Have they had a change of heart? Not exactly.

He’s referring to Operation Gun Stop, a program implemented by the NYPD where citizens can turn in other citizens for possessing a gun. According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, they’re “offering $1,000 to each person who contacts us with information that leads to an arrest and a conviction.”

And how is such contact made? “Anonymously by dialing the toll-free number, 866-GUN STOP. Rewards are paid within 72 hours of the arrest of one or more suspects,” Crouch writes.

Anonymously? Why?

“If someone notifies us about a member of a drug crew who is known to possess illegal firearms, under no circumstances do we want that person’s name available to the criminal,” Kelly explains. “If even we don’t know who the person is, he is that much safer. Otherwise, the arrest of a suspect could lead to grim results.”

Kelly just admitted he doesn’t trust his police force to keep the names of its confidential informants safe from the subjects of its investigations.

“I think this is the kind of a program that should provide a national model for addressing a far from insignificant problem,” Crouch gushes in praise.

It could provide a national model for all kinds of opportunities, Mr. Crouch. If I’m a drug dealer and I want to eliminate the competition, why not let New York’s finest do the job for me? Chances are, my rivals will be packing, so I’ll not only get them busted, but I’ll collect a cool grand per head. And if I’m really lucky, maybe one or more of them will go for their waistbands and I can get the cops to take ’em out for me.

Or what if I’m just mad at somebody? What if some bum has stolen my girl or I think a guy ripped me off or I’m just a creep who wants to victimize someone for the twisted hell of it? This would be a pretty sweet way of doing that, wouldn’t you say? Sic the cops on ’em, maybe get ’em killed, and remember: even the police won’t know who I am. Forget the reward. Besides, maybe I can take pictures of the action and sell them to The Daily News.

Or what if I’m one of those policemen Commissioner Kelly doesn’t trust? What if I have no probable cause for a search warrant, but I don’t want to let the Fourth Amendment get in my way any more than the Second does in NYC? Why not just call in the tip myself, and enjoy a toll-free bypass around the Constitution?

What Crouch proposes is nothing short of un-American. It’s hard to determine if he just doesn’t know any better, or chillingly, if he does. Nonetheless, his very name brings to mind Samuel Adams’ famous reproach, “Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!”

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