ojai is excited about having joined the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Office of Emergency Services (OES) REVERSE 911 Emergency Notification System, which allows police, fire department, and other authorities to quickly alert you about known hazards in the community. Whenever there is a threat to public health or safety of residents, the system can deliver alerts like: evacuation notices, hazardous materials releases, community policing activities (AMBER alerts, endangered missing adults, prisoner escapes, high incidence of criminal activity, etc.), and water treatment alerts. The system will not be used to deliver political announcements, provide information on community events, or notify residents of road closures (unless it will affect residents during an evacuation).

It would be nice if Obama and McCain would promise to fund 100% of the cost of such a system under the Department of Homeland Security and that cost of fighting homegrown terrorists in our inner cities should be a pittance of the cost of fighting terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.