Peirspictiochtai Ar An Saol
Zero-Based Law Enforcement
Part Nine
Disputes between family members, neighbors, friends, and strangers can devolve into situations where law enforcement officers may need to get involved. While situations that involve violence or attempted violence typically involve law enforcement officers taking direct actions – arrests, for example – situations that don't involve violence or attempted violence don't necessarily require law enforcement officers to take actions like arrests.
Instead, law enforcement officers following the percepts of Zero-Based Law Enforcement could take actions that help to mediate and resolve disputes.
Law enforcement officers could strive to separate the parties, listen to each person, and then offer some suggestions on how to resolve the immediate issues and ways that problems that cannot be solved immediately could be resolved in the future.
Listening to the individuals involved is critical as is the need for the individuals involved in the disputes to listen to one another.
A couple of examples:
When a verbal argument between a husband and wife gets so loud that neighbors can hear the words and are concerned for the safety of one or both of the individuals, the neighbors may call the local law enforcement entity. When law enforcement officers arrive and determine that it is a verbal argument – not involving physical acts of violence or threats of violence – those law enforcement officers could separate the two individuals.
In listening to each of the individuals, the law enforcement officers might determine that the current argument is over something that many people would consider foolish – like not putting the cap back on a tube of toothpaste – but that the actual dispute between the husband and wife is over much more important issues.
The law enforcement officers might recommend that the husband and wife consider seeking assistance through specific types of mediation and dispute resolution services available in the local community.
Prior to leaving the two individuals, the law enforcement officers would need to make an assessment that the two individuals would at least consider ways to resolve their argument without resorting to violence or attempted violence.
In addition, the law enforcement officers could visit with the neighbors who called for their assistance to get their views on the situation. The law enforcement officers might determine that the involvement of the neighbors in the specific domestic dispute was welcomed, but the law enforcement officers might also determine that the neighbors put themselves in the midst of an argument that didn't involve the neighbors and might have actually created more potential problems for the future.
When a verbal argument between neighbors is the issue, one or both of the neighbors may request assistance from the local law enforcement entity. As with situations that involve family members – like a husband and wife – disputes between neighbors may devolve into acts of violence or attempted acts of violence.
If the law enforcement officers who arrive on the scene determine that there is no violence or attempted violence involved in the specific situation, the law enforcement officers could take steps similar to ones involving domestic disputes: Separate the parties. Listen to their views. Determine if there is a way to resolve the dispute at the moment or determine if there is a need for mediation and dispute resolution services.
Consider a dispute that involves one neighbor parking their car on a public street near the second neighbor's home. Because of the layout of the street and the way the car is typically parked on the street, the second neighbor may not have a good line-of-sight when pulling out of their driveway.
The law enforcement officers might suggest that the first neighbor park their car in their own driveway, if possible, or if the first neighbor needs or feels the need to park on the public street, to park their car in such a way that it does not block the line-of-sight for the second neighbor.
Let's assume, for a moment, that the second neighbor agrees to these two options for the first neighbor, but the first neighbor indicates that "they have the right" to park where they want on the public street. In other words, the first neighbor is not willing to help resolve the dispute.
The best resolution would be for each of the neighbors to have lines-of-sight so that the risk of traffic accidents would be minimized.
The law enforcement officers could meet with traffic officials to determine if a "No Parking" zone could be placed on the specific section of the public street involved in the dispute. The "No Parking" zone could be implemented for specific time periods or across the board at all times.
If such a zone is approved, law enforcement officers might need to visit with the neighbors prior to the implementation of the "No Parking" zone to gauge what the potential responses may be from both of the neighbors.
Such a "No Parking" zone might resolve the dispute between the two neighbors, but could also create even more animosity between them in the future. If, for example, the first neighbor continues to park their car on the public street – now in a "No Parking" zone – that first neighbor might get fined for parking in such a zone or might have their vehicle towed.
Many of these types of situations involve judgment calls. Judgment calls by law enforcement officers that could be viewed as correct or incorrect in hindsight.
For some, it may be easier for law enforcement officers to make arrests and let others – prosecutors or judges, noting two examples – make judgment calls in the future.
Zero-Based Law Enforcement calls for making arrests when necessary, but only when necessary.
Zero-Based Law Enforcement does not include making arrests simply to avoid making judgment calls.
The next news column in this series will focus on how law enforcement officers could deal with mental health-related activities through Zero-Based Law Enforcement.
Peirspictiochtai Ar A Saol – Gaelic – Irish – for "Perspectives On Life" is a column focused on aspects of accountability and responsibility as well as ways people look at life.
Contact Richard McDonough at
© 2026 Richard McDonough
