ARRESTS: May penalties fit crimes

In the Saturday, Oct. 13 Coeur d’Alene Press, it was reported one of the arrested burglary suspects had been booked five previous times since 2010 for theft, drug possession and burglary. FIVE times! Same story with the one that eluded the police officer. If these deadbeats were found guilty for their actions, I’d say the penalty they received did not fit the crime.

These offenders obviously have not learned anything from their prior arrest. But, if they were not found guilty after numerous arrests and were again turned loose so they could continue their crime against the residents in our community, I’d think the policemen would become frustrated for doing their job. Are our police officers just chasing their tails? Something is definitely broken because these numbskulls are allowed to return to our streets to, yet again, distress, rob and destroy the property of our residents.

Where does the blame lie? With the arresting police officer, the district attorney or the judges? It’s one thing to beautify our community and to expand commercially to draw people to our area, but let’s also work on our broken legal system which no doubt, needs attention. I don’t like to see page after page in our local paper about ongoing burglaries. I feel uncomfortable living here because of this lack of law enforcement.

Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls are beautiful communities yet, due to ineffective law enforcement, it causes one to think twice about making these areas their home base.

JANIE HANSEN

Coeur d’Alene