New Poll shatters myths about police opinions

Terrorism: When asked if the United States would be attacked by terrorists within the next year, 88.2 percent said yes. Meanwhile 64 percent of police commanders said they received training and other resources from the federal government to combat terrorism, while only 42 percent said their departments participated in terrorism-response simulations.

Now, part of this is just simple paranoia; it's their job to be paranoid, and there are well-publicized attempts. I have no doubt that terrorist attacks against the US will manifest; indeed, I feel they already have, in the DC sniper incident. Islamofascist terrorism does not require official affiliation, which is one of the reasons it can be so hard to stop. So, this isn't really surprising; it's only the "within the next year" that has any significant doubt.

Homeland Security: When police commanders were asked if they observed more cooperation between federal and local agencies, 69.8 percent said yes. Sixty-seven percent of the respondents stated they found the color-coded threat matrix an effective way of informing the public of terrorist threats. When asked if the process of arming commercial airline pilots is too burdensome, 53.6 percent of the police executives answered yes.

The downside to this category is that "more cooperation" does not necessarily mean that the anti-terrorism forces are more effective. And, of course, there is the civil liberties issue of allowing intelligence operatives and techniques to be used against our own citizens with no evidence of criminal behavior. But, as police chiefs, they are not expected to worry overly much about that possibility.

Gun Control: With regard to private citizens owning firearms for sport or self-defense, 94 percent of the respondents supported civilian gun-ownership rights. Ninety-six percent of the police chiefs and sheriffs believe criminals obtain firearms from illegal sources and 91 percent revealed they hadn't arrested anyone for violation of the so-called "waiting period" laws. When asked if they opposed citizens obtaining concealed-weapons permits, only 34 percent said yes.

Those are some damn good numbers, although not at all unexpected.

War on Drugs: Forty percent of police commanders surveyed said they believe marijuana should be available for medicinal purposes and 62.6 percent said they've seen an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs such as Oxycontin and other Schedule II drugs. A mere 17 percent of police commanders believe the war on drugs has been successful.

These numbers, on the other hand, are surprising. And gratifying. These are the people who are tasked with enforcing the drug laws, and who have to deal with the drug addicts if they turn violent. Despite this, 83% say the drug war has failed and 40% support legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.

This is a good page to bookmark for future reference, folks.