The Police ARE NOT Lobby Groups

Prime Minister Harper does not get it. Period.

At a speech last week, Harper called upon police to lobby our politicians to get his "tough on crime" bills pushed through.

This scares the hell out of me on several different levels. First, is the fact that the vast majority of this legislation is not only illegal, but undermines fundamental principles of law in Canada.

For Harper to turn around and call upon Police forces to act as lobbyists on behalf of already illegal legislation is just plain wrong. Worse, it sets a precedent that I consider extremely dangerous indeed. The police exist to enforce the law, not write it.

Additionally, turning them into politically driven organizations creates a very worrisome spectre of the Police forces in the country "lobbying" using the kind of persuasion tactics that used to be reserved for the likes of the KGB.

An armed enforcement agency should never be encouraged to act as a political lobby.

Of course, coming from a Prime Minister who is actively trying to stack the judicial bench, and reproductive technology overview panels with conservative hacks, his demand that the police "lobby" for illegal legislation shouldn't come as any surprise.

[Update:]
As the Globe and Mail points out Harper's statistics are just a wee bit suspect themselves. Coming from a party that has lied about itself and its motives from the get-go, it's not surprising.

... an aside (sort of) - take a look at this article about what BushCo & the Rethuglicans have been doing to America, and ask yourself how much Harper's policies and actions mirror BushCo...
[/Update]