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Thief CatchersLarry LaBorde Back in 18th century London the law was generally enforced by individuals arresting criminals and "hauling" them before a magistrate. There was a City Marshall who patrolled the streets by day. Constables who were usually appointed and served for a year held regular jobs and helped arrest criminals on a part time basis as well. In his book, "A Conspiracy of Paper", author David Liss describes a class of men known as "thief catchers". These men were private individuals who apprehended criminals and brought them before the magistrate for profit. The government would pay for their efforts in rounding up these criminals. The victim would also pay a reward for the return of their stolen goods. The law actually required citizens to arrest a criminal if possible or notify the constable and assist him in the arrest if they were witness to a crime. Most men of the day carried a pistol and a "hangar" or both. Most Englishmen of the day felt that the very idea that a policeman could approach a gentleman and arrest him was an outrageous infringement upon the gentleman's liberty. Englishmen felt the new polize force in Paris whereby paid civil servants could detain a man was just another example of the overly oppressive French government's totalitarian rule. Recently in our fair city we made national headlines concerning an armed robbery at a local beauty school. It seems this young man entered the beauty school and robbed all the students of their money and other valuables. As he was leaving the woman instructor tripped the young man causing him to fall and drop his gun. She then "broke off a table leg" and proceeded to beat the young man to a bloody pulp. The students joined in with curling irons and whatever other weapons the resourceful young women could find near at hand. The police finally arrived and rescued the poor young man who was crawling to the door, bleeding and begging for mercy from the women. On the news that night the official police spokesperson said this was a very dangerous act. She went on to say the proper thing to do is to submit to criminals and give them whatever they want. She said that nothing is worth your life and to always submit to the criminal. We should then call the police, give them a good description and let them fill out their report and file their paperwork. In other words she wanted us amateur citizens to leave the arresting of criminals to the professionals. My lovely wife then had to calmly tell me that once again it was not doing any good for me to yell back at the television set. She suggested that perhaps I should call the Chief and advise him to issue table legs to all his officers. In our current society we are plagued by a multitude of laws and rules that require their enforcement by police and other government officials carrying guns. In her wonderful book, "A Citizen's Guide to Civility" Mrs. Judith Martin also known as Miss Manners makes a powerful point about manners and the law. She states, "Resolving problems through law, rather than through etiquette, has its cost in money, time, money, public resources, money, social atmosphere and money. It requires expending the energies of hordes of people, from police to juries, to settle trivial matters. Even then, it exacerbates anger by giving formal attention and dignity to petty differences". In the South we have always been known for our polite manners. Maybe this comes from our past when everyone was armed and it did not pay to be impolite. At any rate, a polite society needs far fewer petty laws to maintain order. Perhaps if we were taught manners and were more polite we would have less need of all these burdensome laws and rules. Richard Mayberry says that business and commerce will only flourish in societies that respect his two laws: 1. Do all you have agreed to do. (contract law) 2. Do not encroach on other persons or their property. The old testament lists the 10 commandments for living a proper life. The new testament lists the one golden rule. Our elected leaders are constantly trying to improve on these laws and rules by adding to them daily. In a truly free society we have a duty to protect the weak and infirm. Hiring others to perform these tasks in our place hardly abdicates us of our duty. The present day police have been hired to help us in our duty but this latest request by them to leave the criminals to the professionals is puzzling. The police can not be everywhere all the time. They CANNOT protect you all the time. Maybe our present day police consider themselves professionals because they are well versed in the multitude of new rules and laws such as where people can and can not smoke or how people must wear their seat belts and child safety seat rules, etc. A true gentleman trying to protect the weak would not dream of violating a person's liberty by hauling them to see a magistrate because they did not buckle their seat belt or because they had two glasses of wine with their meal and then carefully drove home. The professional police would not hesitate to do both. Perhaps what we need are more citizens involved in enforcing the important laws and less policemen involved in enforcing the petty rules. But a bit more care in exercising good manners among the populace would make everyone's job a little easier. Start today and exercise your duty to protect your family and those in need of protection. Learn to properly shoot if you do not know how. Get a concealed weapon permit. Buy a 12 gauge 870 pump shotgun for the house and a Smith and Wesson 38 caliber, 5 shot, hammerless chief revolver to carry. Naturally there are other choices that may suit individuals better but these two are excellent basic weapons that everyone should own. Buy them, learn to use them and practice occasionally. Make sure the women in the house also know how to use them. Also learn some type of hand to hand defense such as boxing or martial arts. You do not have to be an expert, but learn some basics and practice. You may even want to visit your local police station and ask what you can do to help maintain order in your neighborhood. Remember that when societal order breaks down the most precious metal of all is lead. Larry LaBorde 321gold Inc |
