Build It and They Will Come

“If you build it they will come. ” The famed line from the Kevin Costner movie “Field of Dreams” stands out as a cultural marker that calls out to the dreamers of the world to take a leap of faith whether it be in business or life in general. Once built, people will flock to your new venture or new park.

But what happens if you are planning to build a new police station? Then what? Who is it that will come? More criminals?

In Lakeway Texas, where I live, the citizens voted to build a new police station valued at $23 million even though there are already three police stations within a 10 mile radius. As if that were not enough, there is little to no crime here. I can only surmise the impetus to build the new facility is anticipation of a wave of criminals on the horizon who are about to invade the area.

Growing up in New York City in the 1970’s, crime was rampant and a large police force was necessary. The city needed all those cops and holding facilities to deal with a plethora of criminals. Yet, with a massive police presence, my interactions with them were non- existent. They were dealing with hardened criminals not law abiding citizens.

Yet, here in Lakeway, Texas where there is no crime, I have had multiple encounters with the police over the smallest of infractions. Everything from not stopping long enough at a stop sign to having to show up in court for my youngest not wearing his seat belt. These were all minor infractions and, yes, painful to deal with because I wasn’t being stopped as a criminal. I was being stopped as a source of revenue. Every infraction and every appearance ended with a fine.

My interactions with the criminal justice system in Austin have tainted me on how I now view police. My eyes were opened when I had to go to court over the seat belt infraction. As soon as I walked into the court, I knew I was going to lose. The game was rigged. It all started at I checked-in.

The secretary introduced me to the court appointed Prosecutor . Then I met the court appointed Defendant. Followed by the stenographer, the judge, the police officer and, finally, the bailiff.

The State required seven people for my case. Seeing all these people there just for me, I knew it was over before it began. All of them were dependent on me 1) getting the ticket and 2) having me pay the ticket. From the issuance of the ticket through my court ordered appearance, justifed the jobs all of those people. Without me and the violation, they would be unemployed. No job to do. No work to be done. No, there would no justice in court that day. I was there to justify their jobs and their salaries.

When Lakeway builds this massive police station new police officers will need to be hired to justify that expenditure. Then those police officers will have to go issue tickets and make arrests so that they can say the expense was worth it. But how do you justify a massive outlay to combat crime when there is no crime? You know what will happen? The citizens will be treated as criminals for the smallest offenses.

In NYC, “jaywalking” is not a crime. During my youth, crime in the city was such that it was always better to be moving on the streets rather than staying still at intersections. I took that lesson with me when I lived in Los Angles for a year while attending college. The college was great but the area not so much. Crime rates were high. I lived off-campus and had to walk to class. In that one year, I was ticketed four times for jaywalking in an area saturated with robberies and vandalism; yet, the police thought it worth their time to ticket and fine a college student. The reason I got so many tickets was because the police knew they could make some easy extra money ticketing students. However, I never paid one of them. Once the system identified me as an out-of state-student, it never bothered to collect. It was too much of a hassle to write up the reports and collect the money from someone who lived out-of-state. Instead, they went after the next victim who, hopefully, lived in California.

During that period of time there were significantly fewer laws on the books so it wasn’t always easy for the police to identify a law you violated and write you up. But, now, we live in a much tighter box. Society is much more regulated, monitored and tracked. At any moment of the day, be assured each and every one of us is breaking some law that we had no idea existed. For example, here are some laws that actually do exist:

1. The Dim Bulbs Rule. As per Congress, of course, there is an edict to phase out the incandescent light bulbs on which the world has relied for more than a century. (Forget the fact that the replacements are hazardous to our health and the environment and that disposing of them requires HAZMAT direction!)

2. The Obamacare Rule. The law requires U.S. citizens to obtain health insurance or face financial penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.

3. The Smash Potatoes Regulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits school lunch lunch providers from serving more than one cup of potatoes per week per student.

4. The Plumbing Police Rule. The U.S. Department of Energy began preparations for tightening the water efficiency standards on urinals.

(For the complete list click here)

But I digress. Knowing that the Lakeway police have no crime to combat, I won’t be shocked that in the next few years those police might be knocking on my door to make sure I have the right light bulbs in my house or that my toilet efficiency is up to federal standards. Because, when no crimes are being committed, be assured the police are going to look at all laws, big and small, to raise revenue and justify their jobs.

Lakeway is building its Field of Dreams. But, its not the criminals who will be coming. It will be the busy bodies, the regulators and the enforcers who will make certain the slaves are complying with all the laws the masters dictate to retain control. Did you read George Orwell’s novel, 1984?”

No? That’s okay. We’re living it.