At the Washington Post, Radley Balko picked up on themes from
this Grits column on "de-policing" and elaborated in a story titled "
Why are police groups and their advocates advancing a theory that makes police officers look terrible?" As a journalist, wrote Balko, criticism of his profession "makes me strive to do my job better, not worse. I’d like to think most law enforcement officers feel the same way." Read to the end, he does a good job with the topic.
Here's an indicator of de-policing: track jail population before and after these high-profile incidents. If the population drops significantly, maybe there's a connection.
ReplyDeleteOne argument was always the "few bad applies" horse-hockey. Really, the problem is always "the silent majority," where any group will not police itself.
ReplyDeletePoliticians (and racists) have always fostered what became the "Cops' War On America," criminalizing the poor, but especially blacks. A whole subculture was created in these united States, continuing and passed down, to this day---even though USA blacks have it better off than ever, they will still pass down their stories, which causes them to racially-profile whitey, presuming whitey is racially profiling them. It's literally AND figuratively a vicious cycle.
COPS themselves are caught and used as tools, by the politicians, the courts, the unions--whoever has any say over how the cops work.
I already saw (the last few day's "news") where Denver cops will NOT be held accountable for killing that Hispanic teen, and L.A, cops will NOT be held accountable for killing that black. THAT HAPPENS THE VAST-MAJORITY OF THE TIME.
COPS are tied into the "legal profession" which has become an industry, NOT a protect-and-serve. You've had recent articles on permutations. YES IT'S TO RAISE REVENUE, on the backs of the citizens supposed to be protected.