Sick of Your Local Police Force? Crowdfund Your Own 330
Nerval's Lobster writes "A subset of Oakland, California residents have decided to crowd-fund a set of private security patrols, via a trio of campaigns on a crowdfunding Website named Crowdtilt. The three patrols, if adequately funded, will cover Lower Rockridge North/West, Lower Rockridge South/West, and Lower Rockridge 'including part of the Uplands.' Each campaign has a different (Facebook verified, apparently) sponsor, and wants between $20,000 and $25,000 to make the dream of private patrols a reality. Unlike Kickstarter, the Crowdtilt campaigns don't feature fabulous prizes for contributing; gifting $100, for example, won't entitle you to 'One (1) free "accidental" shooting of your choice.' That aside, dozens of residents have contributed cash to the loosely allied projects. 'What occurred last week at the Casual Carpool has ignited our neighborhood to act,' reads one of the campaign descriptions, referring to the broad-daylight stickup of commuters waiting in a carpool line on Oakland's Hudson Street. 'While the city and the police are doing what they can, we feel it's time for us as a community to begin exploring a wide range of ideas and taking some action on our own.' All three crowdfunding pages want to hire VMA Security Group for a four-month trial period through February 2014, possibly followed by a continuing contract if everything works out. That security company already patrols the Rockridge commercial district during the holiday season, and protects a number of Oakland businesses and households. While the VMA Security Group's officers are certified to carry firearms, one of the crowdfunding pages plans to ask any of them assigned to the neighborhood to remain unarmed 'unless they feel they cannot accomplish their duties otherwise.' Upscale neighborhoods pay for private security all the time, of course. The question is whether crowdfunding — better known for financing things such as games and indie movies, at this point — could catch on as a way of funding residential projects."
Rent-a-Cop (Score:1, Insightful)
HOAs spunk loads of money on them, and they're effectively useless with no powers and don't get involved with anything remotely law related. All they do is call the real police, the ones that we are already paying for with our property taxes.
I believe that . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
this is how police forces were initially created in this country anyway.
Isn't there already something like this-Taxes (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Isn't there already something like this-Taxes (Score:2, Insightful)
What is this world coming to when people resort to a website called "Crowdtilt" as a replacement for government?
Civilization.
Re:Rent-a-Cop (Score:5, Insightful)
Hanging around neighborhoods deterring bad guys is boring, doesn't make good numbers on the conviction rate and brings in no cash. Far better to wait at the bottom of the hill near that partially obscured speed limit sign with a radar gun.
Re:Exactly! It's also an escape from taxes. (Score:5, Insightful)
Think about it, vote down as many levies as you like for the city as a whole, doesn't matter one bit so long as you and your neighbors have armed thugs patrolling your neighborhood.
What's the difference between an armed neighborhood watchman, and an armed police officer? Beside the tin star and $30K/yr salary, anyway.
The answer, sadly, is that the armed watchman can and will be held accountable for his actions, whereas the police officer can murder your neighbor in cold blood, get two weeks paid vacation, then be found to be free from wrongdoing and back out on the streets, still armed.
Given the options, I'll take the armed neighbor any day of the week.
Re:Changing culture (Score:5, Insightful)
What's the point of this? The local culture isn't going to be changed, and your going to have the same culture clash with the new police department as the old. Cops enforce the law? Residents get pissed about getting arrested. Cops don't enforce the law? Residents get pissed about crime.
For one thing, they'll presumably be enforcing the laws they're paid to enforce, and not the laws local people don't care about. So more likely to be patrolling to discourage burglars and muggers than sitting at the side of the road with a donut and a radar gun.
Exactly how government gets formed (Score:5, Insightful)
What you are seeing here is the birth of a government. First it's law enforcement, paid for by voluntary contributions. Then maybe some additional services - upgraded fire or rescue. Then it gets big enough that someone has to start working full time to manage it. If everyone decides (as often happens) that the people organizing this shouldn't be profiting, they all agree to take turns. Of course, this becomes cumbersome and they really find they need more continuity so the community chooses 3-4 people who will manage it, and they change those people every couple of years to each person doesn't get burned out. Then after a couple years the revenue starts flagging, and they realize that they're going to have to reimburse the organizers, and have to find a way to make sure everyone is contributing. So they form a local organization which includes everyone getting services and they agree on a way to split the costs equitably so everyone gets a bill. Most places choose the split by land area or value. Soon enough they realize that with everybody paying, they can get better garbage service, and maybe even reform the schools if everyone kicks in a little more.
And then one street decides that they aren't really getting enough service, so they take up a collection for a private security firm to supplement the (now official) police...
Going Old School (Score:5, Insightful)
This is how policing and fire fighting started to begin with. Neighbors would band together and volunteer to patrol the streets to prevent crime. Some rural areas still use an emergency siren to summon the area's volunteer fire fighting force; first one to the station drives the truck.
At some point we decided we wanted a dedicated force so we banded together and started paying the police and fire fighters as professionals. But they were still our neighbors and friends and part of the community.
When our communities became too large for everyone to know one another and our local management organization, the government, became too large to care we ended up in the situation we have today of us and them. There are people who really believe the government "gives" us protection in the form of police officers and fire fighters. Those who believe this forget that we banded together to create those institutions to serve us and save us the trouble of having to volunteer ourselves.
Once the government became a foundational institution we just assumed that "they" had the responsibility to protect "us", we accepted that unions were formed to negotiate with "us" and we assume that we're prohibited from protecting ourselves.
The professionalization of the police and fire fighting organizations are what allowed huge parts of the population to justify their abdication of personal responsibility.
I can't argue against that professionalization because of the efficiencies it should deliver. I can, however, argue that community policing is sorely needed in many parts of this country. Any profession, unionized or not, is going to fight against competition.
We need to remind "them" that we didn't give them a monopoly on protecting us and we certainly didn't abdicate our own right of self protection and preservation.
Re:Isn't government supposed to be doing this? (Score:4, Insightful)
Gov't forces are too busy writing tickets to build revenue.
No ... ask any police officer, they spend about half their day dealing with domestic disputes.
Death and taxes (Score:4, Insightful)
The question is whether crowdfundingâ"better known for financing things such as games and indie movies, at this pointâ"could catch on as a way of funding residential projects.
Beyond a certain size, which is variable, you need taxes instead of voluntary donations. Because some people are just leeches on the system.
Yes, I'm looking at you so-called libertarians, randroids, and anarchists that want all the bennies of living in a civilized society but think that paying for it is bad.
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BMO
Re:unnamed? Won't that be hard? (Score:1, Insightful)
ZImmerman was not paid.
Zimmerman is free and alive.
Martin was an idiot and is dead.
See a pattern yet, dumbass ?
Re:I believe that . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
I can fire a security firm protecting my house. A dozen other home owners can fire the security protecting a private development. Firing the local police force and replacing it is much, much harder than either choice. That's why police forces have so many problems: they get paid pretty much no matter what.
The Haves vs the Have Nots (Score:5, Insightful)