locolocal
New member
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...military-swat-trucks-of-orange-county/283832/
The quarter-million-dollar vehicles are available to police in four suburban cities, including Irvine, which ranks as the safest city in America.
How safe is Irvine, California? Last year, it had the lowest violent-crime rate of any city with more than 100,000 people?a title it has claimed for nine straight years. Its population is roughly 230,000, yet there are typically just two murders per annum. If the UC Irvine mascot escaped its cage and started roaming city streets, only local ants would hide. The most feared figure from Irvine? Ezra Klein.
Irvine is that safe. Yet some years ago, the city bought a military-style, nine-ton, $283,000 armor-plated truck. It has gun ports in the walls. There's a rotating turret on top. Federal counterterrorism dollars funded the purchase. Money well spent?