45+ minutes with a beat up druggie outside my window. I too live in a rural area. The EMS had to sit and wait on the sheriff dept. to arrive.
Do you know the response time for your local law enforcement?
- Thread starter Lost Lake
- Start date
I never have depended on the law for protection of life, but have called in emergencies. I understand they cannot be everywhere all the time. My point is that some of the anti-gun people are expecting us to depend on the police for life-saving protection, and I believe that entire thought is very wrong.
I believe this is why the anti-gun proponents believe the police can save everyone if they just make the phone call... They see the cops, and they see them responding in time on TV, but they can't figure out that it just isn't possible. Kind of like the people who scream and cry after a nature disaster that the government isn't helping them fast enough. They are not self-sufficient and have come to rely on others for basic needs.
In my sleepy town, or the town nearest me, there is always an officer or two in the station who could respond to a call if necessary. But those officers cannot, or will not, cross the town border.
I think if we can get more people thinking about the true abilities of law enforcement, we can begin to make them realize that the only protection anyone is guaranteed is provided by yourself. I'd like the anti-gun crowd that is screaming to eliminate guns from the hands of law abiding honest citizens to consider who will protect them during a blackout, a riot, looting, or any violent crime against them.
God Bless law enforcement and keep them safe, but they aren't gods themselves.... We need to take care of ourselves.
MaximumLawman
Member
We have some genius gadflies in our area who continually bitch that they don't see any cops driving around in their neighborhood. Well....we might have 6 cars covering a city with about 900 miles of roadway, mostly residential. How many passes would you like them to make in an 8-hour shift? A uniform car can sit on a residential street and maybe look at 100 cars in a couple of hours. On ONE street. They can sit up on a main street and see 5,000 in that time. Where is a guy in uniform, in a marked car with lights on it, more likely to run across a criminal that he can arrest and take off the street or add another charge to that will result in a warrant for a stop on another day? And if a person deserves a cop in front of their house for an hour a week just for the sake of being there, doesn't everybody else?
venomballistics
Member
where I come from ... its 45 minutes.
You learn to pull up your boot straps and deal with what needs to be dealt with be it with a gun, hose, chainsaw, tractor, or dynamite till you either solve it yourself or hold it at bay till the cavalry rides in.
Where I am now .. its right around 5 minutes.
I still hold those lessons of the country life as gospel. My first action is almost never a phone call and likely never will be
You learn to pull up your boot straps and deal with what needs to be dealt with be it with a gun, hose, chainsaw, tractor, or dynamite till you either solve it yourself or hold it at bay till the cavalry rides in.
Where I am now .. its right around 5 minutes.
I still hold those lessons of the country life as gospel. My first action is almost never a phone call and likely never will be
COL Jagdog
Member
Response time at my home is within 5 seconds:
this is because I carry a full commission as a reserve police officer for a local town -- couple of seconds to react to the knock at the door or sound of loud truck engine in the cul-de-sac drive at the end of the street we live on, and 2 seconds to deploy my pistol (with extra 17 rd mag), Maglight and good to go.
this is because I carry a full commission as a reserve police officer for a local town -- couple of seconds to react to the knock at the door or sound of loud truck engine in the cul-de-sac drive at the end of the street we live on, and 2 seconds to deploy my pistol (with extra 17 rd mag), Maglight and good to go.
cmort666
Member
It's really moot.
The intruder in my apartment, the holdup man in the parking lot, or the carjacker will always get to me faster than the police. After all, he's already there.
The intruder in my apartment, the holdup man in the parking lot, or the carjacker will always get to me faster than the police. After all, he's already there.
LoboGunLeather
US Veteran
We live in a modest-size city, about a mile from the middle of town, and on a well traveled street.
Three years ago we called 911 to report a possible burglary in progress. First police response arrived in 47 minutes, well after I had cleared the house and had a list of stolen property completed (with serial numbers from files). First officer would not enter the house until her back-up arrived, which took another 15 minutes.
I contacted all of my neighbors for a block around the house to see if anyone had noticed anything going on. Not a single one had been contacted by investigating officers.
As a retired cop I understand that calls must be prioritized, and there are times when responses must be delayed. I might have been more understanding had this occurred during a normally busy time, like a Friday night or holiday weekend, but this was on a weekday morning about 10:30AM.
My experience was allowed to grow over the next few days, as I discovered other items missing and called to leave messages for the investigating officer. After 3 days and 6 telephone messages, with no return calls at all, I gave up.
It seems that residential burglary has become such a common event that our local cops are doing nothing more than completing a basic report and leaving us to repair the damage and deal with the insurance company. I suspect that a real criminal wanting to confess his crimes and face the music would have a difficult time getting an appointment at the new multi-million dollar police station we are now paying for in property taxes.
Three years ago we called 911 to report a possible burglary in progress. First police response arrived in 47 minutes, well after I had cleared the house and had a list of stolen property completed (with serial numbers from files). First officer would not enter the house until her back-up arrived, which took another 15 minutes.
I contacted all of my neighbors for a block around the house to see if anyone had noticed anything going on. Not a single one had been contacted by investigating officers.
As a retired cop I understand that calls must be prioritized, and there are times when responses must be delayed. I might have been more understanding had this occurred during a normally busy time, like a Friday night or holiday weekend, but this was on a weekday morning about 10:30AM.
My experience was allowed to grow over the next few days, as I discovered other items missing and called to leave messages for the investigating officer. After 3 days and 6 telephone messages, with no return calls at all, I gave up.
It seems that residential burglary has become such a common event that our local cops are doing nothing more than completing a basic report and leaving us to repair the damage and deal with the insurance company. I suspect that a real criminal wanting to confess his crimes and face the music would have a difficult time getting an appointment at the new multi-million dollar police station we are now paying for in property taxes.
novalty
Member
I live out in the country as well. The local Fire Department is volunteer and their station is located just shy of 5 miles from my house, so I'd estimate response time to be about 20 to 25 minutes. Our Rescue Department services multiple towns, but is located in my town, and I'd estimate that response time to be slightly better than the Fire Department around 15 minutes approximate given they are in the area. That leaves Police, and we have no local Police Department, and with State cuts we get a County Department, whose headquarters are located 25 minutes from my house and they patrol a huge area. If we were lucky and they were in my area, they could respond as soon as 5 minutes, if they are not in the area, who knows how long it could take, especially with bad roads in winter time. Needless to say I'll be relying more on the Castle Doctrine, than the Police Department if something goes bump in the night.
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Tomkat
Member
It's interesting. I see one individual "seemed" to take offense to the contents of this thread. I think it is important to note that, in a life threatening situation, any amount of response time is too much time. That is the only point, in my opinion, when it comes to self defense. That is not a negative reflection on law enforcement. If all LEOs lived in an environment where response times were down to three minutes, it would still be too slow if the lives of myself and my family were on the line. Once again, that has nothing to do with any deficiencies in our LEOs.
This is the original point of the thread, and one that I think can be helpful when an anti-gunner asks why we need to have guns to protect ourselves.
Criminals are everywhere, and the smarter ones are moving into areas where the police are not. Crooks know how long it takes to get a cop here. Without an effective method of protecting my home and family, what's to stop a couple hoodlums from steamrolling right through the front door?
I love my Lab and security systems are great, but two crooks with baseball bats could smash in the back patio door and ransack the house in minutes. Heaven forbid my teenage girls are home alone and WITHOUT a gun.
We are protected here by our own firearms because we know that even with the greatest intentions and superhuman effort, law enforcement CAN'T help us every second we need it.
cmort666
Member
Thousands if not literally millions of people do. Certainly a lot of my slower witted relatives in Chicago do.
It's naivete exploited by anti-gun politicians and police officials.
Police protection of individuals is a lie. But it's a very convenient lie if you're trying to talk people out of being able to defend themselves.
Rahm Emmanuel and his police superintendent won't hesitate to convince the gullible that they don't need a gun because the police will "protect" them. And the neat thing is, if they don't, the victims have utterly no recourse at all.
), where I live a couple minutes more than that.
Half the time I'm in MEXICO. ... If a crime is committed, chances are good the police are already there
If it's an actual emergency and not some doofus dialing 911 for a dog barking, my people would be there before it was in the oven.
The largest city in our part of the state? not so much.
luangtom
US Veteran
EMS is 3 to 5 minutes away, speaking from personal experience. LE is 5 to 15 minutes away. One must be prepared to deal with whatever themselves or their families can do.
My left leaning sister who doesn't believe guns should be carried by anyone but law enforcement, just wrote to me saying this after I told her she'd wish she had a gun when a 300lb drugged up thug breaks in her home looking for money or trouble:
"Druggies (except for pot heads) are skinny not 300 lbs. They are not incredibly muscular or in shape either. They don't eat much or exercise – health is not much of a concern. And no one kills for pot. You shoulda thought of a better "scary guy" for your scenario. A 300 lb drug laced convict?? Cash in a house? Why not just rob someone on the street if all you're gonna get is pocket change? Quick fix? Like how much cash does a person have at home daily???? Really??? You shoulda said a flesh eating Zombie! Those are cool these days!!!! And more realistic."
This is how anti-gunners blow it off.... This is today! This is after I sent her a story how a guy broke into a home not far from where she lives and tried to mace a woman, but the woman shot at him and scared him off!
I'm trying to figure out how anti-gun folks think and it doesn't make sense to me.
snowman
Member
My left leaning sister who doesn't believe guns should be carried by anyone but law enforcement, just wrote to me saying this after I told her she'd wish she had a gun when a 300lb drugged up thug breaks in her home looking for money or trouble:
"Druggies (except for pot heads) are skinny not 300 lbs. They are not incredibly muscular or in shape either. They don't eat much or exercise – health is not much of a concern. And no one kills for pot. You shoulda thought of a better "scary guy" for your scenario. A 300 lb drug laced convict?? Cash in a house? Why not just rob someone on the street if all you're gonna get is pocket change? Quick fix? Like how much cash does a person have at home daily???? Really??? You shoulda said a flesh eating Zombie! Those are cool these days!!!! And more realistic."
This is how anti-gunners blow it off.... This is today! This is after I sent her a story how a guy broke into a home not far from where she lives and tried to mace a woman, but the woman shot at him and scared him off!
I'm trying to figure out how anti-gun folks think and it doesn't make sense to me.
Sir,
I would say that that response is from someone who has no interest in thinking through the issue or considering another viewpoint. All she has done is look for trivial weaknesses in your argument which have little to do with the real issue. That is a typical tactic from such a person as mentioned above. Anything to denigrate their opponent, no matter how frivolous.
Debating the matter with such people is generally an exercise in futility. The people we have to convince are those who have no strong feelings either way.
Best wishes in your efforts,
Andy
When I was a city police officer in a town of about 50,000, on a good day we ran six cars per shift. The evening shift would go to work about four calls behind.
But to answer the original question. The directions to my house are 'go east on highway so and so to mile marker such and such, go another 3 tenths of a mile and turn north on the dirt road. I'm at the end of that road'. The Sheriff's Office runs four cars on midnight shift, but the county is the size of Connecticut.
I sleep good at night. Someone would have to know there's a house at the end of that BLM road. If they do my dog will wake me up, and then I'll take it from there.
If the house caught fire though, I'd be screwed.
But to answer the original question. The directions to my house are 'go east on highway so and so to mile marker such and such, go another 3 tenths of a mile and turn north on the dirt road. I'm at the end of that road'. The Sheriff's Office runs four cars on midnight shift, but the county is the size of Connecticut.
I sleep good at night. Someone would have to know there's a house at the end of that BLM road. If they do my dog will wake me up, and then I'll take it from there.
If the house caught fire though, I'd be screwed.
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