The Searchers (Or, The Wake-up Callers)

I live in a somewhat nice and hip neighborhood. It is in that early phase of neighborhood cycles where the poor artists have really put down roots and begun to prosper, setting the stage for the area to be co-opted by the rich. The artists then are priced out forcing subsequent artists to find cheap accommodations elsewhere. For the time being though, they can still afford the rent here, and part of the reason has got to be the question of safety.

I seldom feel unsafe here, but somewhat more often feel uneasy about one thing or another. Suffice it to say that while this is no Ciudad Juarez. crime is not unknown here. I have known friends to be robbed, and further north in worse districts, there have been worse crimes. I have, therefore, mixed feelings about the tactics employed by law enforcement. They may well help matters, but I tend to be selfish about how much they put me out.

The LAPD is badly undermanned when you consider how much land lies within their jurisdiction, to say nothing of how many people. They rely heavily on helicopters to neutralize the shortfall, and this is not an ineffective strategy. The crime statistics are down overall, although that may have more to do with recent reliance on the COMPSTAT system than the longtime use of aircraft. Even better than its ability to aid in fighting crime is the computer system's relative silence in operation.

Just the other night, a helicopter came around, evidently looking for someone or something on the next street north from mine. Being awake, I was less bothered than I might have been, but I still like the quiet, and at night, the dark. I hate to hamstring the police in their efforts to apprehend someone who might do my neighbors and I harm, but could they bust crime less obtrusively and more quickly? We would all appreciate it, I'm sure.