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Why American policing is off the rails and is the problem.
Great article, just a few select paragraphs below. Read the entire thing...
The Spy Who Came Home
Why an expert in counterterrorism became a beat cop.
No military force can end terrorism, just as firefighters can’t end fire
and cops can’t end crime. But there are ways to build a resilient
society. “It can’t be on a government contract that says ‘In six months,
show us these results,’ ” Skinner said. “It has to be ‘I live here.
This is my job forever.’ ” He compared his situation to that of
Voltaire’s Candide, who, after enduring a litany of absurd horrors in a
society plagued by fanaticism and incompetence, concludes that the only
truly worthwhile activity is tending his garden. “Except my garden is
the Third Precinct,” Skinner said.
The prevalence of high-powered weapons in America is creating an arms race between citizens and the authorities. Each year, dozens of cops are shot dead, and officers kill around a thousand members of the public—often after mistaking innocuous objects for weapons or frightened behavior for threats. Meanwhile, peaceful protesters are increasingly confronted with snipers, armored vehicles, and smoke and tear gas. In the past twenty years, more than five billion dollars’ worth of military gear has been transferred from the military to state and local police departments, including night-vision equipment, boats, aircraft, grenade launchers, and bayonets. “If we wanted an MRAP”—a military vehicle, designed to protect soldiers from ambushes and mines—“we would just have to submit an application to the federal government,” Skinner told me.
According to David M. Kennedy, one of the nation’s leading criminologists, American policing is practiced more as a craft than as a profession. “The kind of thinking that should go into framing and refining what a profession of public safety should be has still not been done,” he told me. Officers are deployed as enforcers of the state, without being taught psychology, anthropology, sociology, community dynamics, local history, or criminology. Lethal force is prioritized above other options. When Skinner joined the police force, everyone in his class was given a pistol, but none were given Tasers, because the department had run out.
At Georgia’s state police-training facilities, the focus is “all tactics and law,” Skinner told me. Officers are taught that “once you give a lawful order it has to be followed—and that means immediately.” But the recipient of a “lawful order” may not understand why it’s being issued, or that his or her failure to comply may lead to the use of force. There’s no training on how to de-escalate tense scenarios in which no crime has been committed, even though the majority of police calls fall into that category. It is up to the officer’s discretion to shape these interactions, and the most straightforward option is to order belligerent people to the ground and, if they resist, tackle them and put them in cuffs.
“This is how situations go so, so badly—yet justifiably, legally,” Skinner said. Police officers often encounter people during the worst moments of their lives, and Skinner believes that his role is partly to resolve trouble and partly to prevent people from crossing the line from what he calls “near-crime” into “actual crime.” The goal, he said, is “to slow things down, using the power of human interaction more than the power of the state.”
“The de-escalation calls are so much more draining for me than grabbing people,” he told me. “My head is humming during the call. It’s exactly—and I mean exactly—like the prep work I used to do for the agency, where you’re seeing the interaction unfold in the way that you steer it.” As a case officer, Skinner drew flowcharts, mapping out every direction he thought a conversation might go. Now, he said, “instead of having a week to prepare for the meeting, I have as much time as it takes to drive up to the call.”
Replies
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
"That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole of the law. The rest is commentary."
Rabbi Hillel (c20 BCE)
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
They get away with murder all the time.
Very seldom are they held accountable.
Personally I think they are too soft most of the time from what I have seen. People are real jerks sometimes, especially when drunk or stoned.
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
1. Don’t violate the law.
2. Follow the directions/orders given to you by a cop.
Google how many cops there are in this country and the number of cops who murder people.
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
like speeding? Improper lane change? Lights out? Busted windshields? Cell phone use while driving? I could go on.
I see it every day in my job.
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
If a particular demographic is committing less crime, it stands to reason they get investigated less often. I'm guessing in particular males 16 to 34 are pulled over the most.... go figure, that demographic commits the most crime.
"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended. So the world might be mended."
Don't question him he gets his info from the award winning Washington Post.....
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
Kellercl....have you heard of Justine Damond or Daniel Shaver?
Or do you live under a rock?
I agree with Cyclist 100% here. They have gotten way too militarized, and most of them weren't in the military, so they take it overboard.
"That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole of the law. The rest is commentary."
Rabbi Hillel (c20 BCE)
Are you? If not stop speaking on their behalf.
I think that police should be more like the fire dept; and only respond once called upon. Traffic infractions are at the very low end of what I am concerned about. Imagine the sheer costs associated with all the police cars on the road all day, every day. (both fuel costs, road costs, and environmental costs)
**** drivers will exist with or without as many cop cars on the road. Wait till they wreck, and then fine the crap out of the **** drivers.
Back to the color thing; I live in another state now, and can say that 90% of "bad" drivers that I encounter all have darker skin.. The route I drive daily to/from work; I usually get passed by at least 1 car driving up the middle "turn lanes", because they are too good to wait in traffic like the rest of us... It annoys me, but life is short, and usually they get caught at the next red light beside me. (NC has strict window tint laws, so I can clearly see who is driving btw)
So, yes, judging by my experience; I can imagine a certain segment of the population might get pulled over more often than others in my area; but, I can honestly assume that they might be pulled over for a good reason...aka driving like an ****!
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers