I'm finding it pretty ridiculous that there's so much nervous buzz about the return of the Guardian Angels to Boston. Simply put, we need them. The Globe has been running numerous articles recently which have me wondering what the heck the Boston Police Department has been doing recently. Just two days ago a Globe opinion piece noted that
Some city officials are acknowledging, albeit quietly, that they have lost the battle for the streets in parts of Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan.
And that
the level of intelligence gathering that arms police with lifesaving information about feuds, drug deals gone bad, and after-hour parties where combatants are likely to confront one another, is missing from the arsenal. Without such intelligence, all the police can do is react -- or ponder why roughly two out of three homicides in the city go unsolved.
So, in response to tougher streets, drug deals, and after-hours parties gone bad, we have the police department proposing to take to the skies. What the hell!? Are those getting more dangerous too? Someone tell the police to keep their asses on the ground, get to know the neighborhoods and the hot spots, and be a real presence. The last thing I want to see and hear are Los Angeles-style helicopter flights and searchlights in the middle of the night. The Guardian Angels won't be the answer to the city's problems, but I'll feel better seeing them actively patrolling the streets and subways than wondering what corner of the sky the police are flying around at any given moment.
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