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Dec. 8th, 2007
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And then I wrote a Letter to the Editor...
Dec. 8th, 2007 10:29 pmRegarding http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/print.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=453
The people of the south are justly famed as helpful and hospitable, but it seems to me that for the Conyers Police to so boldly mark those cars containing valuables is perhaps a bit too much of a good thing. Everyone understands that thieves need to put presents under their trees just as honest people do, and certainly tagging the 'easy pickings' with a bright yellow placard can only make it quicker for the neighborhood crook to amass a grand haul. Yet I wonder... by simply handing them opportunities, as it were, don't we risk robbing them of that feeling of accomplishment that comes of having done a dishonest day's work? By outsourcing the 'casing of the joint' (or car) to the police, we reduce stealing to a task of rote repitition, removing any opportunity to demonstrate skill or art in the finding of promising targets. True, the yellow cards make stealing faster and more efficient, but at what cost to the criminals' self-esteem?
I call upon the Conyers PD to re-evaluate their program. While obviously well-intended, I fear that the consequences may not be entirely as desired.
The people of the south are justly famed as helpful and hospitable, but it seems to me that for the Conyers Police to so boldly mark those cars containing valuables is perhaps a bit too much of a good thing. Everyone understands that thieves need to put presents under their trees just as honest people do, and certainly tagging the 'easy pickings' with a bright yellow placard can only make it quicker for the neighborhood crook to amass a grand haul. Yet I wonder... by simply handing them opportunities, as it were, don't we risk robbing them of that feeling of accomplishment that comes of having done a dishonest day's work? By outsourcing the 'casing of the joint' (or car) to the police, we reduce stealing to a task of rote repitition, removing any opportunity to demonstrate skill or art in the finding of promising targets. True, the yellow cards make stealing faster and more efficient, but at what cost to the criminals' self-esteem?
I call upon the Conyers PD to re-evaluate their program. While obviously well-intended, I fear that the consequences may not be entirely as desired.
