Independent UK: War zone security has arrived in the US

[marmar]

Law and order: Curfew America

War zone security has arrived in the US as cities are shut down at night by police struggling to control a deadly wave of gun crime. David Usborne reports from Hartford, Connecticut

Wednesday, 20 August 2008




The police state has not arrived quite yet but it may feel like it to the residents of some American cities, where a handful of embattled mayors and police chiefs are imposing strict and sometimes sweeping curfews as a last resort to quell new waves of gun violence this summer.

"We must do this because we cannot and will not tolerate innocent people, especially children, to be victims," insists Eddie Perez, the Mayor of Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, where a night-time curfew was introduced last week and will remain in effect for a month for those under 18 years old.

Nor are there any apologies from the authorities in Helena-West Helena on the banks of the Mississippi in Arkansas, small pockets of which are under a24-hour curfew that all ages must respect. Police are enforcing it, moreover, with night-vision goggles and M16 military rifles.

In Hartford, the centre of America's insurance industry, the approach is not quite as militaristic. Children found on the streets between 9pm and 5am are approached and escorted by officers to their homes. Most nights since the curfew came into effect last Thursday have seen only a dozen or so picked up.

But there was nothing softly-softly about the violence that prompted Hartford to take such action. Two weekends ago, 11 people were shot in three different attacks, the worst at the annual West Indian Parade in the city's North End, which left one man dead and two children hurt. A toddler in a pushchair was grazed by bullet on her leg. A seven-year-old boy remains in hospital with serious head wounds. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/law-and-order-curfew-america-902909.html

[benEzra]

1. You'd never know it from the hysteria, but

U.S. gun violence is still near record lows, despite our economic downturn and other troubles.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-09-police-deaths_N.htm

Police deaths plummet in first half of '08

WASHINGTON — Police officer deaths plunged to their lowest midyear total in 43 years after an unusually deadly year for law enforcement officers, says a report released today by a national police advocacy group. The review reflects declines in all major categories of officer fatalities, including traffic accidents and shootings, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found.

Overall deaths declined from 100 to 59 in the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period this year. The number of overall deaths is the lowest since 1965, when 55 officers were killed.

Midyear shooting deaths fell from 38 in 2007 to 21 this year, the lowest number since 1960, when 18 officers were killed by gunfire.

I think, particularly for UK news outlets but also for segments of the U.S. MSM, that "Gunz!" is used much the same as "Terrah!", as an excuse for fear-based authoritarian policies that would otherwise be roundly condemned.