Georgia fires all of its police: crime plummets

[Moose242]

Georgia (the Country) Fires All Its Cops


The Plan:

There is nothing worse than a corrupt police officer -- just look at the comment section under any taser video on YouTube. Unfortunately for the citizens of the country of Georgia, that was pretty much the only flavor their traffic cops came in. In 2004, things had gotten so bad that the newly elected President Mikheil Saakashvili made it his mission to stop the police from harassing his people.

Saakashvili didn't mess around, either. He fired all the heads of law enforcement and threatened that any traffic cop caught harassing civilians, taking bribes or generally behaving all uppity would be fired or arrested. The police force scoffed at the attempts of this puny "president" person and behaved exactly like they always had, confident that Saakashvili wouldn't touch them. So, the very next day after this announcement, when a whopping 15,000 cops were caught taking bribes, Saakashvili fired every single one of them.

Then, a couple of weeks later, another 15,000 police officers were caught participating in shenanigans. So he fired them, too. With 30,000 corrupt officers freshly in the unemployment line, Saakashvili had finally succeeded. The police department was finally clean! Huzzah! Only, there was one little problem. There were no traffic cops left

Oh, and the firings took place around the holidays, when drinking and driving tends to be an even worse problem than during the rest of the year. It had the makings of Worst Idea Ever.

How It Worked:

The whole country of Georgia promptly fell into a drunken reenactment of Mad Max that is still going on today. Ha, just kidding! Instead of indulging in a nationwide game of bumper cars, everything went just fine -- in fact, even better than normal. And we don't mean that the citizens held themselves together for a couple of days until new cops could be hired. They were without police for three freaking months. And it was fine.


Saakashvili's administration quickly realized this was because it had been the cops causing most of the trouble all along. A remnant from the Soviet era, they'd treated the roads as their personal piggy bank, administering their very own brand of expensive justice at will and causing mob-style chaos as they did. When they were taken out of the equation, not even a hint of disorder was left because they had been the disorder.

It took three whole months to find enough reliable replacements, but with some help from the United States in recruiting and training the new police force, Georgia got back to normal.



Read more: 5 Terrible Ideas That Solved Huge Global Problems | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_19489...#ixzz1eFn9jWOw



I though this was pretty damn funny.

[talisman]

That's hilarious.

[racrguy]

But we need cops! Zomgzorz!!!11!!1!1!1

[Sean88gt]

Can't imagine the near 800,000 firings in the US, but there is absolutely a reduction needed. Texas has over 10% of the entire US Police force. One thing I have been amazed at in Colorado is the low numbers of police, lack of patrol and so on. You just don't see many cops here.

[Moose242]

Can't imagine the near 800,000 firings in the US, but there is absolutely a reduction needed. Texas has over 10% of the entire US Police force. One thing I have been amazed at in Colorado is the low numbers of police, lack of patrol and so on. You just don't see many cops here.

Indeed. I have been to almost every US state, and you don't even see a third as many speed traps elsewhere as you do here in Texas.

It would be difficult to argue that we as a nation could do without a police force for very long, but I do feel that we would be fine with no traffic cops for a while (3 months like the article stated). Take Germany as an example. On the autobahn where there are no speed limits, most people don't drive much faster than we do.

[ceyko]

Yup, there are state/toll roads in PA - hundreds of miles are covered by 2 state troopers.

I'd imagine it sucks if you're waiting for them to show up for something, but otherwise people just cruise along. Granted, you have the usual problems but I swear it's BETTER than here. Mainly because people are not slamming on their brakes all the time when seeing a cop.

Of course, population density is massive here compared to there.

[Forever_frost]

(June 24) -- A Southern California city caught in a budget squeeze has fired its entire workforce, including police. But don't get any ideas when you walk into a bank there.

The city council in Maywood voted to outsource the municipality's jobs, so there will be police protection.

"We will become 100 percent a contracted city," Angela Spaccia, Maywood's interim city manager, told the Los Angeles Times. By the looks of it, Spaccia may not hold the position for very long.

Beginning July 1, the East Los Angeles sheriff's station will provide patrols for the city of 29,000 residents, and the city of Bell, next door, will provide other services, like parks and recreation.

Maywood will save about $164,375 from outsourcing all of its services, officials told the newspaper.

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/06/24/california-city-fires-all-workers-including-police/

This is how it should be. No pensions, no legacy costs just service. And if they fuck up, you get new contractors.

[onemeangixxer7502]

Indeed. I have been to almost every US state, and you don't even see a third as many speed traps elsewhere as you do here in Texas.

It would be difficult to argue that we as a nation could do without a police force for very long, but I do feel that we would be fine with no traffic cops for a while (3 months like the article stated). Take Germany as an example. On the autobahn where there are no speed limits, most people don't drive much faster than we do.

We couldn't sustain that, our crime rates are out of control, I believe that to be due to the fact our punishments aren't shit. Its a simple slap on the wrist compared to other places in the world. It's I'd say fairly skewed to compare the US with the autobahn due to the fact there isn't half the retards on the roads in germany and others due to the fact their licensing is pretty pricey.

[Moose242]

We couldn't sustain that, our crime rates are out of control, I believe that to be due to the fact our punishments aren't shit. Its a simple slap on the wrist compared to other places in the world. It's I'd say fairly skewed to compare the US with the autobahn due to the fact there isn't half the retards on the roads in germany and others due to the fact their licensing is pretty pricey.

I agree. I wish our licensing was as costly and as tedious as it is in other countries. We also have too many beaters on the road here, and you see almost none elsewhere.

[onemeangixxer7502]

Indeed. I have been to almost every US state, and you don't even see a third as many speed traps elsewhere as you do here in Texas.

It would be difficult to argue that we as a nation could do without a police force for very long, but I do feel that we would be fine with no traffic cops for a while (3 months like the article stated). Take Germany as an example. On the autobahn where there are no speed limits, most people don't drive much faster than we do.

I agree. I wish our licensing was as costly and as tedious as it is in other countries. We also have too many beaters on the road here, and you see almost none elsewhere.

Yah driving should be a privilege not a right. Just like anything else going on now this whole entitlement thing is getting out of control.

[Forever_frost]

In New Zealand almost no one has a license and pretty much everyone drives. It's crazy. No required insurance, cops really don't do traffic stops, parents teach their kids to drive (or not) and hand them the keys.

I've not seen worse driving since Korea.

[BajaBob]

Yup, there are state/toll roads in PA - hundreds of miles are covered by 2 state troopers.

I'd imagine it sucks if you're waiting for them to show up for something, but otherwise people just cruise along. Granted, you have the usual problems but I swear it's BETTER than here. Mainly because people are not slamming on their brakes all the time when seeing a cop.

Of course, population density is massive here compared to there.

Having lived in PA and TX for years I say that the two cannot be compared in the least.

In the northeast, trains and bus systems are a major factor of local and long distance commute. Heck, some of PA's largest roadways rival only that of access roads in Texas. By the way, access roads do not exist in the northeast... Highways are often two lanes ...you'd be an idiot to speed.

No one does roads like Texas.

Maintenance, lane count, materials, bridges, and experimental features make Texas roads one of our largest assets, unlike that of any other state. There is a reason why they are heavily policed, easy money. If you want to speed and get caught, go right ahead. Your money is what helps make them even better.

[jewozzy]

(June 24) -- A Southern California city caught in a budget squeeze has fired its entire workforce, including police. But don't get any ideas when you walk into a bank there.

The city council in Maywood voted to outsource the municipality's jobs, so there will be police protection.

"We will become 100 percent a contracted city," Angela Spaccia, Maywood's interim city manager, told the Los Angeles Times. By the looks of it, Spaccia may not hold the position for very long.

Beginning July 1, the East Los Angeles sheriff's station will provide patrols for the city of 29,000 residents, and the city of Bell, next door, will provide other services, like parks and recreation.

Maywood will save about $164,375 from outsourcing all of its services, officials told the newspaper.

http://www.aolnews.com/2010/06/24/california-city-fires-all-workers-including-police/

This is how it should be. No pensions, no legacy costs just service. And if they fuck up, you get new contractors.

you realize they are robbing peter and paying paul right? the sheriffs deputies are receiving the exact same benefits that the police officers of that city were previously receiving. the only difference is the sheriffs department is much larger and able to do it more efficiently making it cheaper. take sunnyvale in dallas co for example (the sheriffs department is their law enforcement agency due to contract.)

[AdRock]

Having lived in PA and TX for years I say that the two cannot be compared in the least.

In the northeast, trains and bus systems are a major factor of local and long distance commute. Heck, some of PA's largest roadways rival only that of access roads in Texas. By the way, access roads do not exist in the northeast... Highways are often two lanes ...you'd be an idiot to speed.

No one does roads like Texas.

Maintenance, lane count, materials, bridges, and experimental features make Texas roads one of our largest assets, unlike that of any other state. There is a reason why they are heavily policed, easy money. If you want to speed and get caught, go right ahead. Your money is what helps make them even better.

After venturing outside Texas to other states over the years I realized just how good the roads are here. Louisiana was the worst I've ever seen.

[Couver]

After venturing outside Texas to other states over the years I realized just how good the roads are here. Louisiana was the worst I've ever seen.

I don't know, Alabama right around Birngingham is bad. I swear it had drive trough potholes.