What would you want to see for law enforcement

[Herkamer63]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

 

[ttwtt78640]

Other. The poll ignores that specific laws (thus their enforcement personnel/methods) apply to specific jurisdictions (levels of government).

Do we really want ICE (ERO) agents enforcing traffic laws in Chicago? How about TSA agents (airport nannies?) enforcing the federal income tax code?

 

[Cardinal]

You know, technically, we don't actually have to get rid of police departments; just get rid of things that are contributing to the monster we've seen unleashed in recent weeks:

1)Mandatory minimum sentences.
2)Asset forfeiture
3)The militarization of the police through the 1033 program.
4)For-profit prisons
5)Directing funds toward programs that build the health of the community, such as mental health services, education, after school programs and housing. Prioritizing arrests over the health of the community contributes to the notion that the people are the enemy and not the ones police are tasked with protecting.
6)A culture that creates de facto immunity to police that murder and assault civilians.

 

[upsideguy]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

Reading the Peelian Principles of Policing, I am convinced they provide a great framework on how policing should be done and adjudged.

PRINCIPLE 1 “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.”

PRINCIPLE 2 “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.”

PRINCIPLE 3 “Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

PRINCIPLE 4 “The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.”

PRINCIPLE 5 “Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.”

PRINCIPLE 6 “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.”

PRINCIPLE 7 “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

PRINCIPLE 8 “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”

PRINCIPLE 9 “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.”

Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Policing - The New York Times

I also think it is terribly inefficient to have every little town, city and county having its own police department, with its own police chief / training staff. On the other hand, having too much state police is a nice way to have police state. We also should re-think the role of the police department. It probably deals with far too many issues, many of which are outside its area of expertise. Perhaps they should not be tasked with domestic disputes or dealing with the homeless or monitoring demonstrations all of which might be better handled by social workers. Others?

 

[rickc]

We don't want a federal police force. Local is the way to go.

We need to change the mindset a little. The guys in the police force know who the overagressive ones are. They need to speak up and either get rid of them or tone them down. They need to police their own ranks instead of covering up for them and defending them. That kind of.behavior.is nothing to be looked up to. It is unacceptable

 

[Superfly]

State police only, and certain numbers assigned to districts, based on population.

Very, very strict hiring practices - background checks, mental health checks, etc. A lot like when you apply for the FBI. They call everybody when you apply. You have to go through very rigorous mental health checks, etc.

Once you are hired, you have to continually train, and you have to, once a month, meet with a therapist.

There should be a nationwide database that all cops are required to be a part of. All issues with them go there. Commendations and awards go in there, but reprimands go in there as well. If you leave one department to go to another, the new department has to run your name through the database to make sure that you left the other department with no issues.

Mandatory body cams and dash cams - 100% of the time. Absolutely no turning it off. Turn it off? You get a 30 day suspension without pay. You do it a 2nd time? You're terminated.

The police are a necessary element, but the fact that they have run roughshod over people for years is thankfully (hopefully) coming to an end.

The police need to be policed just like everyone else - even more so in some cases.

 

[Parrish]

I'd add community policing and living in the city where you work or no more than 5 miles from where you work.

 

[Logician Man]

State police only, and certain numbers assigned to districts, based on population.

Very, very strict hiring practices - background checks, mental health checks, etc. A lot like when you apply for the FBI. They call everybody when you apply. You have to go through very rigorous mental health checks, etc.

Once you are hired, you have to continually train, and you have to, once a month, meet with a therapist.

There should be a nationwide database that all cops are required to be a part of. All issues with them go there. Commendations and awards go in there, but reprimands go in there as well. If you leave one department to go to another, the new department has to run your name through the database to make sure that you left the other department with no issues.

Mandatory body cams and dash cams - 100% of the time. Absolutely no turning it off. Turn it off? You get a 30 day suspension without pay. You do it a 2nd time? You're terminated.

The police are a necessary element, but the fact that they have run roughshod over people for years is thankfully (hopefully) coming to an end.

The police need to be policed just like everyone else - even more so in some cases.

Well spoken, Super....kudos

 

[Superfly]

I'd add community policing and living in the city where you work or no more than 5 miles from where you work.

When I was a 911 operator, we had to live in the city limits. All city employees had to live in the city limits. You could lose your job if you moved into the county and outside the city limits.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

Ideally? Sheriff Andy Taylor.

And that's about as unrealistic as it gets unless your city really IS Mayberry RFD North Carolina in the 1950's.
But that doesn't mean that we can't remember the parts that worked.
Sheriff Andy lived in Mayberry, he knew his people, he knew what the town needed and he earned the trust of his neighbors.

Camden NJ did dismantle their PD a few years ago and reinvented a new department and it's apparently been a success.
So apparently at least some Camden officers know their neighborhood and they care about it.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

We don't want a federal police force. Local is the way to go.

We need to change the mindset a little. The guys in the police force know who the overagressive ones are. They need to speak up and either get rid of them or tone them down. They need to police their own ranks instead of covering up for them and defending them. That kind of.behavior.is nothing to be looked up to. It is unacceptable

The way things are right now, if you speak up, that's your ass.
You will lose the backup and support you need and quite literally you may even lose your fellow COP BACKUP in an emergency, which means you may go home stiff.

 

[Xilnik]

State police only, and certain numbers assigned to districts, based on population.

Very, very strict hiring practices - background checks, mental health checks, etc. A lot like when you apply for the FBI. They call everybody when you apply. You have to go through very rigorous mental health checks, etc.

Once you are hired, you have to continually train, and you have to, once a month, meet with a therapist.

There should be a nationwide database that all cops are required to be a part of. All issues with them go there. Commendations and awards go in there, but reprimands go in there as well. If you leave one department to go to another, the new department has to run your name through the database to make sure that you left the other department with no issues.

Mandatory body cams and dash cams - 100% of the time. Absolutely no turning it off. Turn it off? You get a 30 day suspension without pay. You do it a 2nd time? You're terminated.

The police are a necessary element, but the fact that they have run roughshod over people for years is thankfully (hopefully) coming to an end.

The police need to be policed just like everyone else - even more so in some cases.

I agree with you, but I would add one more item:

The police need to be trained within the county and/or city in which their department resides, to learn about the community they will be working with and helping, and determine the highest risks and highest risk areas within that community.

 

[Superfly]

I agree with you, but I would add one more item:

The police need to be trained within the county and/or city in which their department resides, to learn about the community they will be working with and helping, and determine the highest risks and highest risk areas within that community.

I like that.

Secondary training. After they finish with state-level, move on to local level.

Kind of a .. I don’t know, a “meet the neighbors” instead of “beat the neighbors.”

 

[Xilnik]

I like that.

Secondary training. After they finish with state-level, move on to local level.

Kind of a .. I don’t know, a “meet the neighbors” instead of “beat the neighbors.”

Yep, I do not want to see a huge change from what currently works well for most precincts (ignoring the internal issues and officers with bad judgment). The same argument against not bringing the military into those areas: the police work within that community everyday and better understand what the people are going through. I think that aspect of police departments is important; if they know the community well, they can develop relationships with citizens and make people feel safer by helping them feel like part of the solutions.

During the protests the past few weeks, the police in our city asked peaceful protesters to watch for suspicious behavior and work with the police to find agitators before they could do any damage. Including the protesters to help prevent looting, vandalism, violence, and destruction seemed like a good show of trust, and we need more trust going both ways with law enforcement. The larger the team is of law abiding people working in tandem with the police efforts, the less crime that can occur because it is spotted and prevented more quickly.

 

[Waddy]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

What "laws"? We don' need no stinkin' laws...

 

[HK.227]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

Other:
Police, no matter how heavily militarized, can't keep the peace in a country unless there are enough citizens who are interested in letting them do so.

I would go with the opposite of the Scythian archers who maintianed order in certain cities of ancient Greece. Local law enforcement consisting of citizens from the community. Strengthen the Human connection.
Add a non-local adjucating layer on top of that for the purpose of eliminating conflicts of interest and provide auxiliary force for when necessary, and make sure you have effective firewalls between the two.

 

[Moderate Right]

I think there's a very important issue to address, and that's law enforcement in general. Something that's been on loop in my head the past few days is what the people around the country are thinking when it comes to this issue. So how would you like to see the law enforced?

There's really nothing wrong with what we have now. Bad apples need to be weeded out and charged with obvious violations, including murder. But, accidents happen and white officers will kill black people as long as there are police and as long as there are criminals. Officers shouldn't be charged with making mistakes or making the wrong split second decisions. One thing that would help is keeping the bad people locked up, which would cut down on repeated conflicts between the police and the same career criminals. The police are not the enemy.