by Laura Byrnes

Created on: May 27, 2008

This, like so many other debates, is very situational. I see celebrities often getting police escorts when its unneeded. Are we really paying for that? Surely there's more important things for the police to be doing! I fear sometimes though, it is needed.

This is why I say "Yes, celebrities should be given police escorts." That is, if the situation calls for it. Let's face it, paparazzi are crazy! Running through traffic, trampling over people, trespassing...it can be complete chaos! At times like this there needs to be someone there to control the situation and sadly, the police are really the only ones that would have any sort of effect on the scene - and even they have a hard time controlling the herds of photogs! If we were to just let paparazzi run rampant in the streets, running traffic lights, stopping traffic and just causing a big mess on every road or sidewalk graced by a celebrity there would be mass chaos - chaos where a lot of people, celebrity or not, could get seriously injured.

Let's look at a major example. In early February Britney Spears, who we all know is a major media magnet, needed to be escorted to the hospital by 12 police. News papers reported that the paparazzi were being increasingly aggressive not towards just the pop star, but every other paparazzi and civilian in the immediate area! Not to mention cutting off traffic and endangering the lives of every driver in Los Angeles. Without the police escort that was required, I'm sure Miss Spears wouldn't have been the only one ending up in a hospital that night!

Now I can't ignore the massive cost that this takes, especially after that last story. Britney Spears' 12-police escort cost an estimated $25,000! That's more than just some taxpayer pocket change. Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine had made a statement following the spectacle about plans to put more restrictions on the paparazzi, such as a "clear zone" for celebrities that keeps paparazzi away by a certain number of feet. He even added:

"I don't want a repeat of what happened to Princess Diana with a celebrity in Los Angeles. We had to have 12 officers escort [Spears] to the hospital that if not for paparazzi would have been to prevent crime somewhere else."

Plans like this would certainly help cut down on the number, and cost, of police escorts for celebrities currently, but until something of that effect goes into place, these seemingly unneeded escorts are are we've got to protect not just the celebrities - but anybody within a 5 mile radius of them!

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