Is Running from Police Easier Now?

Shoplifting is easy to justify.  You’re hungry and need some food.  You’re thirsty and need some beer.  You’re addicted to nicotine, so need a smoke. Maybe you’re the victim of social injustice. Perhaps ads and commercials have caused you to crave something you might not otherwise have wanted.  Besides, the cost of the item is negligible and will be borne by tens of thousands of other shoppers.

       But luck is against you at Walmart that day.  You’re stopped at the front door by a “greeter” asking to see your receipt, perhaps because of prejudicial profiling of one sort or another.  Is it OK to just say “I refuse” and keep on walking? 

    Chances are that the aging greeter won’t attempt to physically  restrain you.  Besides, shoppers who do pay and possess a receipt can likewise say “I refuse” and keep on walking, can’t they?  Can the latter be arrested for refusing to show a receipt?

      Let’s say the police are called and then attempt to detain the shoplifter.  Like the greeter, the police are unlikely to enter into a foot chase.  But evading police can still carry much stiffer penalty than shoplifting, so few take the risk.

     The recent spate of urban shootings reveals more desperate individuals who can’t afford to have their criminal records checked by police.   Running may get easier than ever, especially if even police with drawn guns aren’t allowed to shoot those who are evading.  Escape into “street tough” neighborhoods may be simple for those who know escape routes.

        As with Walmart greeters, most career police can’t outrun young offenders, nor do their meager salaries encourage dangerous pursuit afoot.  Don’t most criminals who run get away anyway, though nightly news focuses on the few that are actually caught?