Well, much as Ken thought that the interview would be worthless he was proven correct, within 10 minutes it was obvious the inmate was lying.  Over two days and 20 hours of driving time used that could have been spent to better use, wasted – however, if he hadn’t gone and the real killer, who was tried and convicted – even by his own words, might have a reason to try and get an appeal.

It looks so easy on television.  The crime is committed and within an hour it is solved and everyone, except for the suspect is happy.  In reality major investigations take hundreds even thousands of hours and even after the suspect is identified the investigators must continue to check out every lead to build their case.

Then, even if the suspect is guilty and there is no doubt, if the investigators make a mistake it can all be thrown out and the suspect walks free.  It is not an easy job.

Most people have no idea what is involved in keeping their community safe and apprehending those that commit crimes against them.

I was reading a complaint of a citizen the other day; they felt that police officers should just stay in the station, like firemen, until they are called on to act on a crime.

“All the traffic stops, patrols and other duties an officer does are just to harass the public.”

He’s an idiot.

The best, the very best, - even for police officers – safety device for a driver is a patrol vehicle in their rear view mirror; and of course that makes those sharing the road safer.

I don’t know how many times, being on patrol, I have and/or participated with others, in catching criminals as they commit the crimes, or right afterwards.

There was a time I was driving down the street at o-dark-thirty and saw a pickup, lights off, coming out from behind a service station.  I stopped the driver to find out he had just stolen the pickup.

When Highway 26, the main road from the Portland Metro area to the Central Oregon area, heavily traveled by those looking to get out of the city and into ‘God’s country,’ started having multiple traffic fatalities because there were no police cars on the road to stop them from speeding, we formed a traffic team within the Sheriff’s Office.

The State Police were spread too thin and we were the ones that did most of the investigation of those accidents, so it was obvious we had to take action.

We purchased Camaros, from the state bid (Chevy was trying to get the police departments to get the Camaro instead of the Mustangs so the price was less than half what they would normally sell for with stock everything – and these were virtual race cars - and considerably lower than the standard patrol vehicles) and sent them down there to run radar.

We went from, (if I recall correctly) ten fatalities in one year down to zero within a couple years.  Speeds of over a hundred m[h on a frequent basis, went down to the speed limit.

The presence of Law Enforcement makes a difference.  What I am concerned about now, is how Law Enforcement is going to recruit candidates in this era of deliberate bating and ambushing of officers. 

The process of putting an officer on the street takes several months of testing and interviewing before they are even sworn in and then weeks of Academy and riding with a training officer before they are put into a patrol car on their own.  It takes at least 3-5 years before they have developed the skills to do all aspects of their jobs.

Very, VERY, few people make it, so what is going to happen now when those that are working for departments say, “enough, it isn’t worth my life and the welfare of my family to protect you anymore” and they can’t find anyone to replace them?

Things we used to do as a matter of course when I first started out, we used to have a vacation watch where a citizen would call in and let us know they would be gone from such in such, to such in such, would be placed on a list and we would, once a day, check on their house and when possible get out and walk around it.  That went away in the late 70’s, too many other things to do.

It used to be that all accidents were investigated; now departments are unable to spare the manpower to investigate any but the most serious.  Some departments are so overwhelmed they don’t even investigate burglaries; they send a report form to the victim by mail.

But, it is the officer’s fault, not society’s values in general, or the raising of spoiled kids – or no raising at all, just allow them to hit the streets, or the refusal to hold them accountable for their actions when they are young so when they get older they think rules don’t apply to them – and from the looks of it, they may be the ones that citizens are going to have to go to for protection. 

Isn’t that exciting?

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

When you ask most people what the most important decision they have ever made was, many will list the day they asked their spouse to marry them, or decision on employment, where to live, and many other things that have made their life matter to them.

Few will even think about their soul, will not think about their relationship with God.  Their mind is on the things of this world.  Their goals, their ambitions, their enjoyments, their reason for living is centered around what the world determines is appropriate.

I have talked with hundreds of people about Christ and often get the same or similar response couched in various ways, but meaning the same thing, “I am not ready to make that decision.”

Many believe that because they have sinned so grievously they can never be saved, they are unworthy of being saved.  Not understanding that none of us are worthy.

Many believe that they must somehow clean up their own act before they can come to God and ask for forgiveness, not understanding that they will never be able to be clean enough – and God knows that, HE will do the cleaning.

Others look at accepting Christ means they can no longer truly enjoy themselves.  They feel they must feel their wild oats now, before settling down to religion.  Not understanding that there very well may not be a tomorrow for them to settle down in.

Some refuse to accept there is a God, or that God actually cares about us, and the list goes on.  There is always something satan will use to guide a person away from the decision to accept Christ.

I can remember trying to understand what accepting Christ meant.  I had to sit down numerous times with the Pastor, asking question, trying to see the differences on what he was saying God wanted and what my current church was saying.

Many of the things I believed were true, I believed in God, in His Son, in the Holy Spirit.  I believed that the things in the Bible were true – even though I didn’t and hadn’t ever read the Bible, not that I couldn’t, it just wasn’t encouraged, instead we were given catechisms and there was a pamphlet in the rack behind each pew to take and follow along with the priest during services – I was taught that when he reads scripture we should not read along, it was disrespectful, as if we didn’t trust him.

But as I questioned, as I read, I began to understand that God was not far off, that His Son was readily available to me.  That His death AND resurrection was the basis for what my relationship with God should be.

I wrestled, I listened and the night I finally knelt at the altar struggling with my fears and doubts, people coming up and trying to help me make that decision, praying for me, finally I relinquished everything, tears started flowing down my face and I knew Christ!

I knew He had forgiven me.

It began a lifelong relationship with Him that has endured over a half century even through my many transgressions against Him I knew that He was there.

He would sometimes gently remind me I had gone afield, other times He had to use force to make me understand that He was God and He IS in charge.

Now, I know some people would say, look you had over 50 years, plus how many ever more you live, to make that decision – meanwhile you have missed out on a lot of things the world gives us to our pleasure, excitement and satisfaction.

I don’t believe that, obviously, I don’t know that He would have continued to send His Holy Spirit to me, to guide and direct me to His Son.  We know that He will not always strive with man, and being such a young age He probably would have continued – but there is no guarantee that He would have, and there is no guarantee I would live the next day to make a decision for Him.

It can be very hard to get some people to understand that what they have in this moment could be gone in the next.  That as we and the Holy Spirit and how many others He sends to touch their lives that time of decision is right then. 

Granted some will be like me and take time to try and get it squared away in their minds and I believe as long as they are sincerely searching He will be there for them.  But once they reject Him, once they say ‘maybe later’ they have put themselves in a very precarious position, for them behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) is right then and may be the last time they will have a chance.

We need to have a since of urgency for those that God has laid on our hearts to witness to, to share the Gospel with – we need to not put it off, thinking there will be another day and it isn’t important right now – particularly when He tells us it is.

I have investigated and been around to many violent deaths where the person was alive, well and going about their business one minute only to be killed the next.  At that time there is no tomorrow, no later, the time was right now the last time they heard the Gospel.

We don’t want to be the ones that failed to tell them when we had the opportunity.

Later, Art :-)