"Do police need more power?"

Some of us call those who protect us from crime police officers. Our neighbours to the south sometimes disagree-ie. Mr. King. As we know there are always some bad apples in the bunch, however, more often than not, governments may need to empower our protectors. Recently, Jack Aubry of CanWest News argues that many Canadians condone police lawbreaking? but how far is too far? In addition, there is question to the legitimacy of these surveys as some experts suggest our conservative government may be using them as tools to justify their own desired law changes.

My Critique
Media is a simply a tool for communication. Quite frankly, a damn good one-especially for governments wishing to suggest and influence. Yes, the power of influence is very real and very concerning. Without a true democracy, we cannot begin to concieve governement actions and decisions as Pareto efficiency Yet, we read the papers and watch television because how else would we become informed? Well, how about some objective education or maybe a little research? For most, that might be too much to ask, but for those of us who wish to dig deeper may see that Harper and his goons use subjective material to support their power of influence. In effect, it's a headline story which shows that close to half of Canadians want police to have the power to break the laws they enforce. In other words, a buffer for legislation geared at law changes.

Advocacy of the Devil
In contrast, does holding the authority's hand reduce productivity and effectiveness? Most likely. Police and simliar authority can not and must not be affraid to protect and serve. A lack of empowerment can be damaging to performance. We need police to have power otherwise we might as well hire security guards to enforce laws and keep us safe.