Taking "Broken Windows" Policing Too Far

It's a toss-up as to which party showed the poorest judgement in Wednesday's Made-For-TV 'news' stunt to show why you shouldn't leave your cellphones and iPods visible in cars at park-and-ride lots during Summerfest.

Was the worst judgement shown by Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke?

It was his event, complete with scary-looking deputies dressed like bad guys, demonstrating to news crews how to smash a car window to steal items left inside.

Or was it the TV stations with goofy judgement - - here's WTMJ Channel 4 's tape and online posting that aired the stunt. (TMJ4 even disclosed the very parking lots that will not be patrolled during Summerfest)

Here's a few lines from the TMJ4 news-you-can-use-or-get-paranoid-about-piece:

"To help stop the problem, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is asking everyone to leave their valuables at home instead of leaving them inside of cars parked in the Park and Ride lots.

"They simply walk through the lots looking through windows, which makes it easy for them to determine what they can steal," Clarke said.

"Leaving valuable items at home, or locking them in your trunk or out of plain view will help prevent theft and save you a great deal of inconvenience and expense."

Good grief: Leave your valuables at home?

We need the busy sheriff of Milwaukee County to tell us that? Talk about your nanny state!

And Summerfest must have just loved the publicity. They push taking the express buses to and from the festival, and now we've got these warnings about smash-and-grab thefts, and not enough coppers to patrol all the lots?


Hey: Happy 40th Anniversary, Summerfest!