1995 was a murderous year for Tucson. In fact, the occurrence of violent crimes has been skyrocketing in recent years. Violent criminals and the crimes they commit are becoming increasingly heinous, especially when it comes to crimes against women and children. No matter what the powers that be would have you believe, society as a whole is not the cause of the problem. The proliferation of violent crime is merely the last part of a vicious cycle that starts with traffic cops and ends with an increase in violent crimes.

When violent criminals are left unchecked, they become brazen - committing more crimes, committing worse crimes - because there aren't enough cops out there to watch for danger signals and to keep an eye on known felons. The solution would be to hire more cops, right?

Actually, not only is there an abundance of cops, there is an excess. The only problem is that most of the cops are placed behind the wheel of a cruiser and ordered to go out and rustle up some money instead of trying to do something about the problem with violent crimes.

Violent criminals are dangerous and difficult to handle, and this has been true throughout recorded history. In recent years, however, violent criminals have become more dangerous and almost impossible to handle. It is frightening, and the police are not paid nearly enough to be expected to deal with today's violent criminals.

Common sense dictates that it is much safer and easier and more profitable to leave the violent criminals alone and focus on ambushing and fleecing ordinary citizens. So, the cops are sent off in cruisers to prowl the streets and prey on people who are not committing any real crimes, but who are just driving home.

This is why you, an ordinary citizen, suffers a panic attack when you see a cop in your rearview mirror. You are driving lawfully, but you are still afraid that the cop will find some reason to pull you over and ticket you. Are you paranoid? Hell, no. It happens all the time. Chances are, when you see a police cruiser with its lights flashing behind a passenger car on the side of the road, the driver of the passenger car was not driving like a maniac. Chances are very good that the driver was simply traveling at a safe and sane speed - but the speed limit is 10 mph below the safe speed so that the cops will have an excuse to ambush ordinary citizens by pulling them over, and then fleecing them by giving them a ticket.

Since the cops are so busy busting the ordinary citizens for non-crimes, they have no time to watch the criminals. This leaves the criminals free to rape, kill and pillage away with no repercussions. The criminals therefore become more heinous and dangerous and difficult for the cops to handle. The cops then avoid the real criminals and focus their busting efforts on ordinary citizens. It is an ugly cycle.

We could compare this whole situation to the Andy Griffith Show. On one hand, we have Andy Griffith: a good-natured cop who gets along with everybody and doesn't bust anyone unless he has a real reason to do it, much like the two cops that walk the beat downtown on 4th Avenue. On the other hand, we have cops who, like Barney Fife, are scared of real felons and who busy themselves by harassing ordinary citizens by handing out tickets and arresting them; not because the citizens are committing any crimes, but because the cops can give tickets. Face it - we are supposedly being "protected and served" by an army of Barney Fifes.

There is one big difference between Barney Fife and the average traffic cop: Barney Fife had a billy-club and only one bullet for his pistol. The average cop has a billy club, a can of mace, a stun gun and an unlimited supply of bullets for his gun. Think about it.

Paula Huff is a biology junior. Her column appears every other Friday.