Dave Holford wrote:



You mean if the police dissapear there is no change in the crime rate?

Dave


That's close. The police affect crime rates after the fact by passing
the suspects over to the justice system, where they may or may not be
locked up, hopefully depending upon whether they are guilty or not.
Note that I didn't say innocent, we don't use that concept in the US,
but that is a different story. Not guilty does not always mean innocent.

Being locked up affects the crime rate from the back end, while self
defense, in all of its different forms, affect it on the front end. And
I will state, most happily, that there are many non-gun ways to "defend"
yourself. For instance, owning a noisy dog is a good defense against
the common burglar.

Personally I keep my .38 special loaded with rat shot, and my Ruger with
a follow up in case they don't understand the noise and slight pain.

tom
K0TAR