Police and Safety or Lack Thereof

"This is devastating," he told reporters Tuesday. "None of us signed up for this kind of task."

Distelzweig said under the 2010 budget plan, the department will focus on priority calls and maintaining public safety. "Policing in this city will change as we know it today," he said. " ... [We're] going to do less with less." [link]

Directly from the mouth of a large city police chief. Doing less with less. That should really make one feel safe. Yet there are plenty of people that say average American citizens do not need to be armed because that is what the police are for, to protect "us". Well what happens then when things in the economy get so bad that the police don't get paid, but they still have their guns?

The same people that feel this way also usually don't realize that the police have no obligation to protect anyone and are not liable for injuries or death caused by crime or failing to respond in a timely manner. This is why the sole responsibility of individual safety should be left up to the individual.