Monday, May 7, 2012

You're gonna get fleas...

My Grandfather used to tell me, "Boy, when you lie down with the dogs, you wake up with the fleas."   That was his kind way of telling me to stay out of trouble.  

When people today associate with bad folks, or do bad things, or make bad descisions,  they shouldn't be surprised when bad things happen to them.  It's not that anyone deserves bad things happening, but the chances for bad things to happen are increased greatly when we hang around a drug dealer, or party late at night with a man known to steal things, or ride in a car with somebody who is drinking.   We shouldn't be surprised.

And, nobody deserves to a victim, but as Clint Eastwood's character, William Munny, says in the climax of the movie, Unforgiven,  "Deserve's Got Nothing to Do With It."

Part of Community Policing is getting the community involved in policing itself, and reducing at-risk behaviors can go a long way toward reducing the opportunities for crime and victimization.  

As police officers work to pick up the pieces of undeserved trauma,  it is imperative that victims who have contributed to their own troubles through at-risk behaviors, recognize the role they play and cooperate fully with the investigation, even when it means accepting responsibility for behaviors that might be embarrasing, and in some cases, even against the law.      

The hope is always there that these victims will not make the same mistakes again that lead them to be victimized in the first place. 

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