Low Arrest Numbers

Here's the thing that bugs us most about the "low arrest numbers" memo being circulated around:

• According to everything that HQ is releasing to the media, crime is down;
• Homicides are down;
• Burglaries, Robberies, even Thefts are down;
• Gun Seizures are up (but over 200 of those "seized" were a gun collection owned by a cop who died...shhhhh);
• Aggravated Batteries are up, but no one is talking about those, so they don't exist;

But since overall crime is down, shouldn't arrests be down, too? We locked up all the really bad guys, so there are less of them around doing bad things, right? It would seem to follow.

So carrying this memo to it's logical conclusion, we should be locking up people based on what? Do we really want to go that route?

There have been a whole series of comments we've deleted that run along the same lines:

• stop whining
• do your jobs
• you are all crybaby bitches

We regularly delete crap that paints everyone with a broad brush, and it doesn't really contribute to the discussion, so no great loss. But we challenge any one of those commenting along those lines to show us exactly where in the General Orders, Directives, Policies or Procedures that you are required to make an arrest in the course of your daily duties.

It says "Serve and Protect." Not "Serve, Protect and Railroad Someone for a Numbers Game." No matter if they deserve it and certainly not under these conditions.