Law enforcement must be respected. It also needs to be liked. And, above all, it must be trusted. Citizens should feel welcome to engage with police — not coerced. That balance is what makes American law enforcement different.
Douglas County now plans to require retailers who’ve been victimized by shoplifters to report the crime to police or face fines ranging from $50 to $1,000. I applaud the sentiment shoplifting won’t be tolerated in Douglas County. But this ordinance risks backfiring.
Let’s start with the obvious: it makes no sense to pass a law that can’t be enforced. We usually leave that sort of thing to the mandate-happy left…