Camden: Half as Safe and Twice as Stupid,......

You know you've f***ed up when your actions make the news all the way up in Cape Cod!!

Camden police and firefighters turn in their gear

CAMDEN, NJ -- In a solemn display, laid-off firefighters and police officers lined up Tuesday to turn in their helmets and badges - symbols of deep budget cuts that were destined to further erode the quality of life in one of the nation's most impoverished and crime-ridden cities.

Nearly half the Camden police force, including civilians, and about one-third of its firefighters lost their jobs as city leaders sought to balance the budget amid falling tax revenue and diminishing aid from the state.

On the sidewalk outside City Hall, 82 police officers lined up their work boots to show how many officers would be taken off the Camden streets, where many neighborhoods have rampant drug dealing and violence.

As officers staged the display, a woman riding by in a car yelled out the window that she was worried about the safety of her granddaughter, who catches a school bus before dawn, and her grandson, who doesn't get out of basketball practice until after dark.

"I'm 52 years old and scared to death," she said. The woman wouldn't give her name, saying she didn't want to be a target.