http://seattle.cbslocal.com/2013/05/23/911-dispatcher-tells-woman-about-to-be-sexually-assaulted-there-are-no-cops-to-help-her-due-to-budget-cuts/#comments

The only silver lining in this story is that the victim lived ... and perhaps others may heed this warning and finally arm themselves!

“Uh, I don’t have anybody to send out there,” the 911 dispatcher told the woman. “You know, obviously, if he comes inside the residence and assaults you, can you ask him to go away? Do you know if he’s intoxicated or anything?”   

The woman told the dispatcher that Bellah previously attacked her and left her hospitalized a few weeks prior to the latest incident. The dispatcher stayed on the phone with the woman for more than 10 minutes before the sexual assault took place.
....

“There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t have another victim,” Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilberson told Oregon Public Radio. “If you don’t pay the bill, you don’t get the service.”

The sheriff’s department had to cut 23 deputies and the entire major crimes unit after it lost a multi-million dollar federal subsidy, according to Oregon Public Radio. There are now only six deputies left.

That is sickening. Just sickening.

Collapse can happen in many ways.  And it is happening.

I think we just had a recent story posted (can't recall where it occurred) but the girl was hiding and on the phone with the 911 operator, said she had a firearm, and then ended up shooting the guy when he broke through the door. Too bad this one didn't end that way.

I think we just had a recent story posted (can't recall where it occurred) but the girl was hiding and on the phone with the 911 operator, said she had a firearm, and then ended up shooting the guy when he broke through the door. Too bad this one didn't end that way.

Yep.  Hiding in the closet with the kids armed only with a revolver, shot him 5 times and he still didn't go down right away.  If there had been more than one bad guy that story too would've had a different ending.

Did anyone else notice the Sheriff's commentary?  "If you don't pay the bill, you don't get the service"?  Maybe there was more to his remarks, and that's the one that fit the journalist's agenda, but it sure sounds like he doesn't give a damn about women being victimized; he just wants his budget back.

Did anyone else notice the Sheriff's commentary?  "If you don't pay the bill, you don't get the service"?  Maybe there was more to his remarks, and that's the one that fit the journalist's agenda, but it sure sounds like he doesn't give a damn about women being victimized; he just wants his budget back.

I noticed but didn't read it as being uncaring towards the victim. It was just a statement of fact...the department lacks adequate funding to provide services. Still, it should've been worded better.

I noticed but didn't read it as being uncaring towards the victim. It was just a statement of fact...the department lacks adequate funding to provide services. Still, it should've been worded better.

When the Sheriff's Dept gets cut from 29 deputies to 6, I think the Sheriff is probably about as frustrated with the situation as anyone.  He knows his duty, but he lacks the resources.  At some point you either quit completely, or you try to do the best you can with what you have while looking at the situation realistically.  All the platitudes over this one girl's life-altering attack will not change the situation.  As he said, there are new victims daily, and his department can't be everywhere at once.  As many have mentioned here and elsewhere, law enforcement is NOT going to be there to protect you.  Rather they will show up to investigate, write the reports, and possibly to draw the chalk outline around your body.  Ten minutes passed between the start of the 911 call and the attack.  Depending on the location of the nearest deputy when resources were still available, that still might not have been time to arrive and prevent the attack.  At this point, we will never know.

People have been told by Liberals and Democrats to rely on government for all their wants and needs.  This is just one recent example of why you NEVER depend on a government to take care of you.  They can only do so much, and sometimes even THAT level of service will simply go away leaving you, the tax payer, unprepared, unprotected, and on your own.

She did spend 10 minutes talking when she should've been finding a bat or other weapon...

When the Sheriff's Dept gets cut from 29 deputies to 6, I think the Sheriff is probably about as frustrated with the situation as anyone.  He knows his duty, but he lacks the resources.  At some point you either quit completely, or you try to do the best you can with what you have while looking at the situation realistically.................

This story was brought up on another forum I'm on.  More back story...............the deputies are only on duty for X days and Y hours on those days.  The moral of this story is if you are a criminal you do your business after hours. 

It's just stunning that there would even be a law enforcement department setup like this, but it is in this case.

When the Sheriff's Dept gets cut from 29 deputies to 6, I think the Sheriff is probably about as frustrated with the situation as anyone.  He knows his duty, but he lacks the resources.  At some point you either quit completely, or you try to do the best you can with what you have while looking at the situation realistically.  All the platitudes over this one girl's life-altering attack will not change the situation.  As he said, there are new victims daily, and his department can't be everywhere at once.  As many have mentioned here and elsewhere, law enforcement is NOT going to be there to protect you.  Rather they will show up to investigate, write the reports, and possibly to draw the chalk outline around your body.  Ten minutes passed between the start of the 911 call and the attack.  Depending on the location of the nearest deputy when resources were still available, that still might not have been time to arrive and prevent the attack.  At this point, we will never know.

People have been told by Liberals and Democrats to rely on government for all their wants and needs.  This is just one recent example of why you NEVER depend on a government to take care of you.  They can only do so much, and sometimes even THAT level of service will simply go away leaving you, the tax payer, unprepared, unprotected, and on your own.

Couldn't have said it better!
Nobody can take care of you better than yourself!  My daughter is starting martial arts as soon as she is old enough. 

Maybe they could train some folks and have a volunteer police force. Not for responding to violent crimes, but the more simpler stuff like traffic stops, DUI, domestics, etc.

Just an idea!

I used to teach kids outdoor stuff... mostly science, but I got into woodcraft when I could.

The two most satisfying things I did, and I did them as often as I could:
- Teaching girls the basics of natural camoflage (rolling in the dirt and leaves) and hiding (~well~) in the brush. It was usually just a way to get out of the heat on a hot day... but almost every one of them got it without me having to say a word. *click* Safety. Almost every species on earth knows how to do this or they never make it to adulthood.

- The basics of using a stick as a weapon. The way in was using a stout stick to break dead branches off trees to help clear the path. Many girls had never hit anything with that much force and it was a good opportunity to give them pointers on leverage, using large muscle groups, etc. If someone really got into understanding how that kind of force works I brought Kali sticks for them to use and we did basic kali exercises at lunch. Again, no words had to be said, but the kids knew such movements had defense uses.

The boys loved such things, for the most part, but the already had some surface area with it. As a guy who has dated too many women who have been raped I enjoyed seeing the girls ~get~ that they had more control over their own safety than they had thought.

People have been told by Liberals and Democrats to rely on government for all their wants and needs.  This is just one recent example of why you NEVER depend on a government to take care of you.  They can only do so much, and sometimes even THAT level of service will simply go away leaving you, the tax payer, unprepared, unprotected, and on your own.

As those same very people cut LE budgets daily and create situations like this. Ridiculous.

Uh. Last I looked it wasn't the Dems pushing for spending cuts. Jus' sayin'

This doesn't require partisan blame, though: the economic downturn these past few years has tax revenues down everywhere.

Its not a matter of people demanding services they can't pay for, its that the economy no longer supports the level of service they've been getting. In Europe they call it "Austerity" while here we try desperately to call it someone else's fault and play it off that they directed the"missing" money into their special interests. "Those horrible people let this terrible thing happen! (Vote for me!)"

No, there just isn't as much money across the board and municipalities have had to scramble and adjust as they can. That's austerity. Here we have Furlough Fridays. There they cut the department's staff and working hours.

So sad

What if this happened here to one of your neighbors? Could you go next door and shoot the guy?

Uh. Last I looked it wasn't the Dems pushing for spending cuts. Jus' sayin'

This doesn't require partisan blame, though: the economic downturn these past few years has tax revenues down everywhere.

Its not a matter of people demanding services they can't pay for, its that the economy no longer supports the level of service they've been getting. In Europe they call it "Austerity" while here we try desperately to call it someone else's fault and play it off that they directed the"missing" money into their special interests. "Those horrible people let this terrible thing happen! (Vote for me!)"

No, there just isn't as much money across the board and municipalities have had to scramble and adjust as they can. That's austerity. Here we have Furlough Fridays. There they cut the department's staff and working hours.

You contradict yourself. First, you say it's the non-Dem's fault for budget cutting, then say it's the economy's fault.

The budget is full of fraud, waste, abuse, and pork.  It is also full of foreign aid to places like Egypt and Libya.  We spend
 borrowed money every year for all kinds of programs the gov't is not supposed to even be involved in. 

If the Congress and President would put on their grown-up pants and actually create a BUDGET that had our NEEDS prioritized above their pet projects, these situations would never happen.

So, let's blame the gov't for free birth control pills, Solyndra and a dozen other failed green energy "investments", bailing out the auto worker unions at GM, welfare for illegal aliens, massive vacations to Hawaii and other exotic destinations, million dollar golf lessons, ..... With every decision to spend, the administration and Congress also create a lost opportunity to spend elsewhere.  This is one of the lost opportunities that should have never happened.

If the Congress and President would put on their grown-up pants and actually create a BUDGET that had our NEEDS prioritized above their pet projects, these situations would never happen.

So, let's blame the gov't for free birth control pills, Solyndra and a dozen other failed green energy "investments", bailing out the auto worker unions at GM, welfare for illegal aliens, massive vacations to Hawaii and other exotic destinations, million dollar golf lessons, ..... With every decision to spend, the administration and Congress also create a lost opportunity to spend elsewhere.  This is one of the lost opportunities that should have never happened.

^^^ +1. Makes sense to me.

Government takes on too much upon itself and tries to be the be-all and end-all for all people.  Unfortunately, when someone or something tries to do this, it is "biting off more than it can chew" and ends up not doing a good job.

This story/situation is extremely sad and upsetting!!   

I noticed but didn't read it as being uncaring towards the victim. It was just a statement of fact...the department lacks adequate funding to provide services. Still, it should've been worded better.

Right, but he's being interviewed about his department's complete inability to do their job, and all he can do is bitch about funding?  He doesn't say anything helpful at all; no suggestion to start a neighborhood watch, no pointing out the process for obtaining a CCW, nothing.  And like someone else commented, this guy's got his deputies working set, known hours--not the sort of plan you come up with when you're doing your level best to keep your constituents safe in the face of adverse budgets and manning.  There may be more to the story, but I'd be pretty hard-pressed to vote for this guy if he were running for Sheriff in my home county.