The thin blue line flag is a desecration of the American flag. It should not be flown in any public building where police are headquartered. American police are not a praetorian or Swiss guard. They are not paramilitaries, and they are not above the law. Police officers are not part of a society apart. They enjoy no special privileges, and have no entitlements to commit violence and abuse. Police officers are powerful people in American society. Their badge and guns give them tremendous power and the benefit of the doubt. When accusations against them are made by a beaten spouse, child or arrestee, it is the police officer who is viewed as credible, not the victim.
Y’ll know I’m a mental health professional. To become a “talk” therapist, I had to get 8 years of higher education, do thousands of hours of supervised counseling, take an exam, procure licensure & professional liability insurance. Generally, psychologists can’t write prescriptions. To be an NP who can write prescriptions after my PhD, I did 4 more years of training & more free supervised clinical hours, took 2 exams, licensure (as an RN & an NP), DEA licensure & another controlled substance certificate, more liability insurance. Then there are continuing education requirements. If I were young enough to become a police officer, the training & ed required is a pitiable fraction with no licensure requirements & my record would not be publicly verifiable like all of my current ones. This is a$$ backwards.
Some of what I see in the unarmed people who die in a hale of police fire is a history of trauma some of which is likely self-medicated. We can reform policing in America with more stringent training requirements, require background checks, psych evals, & a screen of social media accounts. POs should be licensed & their record publicly visible. Officers need to be in regular counseling & screened for acute stress disorder, PTSD & substance use disorders. The public and the profession deserve this at least.
Yes policing is a dangerous job, but in a list of dangerous jobs it ranks closer to 20th than near the top of the list, where you find logging, aircraft piloting, electric line work, mining, foundry work and garbage collection. The issue with abusive policing is not hard to figure out. We have a society build on avaricious acquisition, with decreasing regard for resolving the social inequalities and disruption caused by the deification of our win at all cost mentality. Naturally this Neo-Calvinism creates a large class of “losers.” And we need strong policing to protect us from this jetsam our society has created.
So how does Andy Griffin become Rambo?
1) Ignore the social ills that extreme wealth inequality and a history of institutional racism has caused.
2) Feed the myth that the police are the only thing standing between civil society and chaos.
3) Allow the creation of concentration of political power in the guild representing police.
4) Use the above in a feedback loop that results in capture of the legislative process.
The solution is clear: address the social issues and break the myth’s hold on the public. I’d start by putting the “dangerous” nature of policing in the proper context.
We need police who are willing and able to go into a school with an active shooter to save the lives of children. We don't need police to be harassing ordinary citizens because of a broken tail light. We need police who live in the communities they serve, who are engaged as citizens of those communities, and who fundamentally see their role as protecting and helping people; not "keeping them in line." Their performance evaluations need to be based on things like community involvement; not ticket quotas. The very concept of the "thin blue line" suggests an "us against them" attitude that is completely revolting. Too many police are taught to demand respect. They need to be taught how to earn respect. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt for the press/media to focus a bit more on the actions of good cops. They desperately need positive reinforcement and it can only help to give them some.
I couldn’t believe that ex military tanks etc go to cops. WTF for? Are they expecting a war in downtown xyz. Get this equipment out of the hands of cops.
What’s the training, mental assessments and fitness tests needed?
One of the problems (and I'm saying ONE - there are many) with policing in the US is the prevalence, in the general population, of firearms. Every time a cop stops someone, they must anticipate the possibility of that person pulling a gun on them. As a result, they are perpetually on edge - with lethal force just around the corner, and the "need" for units called "Scorpion". We'd be idiots for thinking that readiness for violence doesn't leave a mark on people's psyche - when every problem looks like a nail, the hammer will always be on hand.
Great piece and comments. I retired from one of the best police departments in the country. Midway through my 25 year career 9/11 happened. Game changer. Cops started thinking of themselves as the “thin blue line” and militarized themselves mentally (general statement).
“Them versus us” posture became pervasive. Bullet proof vests moved from inside the shirt to outside. Rifles started to make their way in to cruisers.
Loved the juxtaposed pics: Maybury and Militarized. So important that we arrest this (pun intended). Think “Brain vs Brawn” and “Strength vs Might” and many solutions to the challenges of modern policing can be found. Politicians must stop caving into law enforcement’s (easily understood) exaggerated claims of criminal threat. We must push for Decriminalization of drugs and sex work and refocus our law enforcement resources toward the actual safety issues that we face today. (Cops will not even put a dent in the opioid crisis, BTW)
We must also remember that police rarely stop crime. Good parenting, friendship, neighborly citizenry, smart phones, camera surveillance, other tech and even pet dogs are our first and best lines of defense.
Let’s zoom out. The money spent on military and on policing in the country is beyond comprehension. We’ve militarized local and state police departments because of increased violent crime as if the answer is to meet violence with violence while ignoring the causes. Steve’s article helps to see the madness of our present path. Just reforming the police without addressing gun and drug proliferation wont work. There are worldwide examples of societies that are implementing more holistic approaches and finding success.
Thank you for your insight into a problem of the evolution of the police department. You make a great point about structuring the department after the fire department and not the military. Our police forces do not need assault vehicles or assault tactics when dealing with the public. We are not a police state. However, these specialized tactical groups would have you believe we live in the Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan and an attack is imminent.
Violent crimes have become more prevalent with more guns being distributed onto our streets. We need comprehensive new gun laws and regulations to combat this ottracity, not combat troops. I don't have a problem with responsible gun ownership but I do have a problem with the arsenal of automatic weaponry that is readily available on the open market. The 2nd Ammendment gives us the right to bear arms but that right must be regulated by the States and in Washington.
We have the most mass shooting incidents of any nation to go along with the most firearms. That should tell us the reason why we have the most mass shootings. It is not rocket science that is needed to solve the problem but common sense.
Nailed it, Steve. I've been saying this since the dawn of this century. I'm sure you remember the Elian Gonzalez case, the seven-year-old child who was the subject of a custody case between families in Cuba and the US. Remember that April 22, 2000, photo of an INS swat officer, wearing full military battle rattle, goggles on his face, with an assault weapon pointed at Donato Dalrymple (he rescued Elian from the ocean), who was holding the terrified and crying child? My dear fellow readers, look up Elian Gonzalez and find that photo.
Police should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. In some places in the United States, they are. In too many places, they are not. Andy and Barney are the right role models. I would also suggest the Italian Carabinieri. They are revered by the Italian people. Check out the "Carabinieri" homepage on Facebook. Here is a post from about five days ago:
"Bread is a symbol of life and everyday life. And in Visso, a small town in an impervious area between the Sibillini Mountains in the province of Macerata, hard hit by the earthquake of 2016, is the van of a bakery delivering it directly to the homes of the only 46 inhabitants left living in the wooden houses built for the emergency. But yesterday, because of a heavy snowfall, the van couldn't start. It was Carabinieri from the local Station going door to door to check if people, almost all elderly, needed anything. And they even returned the smile to an 80-year-old man, bringing him bread he had left without. A good and simple gesture, just like bread."
There is no doubt in my mind that policing is the hardest public service job there is. But it is in urgent need of reform, as you eloquently write. The failure to grasp the importance of such a public service across the country must bring pressure from within the forces that struggle to maintain a needed image of respect towards policing, a high risk job as it is and needing the funding that so much lesser occupations already have. The imbalance is astounding. And, when it comes to images impressed in my mind, I can not but wonder what an effect they have upon others who would take the wrong approach when addressing local engagement with their own police departments. How can administrators bring back the confidence among citizens when what is impressed morally in the many who will never forget Uvalde, George Floyd under the knee for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Tyre Nichols being raised from the floor and pulled up against a car's side, the execution wall, to allow the brutal force of police punches strike the target, a man's already limp and massacred body at their mercy to deface with no chance given to such brutality the shock of repentance?
The bastion of policing is ensnarled within a losing framework girded by poor wages, murky job parameters, inconsistent and uncohesive administrative messaging, interspersed with infusion of supremacist contingents, punctuated purposeful militarization, under-training and lowered recruiting numbers leading to relaxed hiring parameters.
Add to that increasing peril of targeted execution.
In total, a perfect storm of roiling inconsistency at best that surely needs prompt overhaul for everyone's sake.
When American citizens were allowed to arm themselves like a military soldier, the militarization of America began and our police went with that mentality nationwide. I distinctly remember seeing a news flash of significance concerning armed men trying to rob a bank in California and the police being outgunned, https://youtu.be/I_1IvZFwj0M . Shortly thereafter the police were buying military equipment and arming themselves with military grade weapons. I am saying that it was not the police who initiated the militarization of America, it was American politicians who allowed this carnage.
Y’ll know I’m a mental health professional. To become a “talk” therapist, I had to get 8 years of higher education, do thousands of hours of supervised counseling, take an exam, procure licensure & professional liability insurance. Generally, psychologists can’t write prescriptions. To be an NP who can write prescriptions after my PhD, I did 4 more years of training & more free supervised clinical hours, took 2 exams, licensure (as an RN & an NP), DEA licensure & another controlled substance certificate, more liability insurance. Then there are continuing education requirements. If I were young enough to become a police officer, the training & ed required is a pitiable fraction with no licensure requirements & my record would not be publicly verifiable like all of my current ones. This is a$$ backwards.
Some of what I see in the unarmed people who die in a hale of police fire is a history of trauma some of which is likely self-medicated. We can reform policing in America with more stringent training requirements, require background checks, psych evals, & a screen of social media accounts. POs should be licensed & their record publicly visible. Officers need to be in regular counseling & screened for acute stress disorder, PTSD & substance use disorders. The public and the profession deserve this at least.
I have been saying for a decade..".Less Rambo and More Andy Griffith"
Yes policing is a dangerous job, but in a list of dangerous jobs it ranks closer to 20th than near the top of the list, where you find logging, aircraft piloting, electric line work, mining, foundry work and garbage collection. The issue with abusive policing is not hard to figure out. We have a society build on avaricious acquisition, with decreasing regard for resolving the social inequalities and disruption caused by the deification of our win at all cost mentality. Naturally this Neo-Calvinism creates a large class of “losers.” And we need strong policing to protect us from this jetsam our society has created.
So how does Andy Griffin become Rambo?
1) Ignore the social ills that extreme wealth inequality and a history of institutional racism has caused.
2) Feed the myth that the police are the only thing standing between civil society and chaos.
3) Allow the creation of concentration of political power in the guild representing police.
4) Use the above in a feedback loop that results in capture of the legislative process.
The solution is clear: address the social issues and break the myth’s hold on the public. I’d start by putting the “dangerous” nature of policing in the proper context.
We need police who are willing and able to go into a school with an active shooter to save the lives of children. We don't need police to be harassing ordinary citizens because of a broken tail light. We need police who live in the communities they serve, who are engaged as citizens of those communities, and who fundamentally see their role as protecting and helping people; not "keeping them in line." Their performance evaluations need to be based on things like community involvement; not ticket quotas. The very concept of the "thin blue line" suggests an "us against them" attitude that is completely revolting. Too many police are taught to demand respect. They need to be taught how to earn respect. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt for the press/media to focus a bit more on the actions of good cops. They desperately need positive reinforcement and it can only help to give them some.
Issuing a badge and a gun to anyone who has not psycologically veted, professionally trained and well paid is obviously a formula for dissaster.
I couldn’t believe that ex military tanks etc go to cops. WTF for? Are they expecting a war in downtown xyz. Get this equipment out of the hands of cops.
What’s the training, mental assessments and fitness tests needed?
Who patrols cops?
One of the problems (and I'm saying ONE - there are many) with policing in the US is the prevalence, in the general population, of firearms. Every time a cop stops someone, they must anticipate the possibility of that person pulling a gun on them. As a result, they are perpetually on edge - with lethal force just around the corner, and the "need" for units called "Scorpion". We'd be idiots for thinking that readiness for violence doesn't leave a mark on people's psyche - when every problem looks like a nail, the hammer will always be on hand.
Great piece and comments. I retired from one of the best police departments in the country. Midway through my 25 year career 9/11 happened. Game changer. Cops started thinking of themselves as the “thin blue line” and militarized themselves mentally (general statement).
“Them versus us” posture became pervasive. Bullet proof vests moved from inside the shirt to outside. Rifles started to make their way in to cruisers.
Loved the juxtaposed pics: Maybury and Militarized. So important that we arrest this (pun intended). Think “Brain vs Brawn” and “Strength vs Might” and many solutions to the challenges of modern policing can be found. Politicians must stop caving into law enforcement’s (easily understood) exaggerated claims of criminal threat. We must push for Decriminalization of drugs and sex work and refocus our law enforcement resources toward the actual safety issues that we face today. (Cops will not even put a dent in the opioid crisis, BTW)
We must also remember that police rarely stop crime. Good parenting, friendship, neighborly citizenry, smart phones, camera surveillance, other tech and even pet dogs are our first and best lines of defense.
Let’s zoom out. The money spent on military and on policing in the country is beyond comprehension. We’ve militarized local and state police departments because of increased violent crime as if the answer is to meet violence with violence while ignoring the causes. Steve’s article helps to see the madness of our present path. Just reforming the police without addressing gun and drug proliferation wont work. There are worldwide examples of societies that are implementing more holistic approaches and finding success.
Thank you for your insight into a problem of the evolution of the police department. You make a great point about structuring the department after the fire department and not the military. Our police forces do not need assault vehicles or assault tactics when dealing with the public. We are not a police state. However, these specialized tactical groups would have you believe we live in the Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan and an attack is imminent.
Violent crimes have become more prevalent with more guns being distributed onto our streets. We need comprehensive new gun laws and regulations to combat this ottracity, not combat troops. I don't have a problem with responsible gun ownership but I do have a problem with the arsenal of automatic weaponry that is readily available on the open market. The 2nd Ammendment gives us the right to bear arms but that right must be regulated by the States and in Washington.
We have the most mass shooting incidents of any nation to go along with the most firearms. That should tell us the reason why we have the most mass shootings. It is not rocket science that is needed to solve the problem but common sense.
Nailed it, Steve. I've been saying this since the dawn of this century. I'm sure you remember the Elian Gonzalez case, the seven-year-old child who was the subject of a custody case between families in Cuba and the US. Remember that April 22, 2000, photo of an INS swat officer, wearing full military battle rattle, goggles on his face, with an assault weapon pointed at Donato Dalrymple (he rescued Elian from the ocean), who was holding the terrified and crying child? My dear fellow readers, look up Elian Gonzalez and find that photo.
Police should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. In some places in the United States, they are. In too many places, they are not. Andy and Barney are the right role models. I would also suggest the Italian Carabinieri. They are revered by the Italian people. Check out the "Carabinieri" homepage on Facebook. Here is a post from about five days ago:
"Bread is a symbol of life and everyday life. And in Visso, a small town in an impervious area between the Sibillini Mountains in the province of Macerata, hard hit by the earthquake of 2016, is the van of a bakery delivering it directly to the homes of the only 46 inhabitants left living in the wooden houses built for the emergency. But yesterday, because of a heavy snowfall, the van couldn't start. It was Carabinieri from the local Station going door to door to check if people, almost all elderly, needed anything. And they even returned the smile to an 80-year-old man, bringing him bread he had left without. A good and simple gesture, just like bread."
Of the people, by the people, and for the people.
There is no doubt in my mind that policing is the hardest public service job there is. But it is in urgent need of reform, as you eloquently write. The failure to grasp the importance of such a public service across the country must bring pressure from within the forces that struggle to maintain a needed image of respect towards policing, a high risk job as it is and needing the funding that so much lesser occupations already have. The imbalance is astounding. And, when it comes to images impressed in my mind, I can not but wonder what an effect they have upon others who would take the wrong approach when addressing local engagement with their own police departments. How can administrators bring back the confidence among citizens when what is impressed morally in the many who will never forget Uvalde, George Floyd under the knee for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, Tyre Nichols being raised from the floor and pulled up against a car's side, the execution wall, to allow the brutal force of police punches strike the target, a man's already limp and massacred body at their mercy to deface with no chance given to such brutality the shock of repentance?
Guardians, not gladiators
The bastion of policing is ensnarled within a losing framework girded by poor wages, murky job parameters, inconsistent and uncohesive administrative messaging, interspersed with infusion of supremacist contingents, punctuated purposeful militarization, under-training and lowered recruiting numbers leading to relaxed hiring parameters.
Add to that increasing peril of targeted execution.
In total, a perfect storm of roiling inconsistency at best that surely needs prompt overhaul for everyone's sake.
Simply put - preserve the rights of all afforded by the Constitution.. without prejudice.
When American citizens were allowed to arm themselves like a military soldier, the militarization of America began and our police went with that mentality nationwide. I distinctly remember seeing a news flash of significance concerning armed men trying to rob a bank in California and the police being outgunned, https://youtu.be/I_1IvZFwj0M . Shortly thereafter the police were buying military equipment and arming themselves with military grade weapons. I am saying that it was not the police who initiated the militarization of America, it was American politicians who allowed this carnage.