Jacobs

Beloit, Wisconsin Police Chief Norm Jacobs is serious about preventing crime in his town and has obviously taken the gun grabbers’ gun-violence-as-a-public-health-issue approach to heart. “Gun violence is as serious as the Ebola virus is being represented in the media, and we should fight it using the tools that we’ve learned from our health providers.” Amen to that. Think about it for a minute. If you’re feeling poorly and suspect you may be sick — or have spent too much time in west Africa lately — you go your doctor and ask him to poke around to see what he can find, right? Well wpr.com tells us that’s exactly the approach Chief Jacobs wants Beloiters to take when it comes to civilian-owned firearms. Which is why . . .

Police in Beloit are launching a new effort to reduce gun violence in which they’re asking city residents to volunteer to have police search their homes for guns. …

Jacobs said he hopes some searches will result in the discovery of guns they didn’t know were in their own homes. He said that there’s also a chance they’ll find guns linked to crimes.

It just makes sense really. Think of it as a routine colonoscopy of your house and property. Probably something you should schedule annually. All Chief Jacobs and his boys in blue will be doing is snipping those hidden bleeding polyps that could otherwise cause you problems down the road. Metaphorically speaking.

Seriously, if you’re a true Person of the Gun who owns lots of heaters, God knows it can be hard to keep track of them all. How many times have you been cleaning your house and came across a 1911 you didn’t know was stashed in a drawer? Maybe a Mossy 500 in the pantry? Or a bona fide crime gun some dood managed to stash in your basement when you weren’t looking? It happens all the time!

…Jacobs said he doesn’t expect the phone to be ringing off the hook with requests for police to search their homes. He nevertheless hopes the program will encourage people to think about gun violence….

Besides, what’s more American than a voluntary police search of your residence? And isn’t it good to see law enforcement acting in such a proactive way to keep the good people of Beloit safe in their own homes?

[h/t JP]

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113 COMMENTS

    • There is no shortage of foolish people out there who will volunteer.

      Then they will regret it when they get busted for the pot they find in their daughter’s bedroom. And then they will be shocked when they receive the civil asset forfeiture letter stating the police are going to confiscate their house.

      • X0000000hrdX08 stack error
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        discussion terminated
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    • “Hello Sir! We’re the Police and we’ve come to your home to offer a FREE safety search of the premises for guns! May we have your permission to come in?”

      “Uhhh, am I suspected of a crime?”

      “No Sir. We would just like your permission to come into your home, snoop through all of your effects, identify that you have firearms, record them all on a handy-dandy list, sniff your wife’s lingerie, then make sure to arrest you for code violations and anything else we can make stick. Sounds great right?”

      “Not really, do you have a warrant?”

      “No Sir.”

      “You do not have my permission to enter. No crimes have been committed and I will not allow searches through my private effects or property without a warrant. It is every citizen’s duty to enforce the separation of powers between the citizenry and the state by exercising our civil rights, regardless of how good or evil your intentions may be.”

      “Okalee dokalee Sir. Your refusal to comply has been noted on the aforementioned handy-dandy, kick-in-your-door-flashbang-your-wife-and-shoot-your-dog-the-next-time-we’re-here list. Have a great day!”

    • What? Doesn’t any besides me find random crime scene guns laying about in their house? I can’t go a week without finding that two or three of the pesky things have sought refuge in my home (and my truck). I’m not sure what attracts them to my house in particular, but it can get quite annoying at times, particularly when they’ve decided to hide their cold selves in my bed.

      I wonder if they do out of state house calls. This madness has to end.

      /sarcasm

  2. Beloit is below the cheddar wall and is more like an Illinois city then a Wisconsin city. Having said that I can’t see any good coming from the police snooping around your house I don’t care how honest and law abiding you are.

  3. I never thought that police violations of the 4th amendment would be so…lazy.

    What, they don’t even have the good decency to threaten you with imaginary warrants and guilt trips anymore? They just wait for you to call and tell them that you’ve had it up to here with all your rights and would gladly throw a few away?

    I think I just had an anuerism from the sheer stupidity of this concept.

      • Sure, and the 1934 NFA doesn’t violate the 2nd amendment, because a judge said so.

        I mean, if the police can get away with uninformed consent, can I?

        • Avid Reader really hit the nail on the head with the hammer. This is not about the gun owner” consent; this is about the other residents in the house shafting the actual gun owner.

        • Actually, I am pretty much a civil rights absolutist and even I don’t think that a consent search violates the 4th amendment. Let’s do some simplified scenario based training:

          Person A is approached by a police officer. Police officer searches person A without probably cause to arrest and without a warrant. Person A’s 4th amendment rights have been violated.

          Person B is approached by a police officer. Police officer requests permission to search Person B. Person B agrees to be searched. Police officer performs search after permission is given. Person B’s 4th amendment rights are intact because Person B consented to be searched.

          Person C is approached by a police office. Police officer requests permission to search Person C. Person C agrees to be searched. Police officer begins search after permission is given. Person C withdraws permission in the middle of the search and police officer states “I’m almost done” and completes search. Person C’s 4th amendment rights have been violated, as the police officer continues his search after he no longer had consent to do so.

          Person D is approached by a police office. Police officer requests permission to search Person D. Person D agrees to be searched. Police officer begins search after permission is given. Person D withdraws permission in the middle of the search and police officer states “okay” and immediately ceases his search. Person D’s 4th amendment rights are intact, as the police officer ended his search in the absence of consent.

          See how that works? I know everyone likes to get in a “f*ck the POlice” tizzy around here, but simply labeling something as a rights violation doesn’t make it so.

        • Indiana Tom,
          good points to think about. Raises the following questions:

          Does a home owner/lease holder have the authority to allow a search of:

          1) The entire home to include areas that are explicitly NOT occupied by the person granting consent to search. E.g. his 18 year old daughter’s room, his wife’s office (as opposed to a shared space like a family office), his mother-in-law’s room?

          2) Areas that are the domicile of a minor. I.e. do minors have any reasonable expectation of privacy if a parent authorized the police to search?

          3) ANY area without the unanimous consent of all title or lease holders? Specifically, can a public area such as a shed, living room, garage or kitchen be searched with the consent of only one lease/title holder?

          Lots of other questions come to mind but those are the major ones.

      • No, Mark is right. They don’t have to violate your 4th Am rights if you are stupid enough to throw them away. Spouses and angry teens might make for some really interesting constitutional issues, tho.

      • So, are the friendly Beloit officers going to do the equivalent of Mirandizing people before suckering them into voluntarily giving up their Fourth-Amendment protections?

        “You have a right not to let us into your house. Anything we find can and will be used against you in a court of law…” etc.?

    • You have a right to consent just like you have a right not to engage in political speech.

      I do worry about people consenting who have no standing to do so, however, and if that happens I hope the courts are very wary of any search.

  4. When I clean my guns sometimes I lose one. You know, like socks in the dryer.

    I’d be happy to see if I can search the Chief’s finances and see if we can find him a little more money.

      • You know, I put my Barrett .50 M82A1 down the other day in the house and just can’t remember where I left it. Maybe they can help me find it! It’s like when I loose my car in the garage (oh wait, I was thinking of car keys in the house, bad analogy) or my grand piano (I meant cleaning rag for the keys, there goes another analogy out the window) . . .

        • You laugh, but at work two jobs ago, the main office realized they couldn’t account for something, and required us to search for it at our office just in case it was here. Everyone had to inform them whether or not it was in their cubicle.

          It was a server well over the size of a refrigerator. Yeah, it was hiding under the clutter on my desk.

        • Barretts have been known to crawl off. They like cool, dark places, so check those out, and be sure you have a “capture stick” like the use on snakes!

  6. A “voluntary” search, right? So that little stash of weed or blow they just “happened” to drop, er, uhhh, “find”, won’t be used against you? Yeah, right.

    And that $5,000 Krieghoff Luger from the attic that Grandpa brought back from WWII will be preserved for the family, right?

  7. The same policemen that say “If you have nothing to hide, why would you refuse to let me search your car” will refuse to let you video them and will confiscate and “lose” your smart phone if they can’t erase it. If they have nothing to hide what are they afraid of? I’m insulted and outraged at the mere suggestion of this.

    • If those police suspect you of something, they should ask a judge for a warrant. If they don’t suspect you of something, why do they want to search?

      Same logic.

      Wait, it’s a fishing expedition? Why would anyone consent to that?

  9. And I care what this guy says who looks like he fell out of the door of the short bus?
    He commands a dept of 70 or so sworn officers in a town of around 38,000 or so.
    His comments mean zilch to me.

    They are idiotic.

    • Why is it that these police chiefs have more stars than a full US Army general? Can you imagine this guy’s head on the uniform of Patton, Eisenhower, Bradley, or Abrams? It’s like he’s playing dress-up…

    • The problem, as someone else pointed out is when someone other than yourself volunteers the search out of spite. I originally laughed at the stupidity of this program until I read that comment. Now it worries me. It’s like the program that allows a family member to report a gun owner to be unfit due to mental issues.

  13. Yeah um he could search my home when he had a search warrant. Without it um through my could dead body. The constitution rules all.

  14. I would consent to this but I would pastel dye all of my guns and “hide” them in painfully obvious places. Alternatively, I would hide them in plain sight in very terrible disguises: a mop head over my AR barrel in the corner, my Remington 870 as a lamp post in the living room, a couple of handguns hanging by the trigger guard on my key hooks. You know, the places you would normally store firearms. And then when they asked about it I’d be like, these damn things have a mind of their own officer – you better take them for the next time you shoot an unarmed citizen. You’ll have plausible deniability that way.

    • This is the best idea I’ll see on the internet today. Hand them all pink baskets with the fake grass upon arrival.

    • Yep, what is it with the four stars bit? My PD Superintendent wears a Colonel’s Eagle. That seems to suffice. No one is ever confused about who he is. Frankly, the same thing goes for the “officer” bit. Perhaps those with a four-year degree and a souped up version of Police Academy should be called that. “Detective”? Fine. Patrolman? Fine. Sergeant? I’m OK with that. Same with the rest, Lieutenant and so forth. It simply bothers me that a the title “officer” has become generic, devalued. Perhaps it started with the four stars BS.

  16. What generosity on the part of Norm Jacobs. In a paltry attempt to reciprocate, I volunteer to look through all his squad cars’ dash cam tapes and through arraignment officer-testimony recordings searching for misplaced misstatements he might want removed from his records. After all, nothing good can come from festering half-truths, exaggerations, and deceits that he might not realize are there.

  18. Is this even serious? Like maybe those guns snuck in there on accident?

    Although to be honest, you have to wonder about someone who lives in a house full of guns (/sarc) and doesnt even know it.

  20. I would only let him in my home if I could treat him like the child that he is.

    “You’re getting warmer……Warmer……WARMER……..Ahh, COLD, COLD, so cold now.”

    “Hey little Copper, do you see any guns here!? Neither do I!”
    “Uh-oh, wait! What’s that behind your ear…….it’s a 357 Magnum! YAY!”

  21. Wow.
    Maybe they’ll find those guns that just “go off”. Or those ghost guns…
    I thnk I better hold my tongue now.

    • Ooh! maybe they can bring the Ghost Hunters to find the ghost guns! That has possibilities for a new episode! If anyone does it, make sure they credit me… this time.

  22. It’s times like these I’m glad English is such a rich and vibrant language. This is exactly the sort of thing that the phrase “What the fuck?” was invented for.

  23. Just in case you need helping finding guns in your house that you didn’t know were there? What?!

    If that ain’t a trap, I have a bridge I will sell ya…

    • Say now, there’s an unexpected positive in this! One could conceivably come out of it richer by atleast one AR! And already loaded up with the very best in tac.

  26. Apropos of nothing, that guy has a very punchable face, and the shape of his noggin make me think think the doctor was a tad too aggressive with the forceps during his assisted birth.

    That would explain the mental slowness that would allow him to believe that something like this is even remotely okay.

    • He looks like the kind of guy that tells a really stupid joke, that nobody gets, and goes ‘Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk when he’s done.

    • For some reason he reminds me of Barney Fife – someone who should only be allowed to have one bullet, and not permitted to load it.

  27. How about he searches his own [redacted] cavity with a [redacted] coated in sandpaper.

    He should be sent forcibly to the U.K., or better yet, Oceania.

      • Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. Except when it’s at war with Eastasia. Then it’s always been at war with Eastasia.

        • Crimethink, for even suggesting it hasn’t always been this way! It can’t possibly ever be the other way.

          @Swarf, the Americas, North and South, are part of Oceania.

  28. Not sure what the stats are for Belot but have seen lately they have a serious gun violence problem in the town. Being anywhere near Rockford will do that for you. Not defending him just a fact….

  29. I lived behind the cheddar curtain for two years. Coming from the west, I was amazed at the layers of local government-county, state, city, township, etc. Each of these groups was crawling with statists, irrespective of party, who didn’t hesitate to impose what little power they had available to them whenever they could.

    I recall sitting in a township board meeting while the board determined whether or not to rent the township hall to someone for a wedding reception. Granted, there were some logical questions, such as if alcohol would be served, etc., but when they started asking who would be in attendance and the type of music that would be played, I nearly lost it.

  30. Then when they find said “gun you didn’t know was there” you will be hauled off to the gray bar hotel. Or fined. Or both.

  31. After reading this, I was concerned about all my “misplaced” firearms, than whilst rummaging in the winter clothes closet, the Ma Duece I put away years ago and “lost” was found behind the ugly Christmas sweaters.

    Thank you Officer Friendly! So glad I found it!!!

    When you try to idiot proof something, lo and behold, a better idiot comes along.

  33. Remember like most should know. Police Chiefs are politicians, nothing more nothing less. Pencil neck loser.

  35. If this is just the Chief offering this to the public, fine. Well… it’s still ridiculous in almost every respect. But it’s legally fine with me if someone wants to call the police to have them search their house (though writing that just makes my head shake).

    But if the police start going to doors and ‘offering’ a search, then I’ve got a problem…

  36. Search for guns people don’t know are in their own home? If I thought their search of my home would turn up a classic English double rifle, then maybe something to consider.

    Since I think not, I will treat them like vampires – i won’t invite them in.

  38. Oddly, I did once find a gun in a house. I was at our camp and while rummaging under the eves found an old Hawkins percussion rifle. It had been broken at the grip but, still, nobody knew about it.

  39. Is it Aprils fool day already??
    This post is a joke isn’t it??
    Is this guy for real??
    Consent to search??
    Why would any even, an ignorant person do this??
    My my my.
    An ass for every seat. Build the chair.

  40. Well, being that he is from the birthplace of The Progressive Movement, I am sure he means well. Grandma probably doesnt know where Grandpa stored everything, and now that he’s in the memory assistance ward, and she’s always been a bit dotty, anyway, and likely become afraid because GUNS!

    She doesnt know better, and will simply put herself or the estate at risk for a long forgotten gun not registered, or somehow become “dangerous”…

    And, you know that along with the wireless tower spoofers that *ahem* some LEAs got, from some federal alphabet agency, why…maybe Benoit can test out the see thru walls imager, metal derectors, they got from Big Sis along with the MRAP, courtesy of DOD that DHS doesnt want to get tagged with,

    so they schlep it off to some eager junior Obama Youth Leader in a generals uniform, and while trooping aroujd grandmaw, aim accidentally into the neighbors house…hey!

    Parallel construction, baby! We got you on that broken taillight, now open the trunk, garage, whatever….

    Besides, theres probably a few thinfs gone missing from Benoits evidence locker, and they need a few spares, you know, “just what their armorer can work on, thats compatible…”

    what!? me cynical? about a small town barney? nahhh…

  46. Typical of the state of affairs between police and the public today. They do not understand that we do not want them in our homes. We do not want them busting a guy’s chops over a $0.75 cigarette. For the love of God, go out there and look for rapists, go out there and look for thieves. Don’t even think of trying to invite yourself into my home to find things to use against me. This crap does nothing but destroy the public’s trust. And FWIW I come from a LEO family. This garbage is embarrassing.

  47. Never, never invite them into your house. They would only cross my threshold when they have a warrant in their hand. Otherwise, all conversation would take place on the porch unless I ordered them off my property.

  49. I’m by no means the smartest guy in the northern hemisphere but all I can say is “wtf” is this leo thinking? I have found a 20$ in a blazer but never a box of blazers that I forgot about. I can’t believe our or in this case their tax dollars buy this….

  50. If I had a home in Beloit, and assuming this story isn’t a hoax, then I think I would let them in, with the understanding that there may be a gun under the crawl space and they can search there and only there.

    Half an hour with a garden hose beforehand would make certain they would not enjoy the operation.

    Then, they would be off to search my like-minded neighbors’ crawl spaces.

    I doubt this initiative would get very far under those circumstances.

  51. This sounds like a great way to easily dispose of inferior firearms. Just load the house up with Remington products and then call the cops on yourself.

  53. I’m afraid this goofball is serious. I WISH I had a gun stuck somewhere. My luck they’d find drugs I didn’t know about. Many years ago I had my car searched and they found the remains of ajoint. Pretty sure it came from the guy I bought the car from 2 years before. And yes the cops were from Chicago and were total racist a##wipes. I’ve known dozens of Chicago cops and the vast majority were criminals with a badge.

  54. What a dick! Beloit, Wisconsin is an economically depressed anomaly on the Il-Wis border. I can buy a 2,000 square foot home there for less than $30k. The people who live there don’t live there by choice. They’re stuck living in depressing mediocrity while trying to protect their homes and families from gang bangers. If the best solution by this guy is to take weapons away from fearful law-abiding citizens, then he needs to re-evaluate his political aspirations. Seems like this police chief has written off his own town. He should probably take example from his well-respected colleague to the east- Milwaukee county sheriff David Clarke.

  55. Usually when someone “in charge” publicly says something this stupid, he is invited as a guest on a news talk show. I would rather he be on with Colbert or Stewart than FOX News because FOX would take him seriously but Comedy Central would ridicule him to no end.

  56. He must be an alien or something. I mean, REALLY? What good German would actu ally invite swine into their homes?

  57. “Trust me, I’m from the government and I am here to help”. Do we really need any long winded tirades about how absurd this concept is. That said, I agree with many here who believe that some will embrace this action. So Sad.

  59. If you don’t know you have a gun in the house? then it is hidden away so securely that it will never be a hazard to anyone. What are they going to do, tear out the drywall, pry up floorboards?

  60. there will be an auntie who finally decides to clean house. a phone call of complete desperation, to be sure. not everyone is master of their domain.
    the sound of a nickel being flipped into the toilet. “bloyt.”

  62. Will the Chief allow “concerned citizens” to search HIS home and the homes of all of his officers? Hey, if they don’t have anything to hide they should not object! And we all need to make sure the police are properly securing their guns when they are at home – “for the children”.

    And will someone tell me why every Police Chief of every Podunk town or massive city gets to look like a 4-star general? Why not have 5 or 10 stars on your shoulder or collar, to show you are REALLY important! Hey, look at me! I’m a bigger general than George Patton!

  63. Just remember to delete all the illegally downloaded music from your computer before you call them for your free inspection, in case they inspect it for hidden guns too.

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