Originally Posted by
Gelston
Several thoughts one it. Overall, it amounts to crime prevention, which is a good thing, but you never see the benefits personally. Joe blow doesn't know that he wasn't mugged due to crime prevention efforts, because it just never happens. People often lash out at proactive measures, because you don't physically see immediate results, you can just say things didn't happen.
Now, as a veteran who later went into law enforcement, I can 100% say the vast majority of the military isn't trained to handle civilian arrests and crime fighting. I wasn't taught about preservation of scenes or chain of custody and my knowledge of Miranda Rights was purely based on TV. I haven't followed it too heavily, so I'm not sure if they have military making arrests, but without the training on just the things I mentioned, their conviction rate will be very, very low.
That being said, I was talking to another officer who consistently gets awards from MADD for most DUI arrests in the state. They don't always go to conviction, sometimes they are plead down, sometimes they get a great lawyer and get nothing. He said that doesn't matter to him. He is happy to get them off the street for that night, because you don't know what they were on their way to do and at least everyone is safe for that night.
So, to reiterate, reduction in crime = good.