Speaking of New York, The Scrapbook was walking through Central Park the other day when a police car came cruising down one of the interior roads. As it rolled by, almost as an afterthought, its loudspeakers blared “The sign says don’t walk!” and the car leisurely disappeared around the next corner. In a similar situation and even more recently, a cop car approached a group of cyclists, an electronically amplified voice blared “Use the bike path!” and then the car sped off.
We are certain the efficiency of this idea will appeal to some people: the police, invisibly ensconced in their tint-windowed cars—or better yet, safely observing us on camera direct from headquarters—simply shouting at anyone who steps out of line. The Scrapbook, for its part, prefers the officer who walks his beat, ideally with a smile on his face, and with the concept firmly in his mind that he is a servant of the public and not a faceless, technocratic busybody.
