IT'S ALL ABOUT REVENUE

Re: Police too addicted to lure of easy money, by Robyn Blumner.

Robyn Blumner hits the nail on the head with her column highlighting some
of the greed spread throughout the nation's police organizations via use of
the forfeiture of assets system. In truth, it is more of a spoils system.
Unfortunately, Blumner's column touches on only the tip of the iceberg. New
sources of revenue are constantly sought - witness the recent trend of
police writing tickets for failure to use seat belts when no other offense
has been committed. It has nothing to do with saving lives. It's all about
revenue.

Police constantly tweak crime statistics to justify higher budgets and
additional officers. This includes, in many cases, charging a suspect with
every possible offense in the attempt to make him or her look like the
worst type of criminal, when the act might have been very minor in nature.
All of this when crime is at a 30-year low.

At the Probation Department level, in most states, when a felon has served
his time in prison, he is hit with a large bill. The returning former
inmate is placed in debt by the justice system without a job, and little
chance of getting one due to his conviction. If he is unable to pay, he is
threatened with violation of his probation. It is a never-ending scheme.

I hope Blumner will continue to shed light on what is going on in our
justice system. The system can and should be changed, and if her columns
prod enough people to write to their legislators, it will be changed.