DUTCH TREAT

Police agencies exchanging officers, to broaden their horizons, is nothing new. In the sixties the London, England, PD (Scotland Yard) and New York PD swapped a few cops for a limited time. Trouble was the London cops, who didn't even have to carry guns in merry ol' England, soon jumped in the East river and swam East, terrified and trying to get out of NYC with their lives in tact. While the NYC cops, enjoying the vacation, were filing for extensions of duty.

The CCSO once did an exchange with the Netherlands. We received one male cop and a lady, who I'll call Gretchen Gootentah. Gretchen was a 6-foot-two blond beauty who spoke seven languages, had a Master's degree, and was a martial arts expert--as several CCSO kung-fuers who practiced with her could attest to.

Asked Gretchen one day how the Netherlands got away with legalizing marijuana and prostitution, two crimes that sap our police resources. She said they weren't legal, just overlooked. In the Netherlands if a crime wasn't really causing any problem they officially overlooked it.

As an example, you could have small amounts of marijuana with no problem. Even buy and smoke it in some restaurants. Police were not allowed to search persons for these minor amounts. But, you weren't allowed to deal marijuana or any hard drug unless you wanted to face severe penalties.

Prostitution was the same way. Prostitutes openly advertised in display windows on the streets or solicited in public. No problem. Everyone realized that prostitution would never be stopped.

When asked what she thought of our methods, she said it seemed a huge waste of resources.

She might be on to something.