'Ravenwood' Comes To America

[EmptyTimCup]

'Ravenwood' Comes To America

by Chuck BaldwinAn underreported (what's new?) story out of a little town in Montana has brought real-life drama to the CBS blockbuster TV series. Interestingly enough, CBS is the only major news network that has covered the Montana story.

In the little town of Hardin, Montana (which is about the same size as the fictitious town of Jericho, Kansas, in the TV series), a private security firm, American Police Force (APF), has been contracted to provide all police services and to manage the operation of the town's jail. According to local news reports out of Billings, Montana, "American Police Force officials showed up in Mercedes SUV's that had 'Hardin Police' stenciled on the vehicles. The twist, the city of Hardin doesn't have a police department.

"Two Rivers Authority [the city's economic development agency] officials say having APF patrol the streets was never part of their agenda." (Source: KULR-8 Television, Billings, Montana)

Until now, the Big Horn County Sheriff's Office was responsible for patrolling the city. However, numerous Hardin citizens have testified to APF mercenaries patrolling Hardin's streets.

Of course, under our Constitution, there can be no such thing as an "American Police Force" in the United States. Any kind of national police force is not only unconstitutional; it is anathema to everything American law and jurisprudence is built upon. Law enforcement is clearly and plainly the responsibility of the states and local communities. That a mercenary organization would take the moniker American Police Force is, by itself, disconcerting. But there is much more.

APF touts itself as providing security and investigative work to clients in "all 50 States and most Countries." It boasts having "rapid response units awaiting our orders worldwide." It further brags that it can field a battalion-sized team of Special Forces soldiers "within 72 hours." APF states that it "plays a critical role in helping the U.S. government meet vital homeland security and national defense needs."

The Hardin saga is both noteworthy and troublesome. It is the latest example – but certainly not the first – of how private security companies are being employed as law enforcement personnel.

Retired lawman Jim Kouri recently wrote a fascinating piece in which he chronicles the growing trend of private security companies exercising police powers. Kouri summarizes an American Society for Industrial Security report, saying, "There are more than one million contract security guards, with perhaps another million guards who are proprietary security officers who are hired directly by businesses and institutions. On the other hand, there are about 700,000 sworn law enforcement officers working for towns, cities, counties, states and the federal government."

Of course, most of these "private police" mercenaries are military-trained. And they are also the ones providing most of the military-style training to America's various law enforcement agencies.

Kouri goes on to point out that Lexington's (Kentucky) Police Department contracted Blackwater Security International to provide "homeland security training." And in New Orleans, Louisiana, mercenaries openly patrol city streets. Kouri notes Blackwater officials as saying they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority "to use lethal force if necessary."

All of the above is disconcerting enough, but when one factors in President Barack Obama's desire to create a "Civilian Defense Force," potential problems only intensify. For example, in 1995, the United Nations' International Police Task Force (UNIPTF) was created. Ostensibly, the UNIPTF was formed to "carry out programs of police assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Then, in 2003 the Civilian Police International (CPI) was created. This was a joint venture between the U.S. State Department and such notable private companies as Wackenhut and Kellogg Brown & Root (a Halliburton company; and, by the way, so is Blackwater. But this is just a coincidence, right?). The stated purpose was for "international law enforcement and criminal justice programs." Inertia for mercenary-style (backed by the federal – or even international – government) law enforcement has been growing ever since.

The question must then be asked: "Could the whole APF and Hardin, Montana, affair be a test run for Obama's budding Civilian Defense Force?"

In the CBS TV series, Jericho, residents resisted the federal government's mercenary force, Ravenwood, and fought ferociously for their freedom and independence. At the time the show aired, it all seemed like fantasy. But if you talk with the residents of Hardin, Montana, today, they might say that fantasy is fast becoming reality.

Stay alert, America: your town could be next.

how long to local Po Po contracts out Officers .....

[twinoaks207 (Premo)]

This case is quite interesting. I read links in a previous thread post ( American Police Force ) that talked about the very checkered history of the owner of American Police Force. Very interesting reading!

...give them an inch...