Now imagine if instead of the police(who would arrive well-equipped to deal with any potential threat, even if the intruder was heavily armed) a neighborhood watchmen was alerted and had to bicycle over on his Diamondback with a taser and can of pepper spray to handle the situation. You wouldn't feel safe would you? Yes, it's a tad hyperbolic, but that's one potential reality in a life without cops. Something that has foolishly and laughably been discussed not just among casual conversation, but among people in power. City councilmen(and women) and political leaders. Granted, a small minority at this point, but we actually have real-life people in political power pushing for abolishing police departments. People whose job it is to put people first, are discussing defunding or removing the very entity that is charged to keep its citizens safe domestically in the United States.
Frankly, as someone who has cops in my family and someone who a few of my closest friends grew up to join law enforcement, I was saddened and disappointed. Though I wasn't stunned. I know how the world works, especially with social media. People will latch on to the latest narrative trend, sometimes for that dopamine rush of likes, retweets, and upvotes; sometimes for political purposes, and sometimes out of raw passion. Regardless of the reason, for the first time in my life there seems to be actual momentum on this absurd and dangerous notion, propagated by those with political agendas with their eyes toward November, pandering to their base.
In the age of social media, nuance has been lost. People have been conditioned to neglect thinking through a wide array of ideas, circumstances, outcomes, and possibilities. The luxury of having everything the world can offer right in the palm of your hand has cursed your everyday John and Jane with ADD. Clickbait headlines have worsened it. There's too much information to absorb at once. No one has the time or patience anymore to read, to reason, to understand. The easiest path is always the path of least resistance. Take someone's word as truth and move on to the next subject. But what if that person's word wasn't truthful? What if you were being inundated on social media with posts, sorted by algorithms that contribute to confirmation bias? Social media companies structure their platforms so we see what their algorithms think we want to see. Which, in some cases, is not always the truth, and in instances where it is the truth, may only be anecdotal, and not representative of the larger picture. People seeing videos showing police brutality and social media has conditioned us to extrapolate that in their minds to being the norm, which I can't blame the people for. However, much of it are merely small samples in a country that has millions upon millions of police interactions with civilians yearly, with almost a million police officers. If every time there was a shark attack or a bear attack, it hit social media, over time we'd become conditioned falsely believe that these rare occurrences are proof of some new out of control behavioral change in the animal kingdom that threatens our lives.
Those with socioeconomic or political agendas will try and sell you that law enforcement is bad. That it has never been worse. That innocent people are being killed left and right. The facts don't support that and the data doesn't support that. The truth is actually the opposite. Less unarmed civilians are being killed than ever, more corrupt and bad cops are being prosecuted than ever, officers are being fired more than ever for wrongdoing, and more steps have been taken to best hold officers accountable than ever. 2019 marked the lowest number of police involved shootings in 30 years. 2019 also marked a 73% drop in police shootings of unarmed African American civilians. And of those 10(down from 38 in 2015), about half of those 10 were either combative to the officers or made acts of aggression toward them and put their lives in danger. This marks the best progress the police force has made in years. Statistically, it's actually more likely that an African American or Hispanic officer shoot an African American civilian than it is a white officer. The chances of anyone, regardless of race, being killed by an officer is still extremely small, per the data. One in the tens of thousands, and even smaller a percentage depending on how you narrow down the criteria. Is it perfect? Of course not. Ideally those numbers would all be zero. We still have a long way to go. We always will. Perfection is not achieved overnight, if it's even achievable at all. To reach the desired destination, sometimes the journey has to be passed on through generations. But incremental progress is still progress. Almost all progress is incremental, no matter where you find it. Even circumstances outside the sociopolitical and economic spectrum. If you blow out your knee and get surgery, that knee isn't going to feel right until you finally get that cast off many weeks later. You test it out and for the first time in a while, you finally feel like you can walk and jog without pain. Did the knee just magically heal the second you took off the cast? No, it's been healing very slowly, day by day, until you finally got the cast removed. Progress can be slow, but it does add up over time.
Go ahead and ask your grandparents how things were like back in their day when they were growing up. Or stories that were passed down to them from their grandparents. Go back far enough and you can find police officers who could shoot an unarmed black man or woman whenever they wanted with impunity, then go to the local bar and high-five their cop buddies about it as they celebrated it over some beers. Detectives would routinely frame and set up black men for crimes committed by white men because they knew that's what the public wanted. Their pound of flesh, inspired by racism, hatred, and wanting to go back to the old ways, when they didn't have to deal with the likes of anyone "different" around their neighborhoods. These things happened. Far more frequently than today, it was practically a different world. We just didn't have social media or digital data back then to record these incidents, like we do today. Over time, when all we have is history stored through memory, when we lose the individuals, we lose a lot of the history that isn't preserved.
Each decade our departments make progress. The previous decade had the least amount of crime of violence in America in decades. A significant drop-off from our most violent period in our nation's history, which peaked in the early to mid 90's. I could never claim to act like I know what it is like to be anyone other than myself, nor know or understand what their experiences are. All I can do is what I've always done. Talk to friends, strangers, people in the community, get their opinions and ideas, take all the information in, study the data and come up with what makes most logical sense to me. There are over 800,000 police officers in the United States. Most of them are good people. You don't get paid a lot of money to be a cop, the job is extremely dangerous, it doesn't get you chicks or fame. By and large, people enter the police academy because they want to do good. Because they want to stand up and protect the city they love while everyone else is sitting down. It's not a line of work you typically just fall into. You don't wake up one day and decide to put your life on the line and know every time you leave that front door you may never come home. It's one of the most dangerous jobs in America. And there are going to be bad ones. Of the 800,000, maybe even hundreds across the US. Maybe even in the thousands. In a vacuum, that's a lot, but overall it's still a small percentage. In a country of over 320 million people, we are always going to have a small demographic that appears large standing alone. In a country this heavily populated, you will always find large swaths of people who believe in a certain oddity, who are into strange things, and who are just plain evil.
For every cop who went into the academy to get back at his bullies from high school who wronged them, there are countless officers out there who dedicate their job everyday to helping total strangers. Cops who will stand in front of bullets to protect people. Cops who will run into burning buildings to save children. Cops who will go room by room in your home to make sure that intruder has left the premises. Detectives who will work cases for literally decades just to find justice for that one family who had a loved one horribly murdered. For every officer whose psyche is broken and altered by PTSD making them bitter, jaded, angry, and unfit to serve; there are officers out there battling through it every single day just to protect their cities. Suicide rates for cops are extremely high. They are subjected to the worst the world has to offer every single day of their lives. Inhumane atrocities and the depravities of man you could not even imagine. This is what the core essence of being a police officer is. It's what I've come to know in my years on this earth. Some family of mine and friends. Among the finest people I've ever known. Heroes to me and to the community. It breaks my heart that there are not more out there who've had the same experiences I've had with officers. Through no fault of their own. Sometimes because of mere bad luck and sometimes through injustices based on who they are and the color of their skin. Just like some people have shitty luck in relationships where you always seem to find shitty friends, romantic relationships, it can be the same way with cops. The great ones are out there, you just haven't found them yet. In fact, some probably wish they never do, because under most circumstances any encounter with an officer is likely accompanied by bad news one way or the other. It's the nature of the beast.
When people refer to individual officers as "the police" and say "the police" do this and "the police" that, I can't stress how shortsighted and ignorant that is. No matter how jaded and angry you may be, it should never take precedent over reason and understanding. We, as a society, can never reach common ground without understanding. They are individuals, just like all of us are. There are no "the whites," "the blacks," "the Hispanics," "the doctors," "the CEOs," etc. These are individual people doing a job. To demonize an entire entity for the actions of a small percentage is foolhardy and prejudiced. Of all the 800,000+ cops in America, each of them has a name. Officer Derek Chauvin was a bad cop. He's an individual. Being an officer doesn't and shouldn't define him, his character should, just as it should for all people. Every good, upstanding cop out there has a name too. People don't seem to care about the individual, only the entity they represent. Like professional athletes, humanity is lost and they are judged not on who they are, but what they're dressed as. They are fathers, brothers, sons, daughters, and mothers. Never lose sight of the humanity of others. Not just in this instance, but in all instances.
For those who want to improve those community-police relationships, the goal should under no circumstance be to defund the departments. Why police brutality exists is an extremely complex topic, that, no matter how many people will try to tell you, can not be summed up in any one sentence, regardless of what that sentence is.
Some issues include:
- Bad people becoming cops, therefore making bad cops.
- Inadequate training. Both in tactics and community relations.
- Racism.
- Outdated policies(ie no-knock warrants, maneuvers and tactics used on detained persons, etc).
- Departments understaffed.
- Inadequate mental health care for officers with PTSD and mental illness.
- Not enough good, compassionate, caring, and motivated people applying to become officers and step up to make the changes needed they so desperately seek.
- Lack of accountability up top, not setting an example for cops who act inappropriately.
- Civilians not following orders.
- And yes, departments being underfunded.
What you won't hear from politicians pushing an agenda is police departments are generally underfunded. Departments are often stretched thin, the training suffers, they have to hire men and women potentially unfit to serve so they can fill a quota just to give them enough officers on the streets. Some departments don't even have the funds to form cold case units to solve old crimes, so families go their entire lives without ever finding justice. The more poorly departments are funded, the minority communities are adversely affected more than anyone. There will be less cops on the streets, and more unfit ones with improper training. Improved technology to hold officers accountable for wrongdoing will be impeded like upgraded body and dashboard cameras. Mental health care, which is already inadequate, will be no more so, putting more officers who have become unfit through PTSD or other mental health disorders unable to get well enough to continue to serve the community the way it needs to be served. Data and history has shown that more officers and better paid officers leads to less crime and safer communities. See Camden and New Orleans as two examples of this, and two departments who went about reform the proper way to reduce crime.
In 2013, Camden wanted to reform the department and hire more and better officers, but didn't have the money to do so. The department was then essentially dissolved and absorbed by the county and rebuilt back up with better funding, more officers, new and improved training and community relations. Crime has dropped in Camden significantly since. Research and studies have shown that more cops equates to less crime and actually less arrests, as more cops around are a deterrent to people committing less crime, thus less arrests will be the end result. In addition, better funding can help improve quality and frequency of training, like de-escalation and community relations training so police can better learn how to deal with a wide variety of individuals levels on an intimate level. Believe it or not, it helps. Community and police mutual trust is built through bonding, and bonding can only be built when each party understands how to talk to and relate to the other.
As for abolishing departments entirely? And yes, there are people calling for this, including writers for some of the country's top publications like the NY Times, so to suggest otherwise is disingenuous. I can't even imagine the ramifications of such a radical extremist idea. First of all, anyone on board with this idea needs to take a long look in the mirror and realize that the world doesn't revolve around you. There are people out there who need cops. The battered woman who suffered domestic abuse. The family of the murdered love one who need answers. The person who was attacked on the street because someone thought it would be fun to sucker punch him for a laugh. One study done by a Harvard researcher named Roland Fryer indicated that merely the effect of less police intervention known as "The Ferguson Effect" in areas where police, to avoid ridicule, are afraid to do their job properly after national police incident; can lead to over 1,000 additional homicides and 40,000 additional felonies over the next 2 years. Refuting the idea that less police presence will make communities safer. The inner cities, both where crime is more prevalent, and also where our nation's minority demographics are largest will be hit the hardest. There will be no one to keep the gangs, drugs, criminals in check, as the neighborhoods in these cities become the wild west, and innocent hardworking minority families have no one to keep them safe. The far far majority of violence in this country comes from person on person crime. Much of it motivated by gang violence and/or drugs. Personal relationships and emotions that drive people to kill. Police on civilian crime is far less frequent, though, always unacceptable regardless. It will be our underprivileged and less fortunate citizens who will suffer most in the end, which is the opposite of the equality and justice that people who want change are fighting for. Destroying the very change and progress so badly sought. It would, without question, be one of the worst things that has happened to this country in modern society, and anyone against this can't seem to provide sound plans or rationale on how this would be beneficial aside from strawman arguments and platitudes.
A minuscule vocal minority is trying to make the argument that if you defund or abolish police departments, that putting the money toward social or community programs will make cities safer. I can't stress enough how incredibly misguided, uneducated, and laughably naive this is. It goes to figure that from what I've seen, the majority of people who hold this opinion are a younger generations, who lack knowledge in what drives crime/criminals and how law-abiding citizens become criminals. The argument has been made that if you take away a person's "need" to become a criminal, you will stop crime. The truth is that being a criminal is, was, and will always be a choice. Now, that doesn't mean an individual doesn't deserve a second chance when if caught and have served their time, they are once again a free man or woman. Of course they do. But committing crimes will always be a choice. Crime isn't driven by need, it's driven by want. It's driven by entitlement, greed, selfishness, ego, narcissism, and sometimes pure evil. There are sadly and horribly countless homeless people in America, who could very well choose to go and steal for money, and don't. They make a choice to ask strangers for money on the street to survive. They make a choice to not break the law and take from others. Most people who commit crimes aren't even in that dire of circumstances. Most people who rob stores aren't Robin Hood, who go around to poor communities and help starving children. They use that money to buy sneakers, iPads, laptops, etc. Listen to interviews with serial bank robbers who tell you it's a compulsion, an addiction. They do it for the thrill, and what do people with money always want? More Money. Why do people commit murder? The 3 main motives are sex, greed, and revenge. Not necessity. Maybe for self-preservation on their part, but not for good moral rationale.
Human beings are flawed and as long as human beings are flawed, criminals will exist. There are plenty of criminals who grow up in amazing households, have amazing childhoods and either go down a wrong path or are inherently predisposed to selfish impulses. 80+% of murders in the United States are committed by someone the victim knows. In comparison, stranger murder is far less common. It's because to kill someone, you have to be driven by passion and emotion. It's far more likely emotion will be stoked when it's someone you know personally. Community and social programs will do nothing to prevent this.
Can these programs help to lower crime? Sure. It will take its time to have an impact and have a ripple effect that rejuvenates communities, but it can make a different. However, it needs to go hand-in-hand with law enforcement. When the criminals strike, and believe me they will strike, someone needs to be there to do the job so many are unwilling or unable to do, and that will always be the police. Not just to catch criminals, but to deter them. No human being is morally pure, we will always have momentary lapses of character and judgement that test us. The end result of those moments is far more dire if there is no threat of the police around the corner. We saw this very fact in recent weeks with citizens emboldened with looting, inspiring others to do so. How many more crimes do you think would be committed if cities relied more on civil justice instead? The numbers would skyrocket uncontrollably. Crime prevention is always going to be most successful when it is performed by those passionate about it. Those who do it for a living. Those who go out of their way to make a career out of it. Civil or neighborhood watch programs will always inherently lack that element, as, naturally, these individuals will have other personal and psychological distractions that will hinder full dedication or commitment to the work. I'm deeply troubled by the utter naivety of certain people in our political landscape who legitimately thinks this idea is reasonable or plausible. Maybe another institution that needs reform is our educational system, I wonder.
Another drawback of this, for those who think the United States has a gun problem, is disbanding and/or defunding police departments will increase gun ownership exponentially. Civilians will feel it necessary to arm and police themselves since there either will be less of or no officers around to do it, which will spark a dramatic increase in firearm deaths and overall crime rates... the majority of which, again, occur in the inner cities, which means more deaths in minority communities. Not to mention all the accidental firearm fatalities that will occur from people who have no experience using firearms not owning them This is the opposite of progress.
Ultimately, the best and most effective way to lower police brutality is a combination of changes. Spearheaded by holding officers responsible for wrongdoing. Severe repercussions for actions is always a significant deterrent no matter who you are. If your actions are going to get you in trouble or put you in prison, you are going to think twice before doing it. The influence has to not be defunding, but making sure every single officer who commits a vile act of injustice is held responsible. And that starts at the top. Voting in individuals who will fight to stop bias and corruption, and hiring responsible and respectable people on the police force who will stand for what's right. If you talk to any police officer, they'll tell you every department knows who the "unsavory" officers are. Guys no one wants to work with. Their records and amount of complaints speak for themselves as well. The sooner we start getting these guys out of law enforcement and holding ones who commit crimes and atrocities responsible, police brutality rates will continue to decline even more than they have been. That would be a good first step, accompanied by better training, reforming tactics and procedures that can lead to harm or death, and yes, civilians following orders. I know that no one on this planet likes being told what to do. However, if you feel like an officer has wronged you, the time to fight it is in court with a lawyer. Not when being pulled over and not resisting arrest. People have to realize that being placed under arrest isn't a debate, it's an order. Law enforcement is the authority, not you. Fighting back and getting confrontational will only increase your chances of being harmed. Be polite, be calm, and the far far majority of the time you will be okay.
All this combined with policy reforms and re-training will go a long way to help officers not instinctively resort to excessive maneuvers to detain people. I'm not in support of total ban of choke holds, however. They should still be allowed when an officer's life is in potential danger. Sometimes perpetrators are much bigger and stronger than an officer, and an officer has to use certain tactics of maneuvers to detain an individual or they can find themselves overpowered and possibly having their firearm taken from them, which not only will put their life in danger, but the lives of nearby civilians. Remember, officers are responsible for the safety of all people in proximity to whatever incident is taking place.
2020 has been an arduous year on so many levels. I've never seen this country as hurt, sad, restless, angry, and hopeless. So, I do understand the desperation that is formed out of these emotions, and the presence of desperation throughout history has been known to spawn radical ideas. I've heard a lot of dumb and asinine ideas in my life, but possibly none more foolish and horribly misguided that has actual backing than the defunding or disbanding of our nation's police departments. Thankfully, in a country this densely populated, it seems to be only a select number of people thus far. Mainly propagated by those who have insulted themselves to listening to social media cliches and talking points, and haven't taken the time to understand or put in the research to study the dynamics of law enforcement, the data, and its relation to crime and their communities. This is a snippet from a Cato.Org national survey on the feelings of all racial demographics on American police:
You can find the full article here: https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/poll-finds-americans-are-not-divided-policing-headlines-suggest
As anger and passion subsides, I expect that number to be less as people come to their senses. A significant majority support the funding and presence of law enforcement, they just want reform to eliminate injustices. Most of that reform is centered around cracking down on rogue/bad cops and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. Which is already happening, and hopefully will continue to at an even greater frequency with more and improved reforms. I sincerely hope the good people of this country don't have to learn the hard way. That real and rational solutions are created through logic and reason, not through raw emotion. The very same emotion I almost caught myself succumbing to in recent days. For a short while I was ashamed to be an American with all this talk about killing and ridding this country of cops. Then, I gathered myself and remembered to think clearly and understand that as is almost always the case, this is a vocal minority, not the norm. And my faith in humanity was promptly restored. Most sane and level-headed people, despite acknowledging that police departments have flaws that need changing, believe this country is still far better off with them than without them. If you listen to those who worked in law enforcement, currently work in law enforcement, study crime, and are well educated on these matters; the far majority of them are against defunding the police and are unanimously against abolishing police. It's mainly a younger generation of uneducated idealists who don't know much about the subject and are being fed misinformation by those with agendas or nefarious intentions. In the end, one thing I'll always believe in is mankind. We've gotten this far, and I look forward to seeing how much further we can take ourselves as a people.
No comments:
Post a Comment