As an LEO and Martial Artist, I believe we need to take responsibility for our own safety.
Yep. Not only that, the police have NO LEGAL DUTY to protect ANY individual, only society as a whole. Here's a paper I wrote on the topic for school you guys might like:
Security on the College Campus
Security on the college campus has always been a concern, but even more so
in light of several violent incidents that have resulted in the injury or deaths of many
students recently. This seems to be a rising trend, and statistics from the FBI seem to
support this. According to the FBI, crime in schools has risen every year from 2000 to
2004, which is the most recent year data available from the FBI.
It seems that nowadays people lack the concept of personal responsibility that was
more common in years past. In years past generations of Americans were known for their
ingenuity, independence, and wide range of knowledge than enabled them to do a lot
more on their own, without needing to have others do it for them. Now it seems that
Americans know less, have a narrower field of knowledge, and are used to having other
people take care of their needs such as car repair, outsourcing their personal food
production, preparation, and cooking, home maintenance, and even their own personal
protection.
We have become a litigatious society, where everyone is looking for someone
else to blame or sue when they become injured, even due to their own negligence or
mis-use of products. We’ve become a society of helpless individuals with no personal
accountability that are looking to be taken care of, instead of being as independent and
self-reliant as possible. The more you look to others to support your way of life, the
greater your odds of struggle when they can’t or won’t provide the items or services you
need.
Most people do not think about being responsible for their own personal safety.
They mistakenly believe it’s the job of the police to protect them from harm, but as
PublicRights.org stated:
Police have no legal duty to respond and prevent crime or protect the victim. There have BEEN OVER 10 various supreme and state court cases the individual has never won. Notably, the Supreme Court STATED about the responsibility of police for the security of your family and loved ones is "You, and only you, are responsible for your security and the security of your family and loved ones. That was the essence of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in the early 1980's when they ruled that the police do not have a duty to protect you as an individual, but to protect society as a whole."
"It is well-settled fact of American law that the police have no legal duty to protect any individual citizen from crime, even if the citizen has received death threats and the police have negligently failed to provide protection."
This creates a safety gap on most college campuses. Police are not required to
protect students, but students aren’t allowed to protect themselves with an equal show of
force by being allowed to carry guns on most campuses if they have a permit to do so.
More laws inhibiting the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves is not the
answer. Criminals by definition are people who do not obey laws, so making more laws
that will only affect the people who choose to obey them will only make it easier for
criminals to carry out their violent plans.
Many recent mass-shootings in schools, malls, and other places happened to be
places that were “gun free zones”. These places were most likely chosen by the killers
because they knew their murderous plans would have a higher chance of coming to
fruition, because they knew there was a low chance of armed resistance, because only
criminals don’t obey the laws.
Some people mistakenly think that allowing students to arm themselves would
cause an increase in violence, but this has not been shown to be true. According to
ConcealedCampus.org:
"Since the fall semester of 2006, state law in Utah has allowed licensed individuals to carry concealed handguns on the campuses of all public colleges. Also, concealed carry has been allowed for several years at both Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) and Blue Ridge Community College (Weyers Cave, VA). This has yet to result in a single act of violence at any of these schools. Numerous studies*, including studies by University of Maryland senior research scientist John Lott, University of Georgia professor David Mustard, engineering statistician William Sturdevant, and various state agencies, show that concealed handgun license holders are five times less likely than non-license holders to be arrested for violent crimes."
I have personally had a permit to carry a handgun in my home state of Indiana for
10 years now, and I have lawfully carried a handgun every day that I’ve resided in my
home state since the age of 18. It is absurd that we are not allowed to carry on a campus,
when we are trusted and legally allowed to carry everywhere else, including banks,
churches, businesses, bars, playgrounds, and other such places. We do not become a
danger to the community by crossing an invisible boundary of a school property. It makes
no sense that in my state you are allowed to drink in a bar while armed, or be in a park
full of children armed, but we’re not trusted to have the means to protect ourselves while
on a school campus.
With the increasing number of school shootings happening, people are beginning
to see that gun free zones do not work, and only enable the killer(s) to more easily carry
out their plans. They are beginning to understand that law-abiding citizens have the right
to protect themselves, and do not become a greater damage to society by crossing an
imaginary border. ConcealedCampus.org listed three quotes from representatives in
Texas, including the governor:
Perry said Texas should consider allowing licensed, law-abiding citizens to carry their authorized weapon anywhere in the state.
"I think a person ought to be able to carry their weapon with them anywhere in this state if they are licensed, and they have gone through the training," Perry said.
"Whether they're in church or whether they're on a college campus or wherever they are," Perry added. "The last time I checked, putting up a sign that says, 'Don't bring your gun in here,' for someone who has ill intent on their mind, they could (not) care less."
"I lobbied against the law in 1993 and 1995 because I thought it would lead to wholesale armed conflict. That hasn't happened. All the horror stories I thought would come to pass didn't happen. No bogeyman. I think it's worked out well, and that says good things about the citizens who have permits. I'm a convert." -- Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, Dallas Morning News, 12/23/97
"I ... [felt] that such legislation present[ed] a clear and present danger to law-abiding citizens by placing more handguns on our streets. Boy was I wrong. Our experience in Harris County, and indeed statewide, has proven my fears absolutely groundless." -- Harris County [Texas] District Attorney John Holmes, Dallas Morning News, 12/23/97
Some people may think that police are better trained then citizens and they would
be safer to be protected by the police, but even the police don’t always use proper
discretion while armed on campus as a recent student of Ball State found out in Muncie
Indiana. An officer responded to a call of a stranger pounding on someone’s door, and
found who turned out to be a drunken student who the officer says charged at him, and
was shot and killed by the officer. The student was later found to be unarmed, and had a
BAC of .34%. The officer claims he only fired when charged, but at issue is the fact that
the student was shot twice in the back and side, and the officer thought it was needed to
shoot a drunk unarmed individual 4 times to negate the threat. I don’t understand how
you can shoot someone in the back if they are charging at you. I think this example shows
poor judgment, and that you can’t always trust the police to always respond appropriately
in a situation. They are not infallible, and should not be trusted to be more responsible
than a licensed citizen concerning concealed carry on a campus.
Several colleges have added cell phone text alerts and/or emails to warn students
of potential shooter situations, and have trained their campus police with shooter tactical
training, as ACU did earlier this year. But, it has now been shown that these text alerts
are not a reliable way of communicating the danger to all the students, as a class recently
found out at NCU. NCU did not show the wisdom of ACU who did their training while
school was out. Instead, NCU sent a text message warning 5 days beforehand to the
students informing them of the hostage shooter drill that would happen in 5 days. Several
people did not get the message, including the assistant professor whose class was taken
“hostage”. He thought the simulation was real, as I’m sure did the students. In this case,
the message was sent 5 days in advance, but was still not received by everyone. This
shows that such a system can not be relied upon to be completely effective at warning
students.
In conclusion, it is unjust for the government to state that you are liable for your
own personal protection, but then deny you the means to do so. They act as though the
police as your protectors, but then deny any legal obligation to offer personal protection
to any individual. In my opinion, the best way to lower the chance of more such
shootings without infringing on the rights of the citizens is to allow guns on college
campuses by those who are licensed, while increasing the punishment for misuse of one
on campus. This would discourage misuse, while increasing the chances of stopping an
armed assault by a criminal by increasing the amount of trained, armed individuals on
campus (at no cost to the school) and lowering the response time to end an incident.
Bibliography
James H. Noonan and Malissa C. Vavra “Federal Bureau of Investigation – School Violence – Analyses and Results” Oct. 2007. 05 Mar. 2008 <http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/schoolviolence/2007/analyses.htm>
PublicRights.org – Police NO RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT Individual SAFETY 05 Mar. 2008 <
http://publicrights.org/Kennesaw/PoliceResponsibility.html>Answers to the Most Common Arguments Against Concealed Carry on College Campuses 05 Mar. 2008 <
http://www.concealedcampus.org/arguments.htm>The Herald Bulletin - Wrongful death trial in BSU student's 2003 shooting to begin today 22 Jan. 2008. 05 Mar. 2008
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http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/archivesearch/local_story_022002107.html>ACUPD hosts national school shooter tactical training 02 Jan. 2008. 05 Mar. 2008.
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http://www.acu.edu/news/2008/080102_ALERRT.html>Mock Gunman Drill Terrifies Students, Faculty at North Carolina University 27 Feb. 2008. 05 Mar. 2008 <
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333069,00.html>