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Cont: The behaviour of US police officers - part 2

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Gulliver Foyle said:
Why is defunding a military army of occupation/giant criminal gang a bad idea?
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Because in the US the answer to any societal issue is to spend increasing sums of money on the police and to hand them army surplus gear to turn them in to an increasingly militarised force - with the associated change in mindset in the police personnel.

Any spending on mental health services, drug rehabilitation, local services to dissuade crime must be in addition to Police spending but then any spending on the undeserving poor is unacceptable and to it never happens.
 
Hercules56 said:
You're joking, right?

Who is gonna deal with all the criminals if we get rid of the police?
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No-one is advocating getting rid of the police AFAIK.

Instead they are proposing to use some of the police budget to get services - mental health services are a good example - which would reduce the demand on the police and allow people better equipped to execute those roles to do them.

Instead, the defunding of public services to increase spending on the police has meant that the police are spending more of their time dealing with matters which haven't historically been part of their remit and, because they lack both the training and aptitude, doing it badly.

This would leave the police to do what they're supposed to do well - to catch criminals and allow other people to deal with effects of poverty, poor mental health services, drug addiction and so on.
 
The Don said:
No-one is advocating getting rid of the police AFAIK.

Instead they are proposing to use some of the police budget to get services - mental health services are a good example - which would reduce the demand on the police and allow people better equipped to execute those roles to do them.

Instead, the defunding of public services to increase spending on the police has meant that the police are spending more of their time dealing with matters which haven't historically been part of their remit and, because they lack both the training and aptitude, doing it badly.

This would leave the police to do what they're supposed to do well - to catch criminals and allow other people to deal with effects of poverty, poor mental health services, drug addiction and so on.
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No need to take a dime away from police funding in order to fund social service programs.
 
Hercules56 said:
No need to take a dime away from police funding in order to fund social service programs.
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Raise taxes on the rich? Fine by me.

Defunding the police was also an admonishment of the state of US policing. It wasn't just a policy proposal.
 
uke2se said:
Raise taxes on the rich? Fine by me.

Defunding the police was also an admonishment of the state of US policing. It wasn't just a policy proposal.
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I have no problem raising taxes or printing more money in order to fund more social programs. I don't see any reason to lay off cops in order to do it.
 
Hercules56 said:
No need to take a dime away from police funding in order to fund social service programs.
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You're right that there's no need to do this but Conservatives an conservatives insist that this is the case because public spending, especially on entitlement programs has to be rigorously controlled and minimised where possible.

Anyone who doesn't funnel every dollar into police spending or who suggests that other methods could be useful in controlling crime is tarred with the reputation of being soft on crime.

No matter how effective rehabilitation and humanising prison regimes are at reducing recidivism, wow betide the US politician who suggests anything other than longer sentences and harsher conditions.
 
Hercules56 said:
I have no problem raising taxes or printing more money in order to fund more social programs. I don't see any reason to lay off cops in order to do it.
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I tend to believe that for many police departments, cleaning house would be beneficial for society in the long run. Can 'em all, get applicants for a new type of police force. The police in the US has been a rotten institution from the get go and you would do well to just start over.
 
uke2se said:
I tend to believe that for many police departments, cleaning house would be beneficial for society in the long run. Can 'em all, get applicants for a new type of police force. The police in the US has been a rotten institution from the get go and you would do well to just start over.
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That's a lot of unemployed cops.
 
Hercules56 said:
You never called 911? You would never call the cops if you needed help or to report a crime?
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Sure I would. But then the police force where I live wasn't formed in order to return run away slaves to their masters.
 
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