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Why CrimeFighters are Needed
(Police Can't Cope With Crime!)
"CrimeFighters" is a word coined by the author to give a name to citizen
crime fighters participating in law enforcement and paid on commission for
their time, effort, and personal risk. A job description of a CrimeFighter
is a bounty hunter, working unofficially for law enforcement agents to
collect rewards, plus 50% of fines and forfeitures when available.
Everyone knows the crime rate and violent crimes are on the increase. But,
it's impossible for police to be at the scene when crimes are committed
unless it's by accident or advance notice by informants. Fact is, police
really can't do anything to reduce the increasing crime rate. It's like
trying to bail out a sinking ship when the water is coming in faster then
the crew can bail. They need help. CrimeFighters can provide that help.
Chief Justice Richard Neeley, of the West Virginia Supreme Court, mentions
in his book, "Take Back Your Neighborhood," that doubling or tripling the
number of police patrols is NOT a viable solution to crime prevention and
detection. The main reason is that police on patrols only spend about 2 to
5 percent of their time actually preventing "crime"! That may sound like
neglect of duty, but it's not.
Police patrols are used to discourage crime by their uniforms and easily
identified patrol cars (police presence). Most of the time, they respond to
radio calls to maintain law and order. "Law and order" covers a wide range
of services that have little to do with making felony arrests.
Police stop fights and family disputes, quiet noisy neighbors, catch wild
animals or rescue pets, attend the dead until a medical examiner arrives,
check out "suspicious noises" and (usually false) burglar alarms, issue
parking or speeding tickets, go to the scene of traffic accidents and write
accident reports, maintain the peace (law and order) at rock concerts and
sporting events, pick up drunks and derelicts, deliver babies, escort
ambulances, control traffic at fires and accidents or during emergencies,
qualify at target practice, attend police lectures, lead parades and
funerals, chauffeur high-ranking officials, give lectures to kids at public
schools, spend countless hours in court as witnesses in civil and criminal
suits, wait for and talk to prosecutors concerning arrests made, take
coffee breaks, make personal phone calls and do personal errands, and spend
almost as much time on paperwork filling in reports on everything they do.
In addition to the above, sick leave, holidays, and 3 to 4 weeks vacation
per year reduce time on the job. Altogether, Justice Neeley estimates that
out of every $100 spent on a patrol police wages, only $2 or $3 is actually
spent on felony-related law enforcement!
It's not the polices' fault that they spend so little time on actual crime
prevention and apprehension of criminals. We expect (and demand) them to
take care of society's problems - whether they are crime-related or not.
Supreme Court decisions have also hindered field police work. The ever-
present threat of lawsuits have increased paperwork requirements, and
reports must be filled every time the officer does something out of the
ordinary, and that takes a few more hours.
Patrol officers are usually not involved in follow-up work after a crime
has been committed and the perpetrators (perps) have disappeared. That's
the work of more experienced officers who have been promoted to detective
rank. Plainclothes officers are assigned to various details relevant to
such crimes, as homicide, rape, vice, robbery, bunco, organized crime, drug
enforcement, etc. Many of these crimes require elaborate "sting operations"
and undercover work.
However, in a study for the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration,
involving 153 police jurisdictions and covering a 2-year period, the Rand
Corporation found that even police assigned to detective work spend little
more than half their average time on actual casework.
A year-long controlled experiment in Kansas City in the 1970s studied
whether doubling or tripling the number of police patrols had any effect in
reducing crime. The Police Foundation found that the extra police presence
neither had an effect on the number of crimes committed, nor on the
public's feeling of insecurity. While high visibility of clearly marked
police cruisers and the distinctive uniform tend to suppress unlawful
activity momentarily, they don't permanently prevent criminal activity.
Criminals just wait until the police aren't around.
The report concluded, "Primary responsibility rests with families, the
community and its individual members. The police can only facilitate and
assist members of the community in the maintenance of law and order, and no
more."
Robert diGrazia, the Police Chief of Montgomery County, Maryland, who was
also the former Police Chief of Boston and St.Louis, said to a group of
fellow Chiefs, "We are not letting the public in on our era's dirty little
secret -- that there is little the police can do about crime."
When you think about it, you realize that's the truth!
Most police work is reactive. That is, crimes aren't committed when police
are in the area. Police seldom are lucky enough to catch lawbreakers at the
scene of the crime. Most of the time they are responding to crimes that
have already taken place, and the perps have fled the scene and are
unknown. That's where police need help.
Help Wanted - With Restrictions
A few Police Chiefs have openly admitted they need help. Police
Commissioner Lee P. Brown, said, "We (the public) just can't continue to
rely on the police." Others, with a John Wayne complex, will never admit
they need help. But whether they admit it or not, they do need help. Crime
statistics prove it. However, police don't want vigilantes or trigger-happy
yahoos who could hinder them and threaten law and order.
Police discourage civilian volunteers on the firing line, except in
emergencies where they may ask for help. At all other times, it's best to
stay out of the way. There's a good reason for their attitude and official
policy.
Training and experience are the two most important ingredients in police
work. Cops are (usually, but not always) trained at Police Academies, and
even after this basic training, rookies do not perform hazardous duty right
away. Rookies are assigned to training units and/or to a Training Officer
for further on-the-job training. Many veteran cops are reluctant to have a
rookie as a partner instead of a fully trained officer when working on
dangerous assignments or patrols.
Ordinary citizen have no basic police training, may not be qualified with
firearms, don't know police procedure in making arrests, and are liable to
go bonkers when and if they come under fire.
If you were a police officer, would you want untrained, unpredictable,
unproven, and unreliable, rank amateurs for partners? Of course not.
What You CAN Do
Be on the alert to spot criminal activity. Learn to be observant. Look for
things that don't look right or people who are out of place in their
surroundings or acting suspicious. (Think like a cop!) Try to infiltrate
street gangs if you're in that age bracket and can blend in, or find and
make "friends" in criminal circles. But NEVER become involved in criminal
activity yourself -- unless you have specific written authority from a law
enforcement agent and are part of an official undercover operation.
Work undercover: Learn who is involved in criminal activity, where they
operate, and what they've done. Get evidence when you can. Feed the
information to your local FBI agents and let them decide which appropriate
law enforcement agency will be involved. Your information may provide
probable cause to get search warrants. Let the authorities do the follow up
and make the arrests. You'll still be eligible for rewards without having
to risk your neck making arrests or appearing in court.
Citizens work in a variety of positions (accountants, lawyers, secretaries,
clerks, factory workers, truck drivers, etc.) in which criminal activity
occurs. They may obtain sufficient evidence of a crime (probable cause) to
lead to a formal investigation or an arrest.
Undercover CrimeFighters should try to record information or criminal
evidence on audiotape, videotape or film. When they have sufficient infor-
mation they should contact an FBI agent to negotiate a reward. At that
point, CrimeFighters usually drop out of the action.
Bring the FBI into a case as soon as possible and let their undercover
agent take over. Then the agent will be the witness who testifies in court.
If the CrimeFighter testifies, anonymity will be lost. Revealing a Crime-
Fighters' identity might also result in unpleasant retaliation, including
physical violence.
FBI vs. Police Departments
Why work with the FBI instead of local police? Because almost all of the
significant rewards in this book are based on federal laws. Crimefighters
need to negotiate with the FBI, not local police. If the FBI isn't
interested in making arrests, they'll turn it over to the local police
department, but the Crimefighter will, if it's negotiated first, still
collect federal rewards.
The FBI uses experienced, well-qualified federal prosecutors. That's
another reason to work with federal agents, federal courts and federal
prosecutors. State prosecutors are too often inexperienced and overworked.
Most will allow plea bargaining to lesser offenses to get an easy
conviction. When they lose the felony conviction, you lose the reward!
Few serious rewards are offered by state governments or cities. Local
police aren't authorized to negotiate or pay federal rewards. Perhaps
that's why CrimeStoppers and We-Tip evolved.
After reading this book you'll realize that CrimeStoppers, We-Tip and other
privately-funded reward organizations are for amateurs! If you want to
collect the big rewards and be considered a professional, you have to
move up the ladder to the federal level.
Where the BIG Bucks Are
Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law was created for
mobsters like Al Capone. Recent court decisions indicate that felons who
profit from their crimes comes under the scope of RICO laws - even bribery!
(Chapter 8 provides full details of RICO law.)
Successful career criminals often accumulate small fortunes from a lifetime
of criminal activity. Anything of value purchased from the "fruits of
criminal activity" may be seized by the courts. Multi-million dollar
businesses have been forfeited under RICO. (A few of them are mentioned
in Chapter 5.)
It doesn't matter when the assets were purchased or whether they relate to
the crime being prosecuted. Anything of value owned by a lawbreaker that
can't be proven by him to have been purchased with "honest money" (and the
burden of proof is on the defendant) can be seized by the court under RICO
laws -- and the CrimeFighter can get a share of the fines and forfeitures!
RICO law now applies to virtually every felony except those committed for
other than profit such as joyriding in a stolen automobile or murder in
crimes of passion, for example. That leaves a wide range of criminal
activity subject to RICO and opens up more possibilities for fines and
forfeitures -- to take away the profit from successful criminals.
Police are required to face danger as part of their job. Crimefighters
don't have to go all the way regardless of personal risk. Crimefighters can
back off, at any time, and give the information and evidence to the FBI.
Let them do the dangerous work. They'll thank you for it, too!
In addition to RICO and sharing in huge fines and forfeitures, dozens of
federal laws pay generous rewards - a couple of them up to $250,000!
CrimeFighter Candidates
All ex-law officers, licensed private investigators, security guards,
military veterans, and bail recovery agents, are ideal CrimeFighters.
CrimeFighters are self-employed. No license is required. And there are no
age limits, sexual or physical requirements.
Chapter 25 tells you where to get law enforcement training, hand-to-hand
combat, and handgun practice that's better than those at Police Academies.
There are hundreds of specialized books and videos in the CrimeFighter
Catalog (CRIMCAT). Look for it on your local BBSs. If you don't have the
training, you can get it! If you've been looking for an action career, one
that pays $100,000 or more a year, in proportion to the risks taken, this
is it.
Part II
Self-Help in Law Enforcement
The history of law enforcement shows that before the early 1900s there were
very few "public" police. Most police were watchmen or guards employed by
merchants to protect their merchandise. In towns and villages everyone
looked out for one another. When a known criminal or crime in progress was
spotted, a hue and cry was sounded. All able-bodied men and women would
rally to catch and punish the culprit.
At frontiers, almost everyone had a gun. When a crime was spotted the
criminal was either captured or shot by irate citizens. The only bleeding
hearts in those days were in dead culprits! People knew what to do and what
was expected of them. This self-help approach went out of fashion with the
horse and buggy. In the 1900's police forces as we know them today were
gradually established in cities, and for a while the crime rate was low
enough for local police to handle crimes without any help. Times have
changed. The self-help concept needs to be seriously reconsidered today.
During the last century the public has been led to believe law enforcement
is strictly up to city, state, and federal authorities. Some police still
insist law enforcement should be reserved only for those who are trained
for it. It isn't. There is no legal monopoly on law enforcement. Anyone can
and should get involved in law enforcement -- up to their capabilities.
It's every citizen's obligation and duty to help enforcement personnel
maintain law and order and to catch criminals or give evidence when they
see someone committing a crime.
Remember the Kansas City report, "Primary responsibility rests with
families, the community and its individual members. The police can only
facilitate and assist members of the community in the maintenance of law
and order, and no more."
When some citizens see a crime being committed, they pretend they don't see
it. They turn away because, even if they wanted to do something, they
simply don't know WHAT to do or HOW to do it. They feel vulnerable, scared,
helpless, and embarrassed! That's the problem.
Solution: Training for CrimeFighters is available. Chapter 25 provides full
details. More than 400 books and videos listed in CrimeFighters' Catalog
(CRIMCAT) can provide insider information on all areas of law enforcement
and related subjects.
Costs of Law Enforcement
A cop's pay for 20 years, fringe benefits, equipment, and administrative
support costs, is about $1 million ($50,000 a year for 20 years). And, if
the officer is promoted to sergeant before retirement, the pension for
about 35 years will cost another $1 million. And, not all cops are in the
firing line. There's a large percentage of sworn officers in administrative
and other support services. The total cost of each full time career officer
on the streets cost taxpayers close to THREE million dollars!
That's something to remember when you ask for more police protection and
want a cop on every street corner. Police services aren't free!
If, as a taxpayer, you don't mind paying $3 million for a career police
officer who spends about 5% of the time fighting crime, you shouldn't mind
a full-time CrimeFighter being paid $1 million on a commission-only basis.
Conclusion
Citizens can be unofficial undercover agents to find out about criminal
activity and give this information to the FBI to make arrests, or make the
arrests themselves when there is no time to call the FBI.
The incentive to put yourself in a potentially hazardous situations is that
you can be paid handsomely for it from generous rewards. Large rewards are
available and mentioned in detail in this book. Your share of fines and
forfeitures, sometimes in the millions of dollars, are bonuses!
Being a Crimefighter isn't for timid people. It's for those who want
adventure, physical action, large sums of money, and who are not afraid to
get involved in the war on crime.
If you've thought of being a police officer, but weren't eligible, you can
be a CrimeFighter instead and do (almost) the same job.
Crimefighters are independent, and their hours are flexible. Unlike police,
they can take the jobs they like and leave the ones they don't like; work
with partners of their own choosing; take time off when they want; wear
clothes they like to wear; and as an unofficial bounty hunter, make about
$100,000 a year, or more.
Volunteers are needed. Your Crimefighter application is in this FloppyBook.
Be the first CrimeFighter in your neighborhood and recruit your own group.
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