50 cops, 5 EMTs

So a few months ago my aunt had a massive heart attack.. they called 911... and it took about half an hour for anybody to come... then when they did, they took her to the hospital, where there were like 1-2 doctors working... needless to say she passed away...

Yet, (my town is very small like 1,200) people... if you call 911 and report a "suspicious" person.. 5-10 minutes later 5 cops will roll down and check it out.

How is it that paying so many cops (trust me we have a lot-- sheriffs, cops, unmarked black cars, unmarked white cars... maybe like 2 more)... but you only have like 1-2 EMT vehicles? Again, I am in a small town and they use so much resources on cops and don't seem to care about emergencies. The fire fighters never actually respond to these situations either.

If you live in a small town do you notice any of this?

Firstly,sorry to hear about your aunt.

But you can't place the blame on the cops. Cops respond to the kind of calls you just mentioned...not EMTs.So that's probably why you notice it more. Perhaps if this really a problem you should take it up with your towns government. I don't live in a small town but I've lived close to and had friends that do and I've noticed the difference too.I never understood the need for so many cops in those places either,but obviously,they're there for a reason. Sorry I can't be of more help except to say write your town's government.Or perhaps start a petition for more EMT's.

ETA: Also,the sheriffs and unmarked cars probably aren't owned by your town.They are most likely county officers patrolling.So maybe there isn't as many "local" police as you think?

I honestly think it's because there are more situations where cops are called than EMS personnel. I live in Brooklyn, NY and the cops are busier than EMS personnel out here. There are probably 25 cop cars on the move in a 3 neighborhood span while there are only 5 ambulances on the move. My guess is that emergencies where immediate medical attention is needed don't occur all that often, and most people drive themselves to the Hospital to avoid a large bill. It could all come down to just being one of the unlucky few to make the call while the EMS personnel are occupied with other medical emergencies. It's sad to think about it, and I feel for you and your loss. Out here an ambulance, fire truck, and cop car get to you in 2 minutes, 5 minutes tops, they fly.

It's pretty much the same in my small town. Our police just built a 2.5 million dollar building to use as their station when we have five empty buildings in town that could have been renovated to fit their use for a fraction of the cost. Also our firestation needs work and the fire chiefs office is in a trailer. But our scared citizens felt the need to let them fly with wastefull spending so we have a militarized police force with a brand new headquarters while other more needed services suffer.

Corruption and misplaced priorities are fluent in every form of government these days and will continue to be until the people change things. We may not have control over big government but as far a local governments are concerned the people can easily reclaim them. We have had many local politicians replaced in our recent elections to rid the area of corruption so we shall see how things go from here.

reply to post by ReadyPower


Depend on yourself and learn new skills of survival!! You cannot depend on the cops or the healthcare system!! I am sorry you lost a family member!! I hope that you are doing ok!! I worked as a Medic for 4 years..we did the best we could to get to a call as fast as we could!! You may want to create a First Responder Unit in youre town..they can sometime get there faster than the Ambulance!! There is nothing that a Medic can do that you cannot learn..it just comes down to getting the proper equipment!! Thanks to GPS response time is allot better these days than back in the 90's when I was a Medic!! I remember sleeping in my uniform and waking up at the station and taking off to answer calls!! I wish you the best!! Learn all you can!! NC

Putting perps in the klink gets you cash.

Saving citizens costs you cash.

The smell of money leads you to your answer.