I was sadly surprised that his comments did not receive applause. He was not saying that all police are bad, but the bad policing needs to go. We need more training and education of police.
I agree. I watch the TV series Blue Bloods http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/about/. One of the recurrent themes of the show is the difference in policing styles from when grandfather was a police officer and then, police commissioner, to when son was a police officer and is now police commissioner, to the present day, when both sons are police officers, and one son is a deceased police officer. Additionally, the daughter is an assistant district attorney.
The biggest contrast is in the styles of policing between the two brothers. The oldest brother is a detective that is rough, tough, and sometimes is on the edge with his policing methods. He is a veteran, and knocked around at trade jobs before becoming a police officer. The youngest son has a Harvard law degree, but opted for a career in the police. His rise in rank is hindered because his father the commissioner bends over backwards not to give preference to either son over other officers.
The youngest son has a policing style that is based on the community policing model: Know your beat and the people on the beat. Solve things informally, pro-actively, and with a win-win model. Have disputants talk to each other. Get involved even when people do not want to file reports (domestic violence, for example.) Disobey an order to write up a report (when someone else can do it) to accompany a young accident victim to the emergency room to be a support and a good police role model. Help young children understand why police do what they do, and sometimes the result is painful.
The reality is that our society wants our police to be like the younger son, but we hire police to be more like the old time police officers who administer wood shampoos and give preferential treatment to people of their own ilk, whatever that is.
We have to take a stand. We have to decide how we want our police to police. And, we have to support them. Give them training, education, emotional support and the tools they need to do their jobs. And, give them community support. And, recognize the difficult predicaments in which they are placed, and that sometimes, split second decisions are not always the best decisions, but police are humans and are fallible. We cannot predict every situation a police officer might face. We cannot train for it. So, we need to train for making reasonable, responsible decisions that protect the citizens and the police.
The biggest contrast is in the styles of policing between the two brothers. The oldest brother is a detective that is rough, tough, and sometimes is on the edge with his policing methods. He is a veteran, and knocked around at trade jobs before becoming a police officer. The youngest son has a Harvard law degree, but opted for a career in the police. His rise in rank is hindered because his father the commissioner bends over backwards not to give preference to either son over other officers.
The youngest son has a policing style that is based on the community policing model: Know your beat and the people on the beat. Solve things informally, pro-actively, and with a win-win model. Have disputants talk to each other. Get involved even when people do not want to file reports (domestic violence, for example.) Disobey an order to write up a report (when someone else can do it) to accompany a young accident victim to the emergency room to be a support and a good police role model. Help young children understand why police do what they do, and sometimes the result is painful.
The reality is that our society wants our police to be like the younger son, but we hire police to be more like the old time police officers who administer wood shampoos and give preferential treatment to people of their own ilk, whatever that is.
We have to take a stand. We have to decide how we want our police to police. And, we have to support them. Give them training, education, emotional support and the tools they need to do their jobs. And, give them community support. And, recognize the difficult predicaments in which they are placed, and that sometimes, split second decisions are not always the best decisions, but police are humans and are fallible. We cannot predict every situation a police officer might face. We cannot train for it. So, we need to train for making reasonable, responsible decisions that protect the citizens and the police.
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