Broken Trust Leads To Misinformation
by darcyism
I live in a small town in rural Idaho. I am in my early thirties and I see the effects of broken trust by law enforcement in the lives of my generation every day. Whenever a crime occurs, everyone in town knows what happened, EXCEPT the police.
Our town is small. All of the 30 something’s can quite truthfully state that they feel as if they have a thousand roommates. We all work our problems out and our personality conflicts because everyone we are mad at is a friend of at least one friend of ours. It is in the best interest of community that we learn to let things go and agree not to escalate our problems, gossip, or expect others to take sides.
Law enforcement and the courts, however, have a history of blowing problems out of proportion, drawing lines in the sand, and abusing authority. Over 20 young adults who lived within walking distance from the bar were sentenced to at least 2 years probation when they chose to walk home rather than drive, 4 people were ticketed for trespassing on a public road, and everyone driving at night was automatically pulled over and searched.
A deputy shot a neighborhood dog in its own yard 3 times in front of a school bus full of children due to a phone complaint. The dog lived. Another young woman was being harassed by an ex-boyfriend. She had a friend call and pretend to be the dispatcher asking him not to call again because she knew the sheriff’s office would not help. In January 2008, the community of young people came together and approached the local political party about replacing the Sheriff. They succeeded, and most of the youth know and respect our new Sheriff, but their trust has not been restored.
When a crime happens now, everyone takes the hands off approach. Talking to the police remains more excruciating than having your wisdom teeth out. No wants to become involved with representatives of a system that in past broke trust with the citizens it was meant to protect.
Until trust can be restored, the ability of authorities to "protect and serve" will remain diminished, and our community continues to pay a high price for the indiscretions of the previous administration.
Our town is small. All of the 30 something’s can quite truthfully state that they feel as if they have a thousand roommates. We all work our problems out and our personality conflicts because everyone we are mad at is a friend of at least one friend of ours. It is in the best interest of community that we learn to let things go and agree not to escalate our problems, gossip, or expect others to take sides.
Law enforcement and the courts, however, have a history of blowing problems out of proportion, drawing lines in the sand, and abusing authority. Over 20 young adults who lived within walking distance from the bar were sentenced to at least 2 years probation when they chose to walk home rather than drive, 4 people were ticketed for trespassing on a public road, and everyone driving at night was automatically pulled over and searched.
A deputy shot a neighborhood dog in its own yard 3 times in front of a school bus full of children due to a phone complaint. The dog lived. Another young woman was being harassed by an ex-boyfriend. She had a friend call and pretend to be the dispatcher asking him not to call again because she knew the sheriff’s office would not help. In January 2008, the community of young people came together and approached the local political party about replacing the Sheriff. They succeeded, and most of the youth know and respect our new Sheriff, but their trust has not been restored.
When a crime happens now, everyone takes the hands off approach. Talking to the police remains more excruciating than having your wisdom teeth out. No wants to become involved with representatives of a system that in past broke trust with the citizens it was meant to protect.
Until trust can be restored, the ability of authorities to "protect and serve" will remain diminished, and our community continues to pay a high price for the indiscretions of the previous administration.
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