California – The Land Without Law

Nothing good can happen in a long period of drought. The latest example can be found in California – theft is increasing, “black markets” have formed in most rural areas, and law enforcement can’t deal with all of that at the same time.

Nobody Is Safe

Californians are experiencing a crippling drought for some time now, and it doesn’t seem to have an end. And if their faucets being dry wasn’t bad enough, thieves have begun targeting unprotected reservoirs and wells, collecting water and selling it to the highest bidder.

They’ve even gone as far as emptying the water tanks that belong to the North San Juan fire department.

“We were just absolutely stunned,” said Boyd Johnson, a battalion chief with the North San Juan fire department. “Fires are on everyone’s mind during the summer so to see this happen, I think it really scared people.”

Besides the drought itself, the major lack of police activity can be blamed for the thievery that’s going on. That’s probably because the fine for stealing water is only $25, while the act is treated as misdemeanor.

Nonetheless, officers have increased patrol efforts so that they can intercept and investigate any potential crime of this kind.

Power Of The People

Despite all the bad stuff that’s happening, many ordinary citizens have taken things into their own hands.

More and more locking mechanism have been implemented in water tanks recently – even the fire department has agreed upon reacting slower than normal in exchange to actually having water when they arrive at the scene.

As for the average Joes, there has been some major community watch efforts from their part, in which neighbors look after each other’s property.

Despite being the home to the most cutting-edge technological companies, California has become a lawless wasteland. How far will this drought last and will things go back to normal once it’s over? Only time will tell.