I think every cop knows that ‘house arrest’ is a useless form of punishment/rehabilitation.  The only thing it is good for is allowing the courts to “feel good” about having “done something” to punish a convict without sending them to prison.

Think about it for a second…  A jury has convicted someone for a crime. But, rather than sending them to prison, we just send them home.  Yeah…that will teach them!

Case in point: a knock and talk I did Saturday night.  While riding through a neighborhood looking for an armed robbery suspect, a man flags me down.  He tells me about his niece who has “rocks and weed” all over the coffee table. She also owes him money, but I’m sure that did not have anything to do with why he flagged me down.

So, a couple of officers and I go by the apatment.  I knock and she answers.  I introduce myself and she invites us in.  Once inside I ask “Got any drugs?”  She says “Yep…got a pile of weed over there,” and points to a pile of weed that was, in fact, over there.

I ask “Is this your purse?”  She says “Yep.  And those pills are ones that my girlfriend gave me for my toothache.”  Uh-huh.

I say “You are under arrest.”  She says “There is cocaine in my bra.”

I inquire about the lovely, state required, bracelet around her ankle.  She tells me that she was on probation for cocaine and pills, but was caught with more cocaine and pills.  So, the court sentenced her to house arrest as a punishment.  “How very effective,” I say.

So, I carry her down to the jail with three new drug charges.  But, get this, being arrested while on house arrest does not net you a “no bond”.  In other words, she can immediately post a bond and walk right out of jail.  I get the deputies to max her bond which totals a mere $10,750.  Of course, I am hoping that will keep her in jail until the next morning when a judge can review the case and her status and “no bond” her.

Well, the judge did see her the next morning…and promptly reduced the bond to $5,500.

Sometimes, I don’t know why I bother to go to work.