I might as well start this week's episode very bluntly. I am not a fan of the police. Largely since most police officers I have encountered were punks, plain, and simple. Now sure, on a couple of those occasions I deserved to be handled aggressively. It's the tymes when I am stopped for a simple traffic violation and some sour-faced punk of a cop gives me an attitude, that I take offense to. The problems I have with the police goes much further than their cocky attitudes, but it starts there. I know it sounds cliché, but how you treat people plays a big part in how you are treated. And the fact of the matter is most cops treat most people lyke shit. I have heard the excuse, "Well cops deal with worse kinds of people day in and day out," or "Cops see things that would make most people sick." Here is my response, So what. If you can't handle the heat, turn in your badge. If I don't accept similar excuses from fast-food workers I sure as hell ain't going to accept them for cops.
Before I just start listing things I hate about the police, we should put things in a little perspective. Each year cops have over 50 million encounters with people. And of those encounters just over a thousand end in death. Of those deaths, only a handful involved an unarmed individual. In 2015 the percent of lethal force per police encounters where 0.00002%. I do not think the police are racist, bloodthirsty monsters out to inflict as much pain and suffering as humanly possible. What they do need are an attitude adjustment and a revamped public image.
How can we fix this? First, we need better screening. This is something that has been talked about ad nauseam this past year, but it's true. The badge and authority draw in bullies lyke a light do to a moth. You know that guy who lyked to trip the nerd in hallways at school? He is probably a cop right now. Besides bullies, there are racist cops. I know I said earlier that I do not think the police as an institution is racist, but there are some racist cops. It's generational, these cops are descendants of lynch mob actors. It is something that needs to be addressed.
After we weed out the bad cops, we need to give the police departments a makeover. Right now, a cop in uniform looks intimidating. Hell, even the modern-day cop car looks intimidating. We need to go back to the powder blues. Those uniforms instilled a sense of comfort. People should look at a cop as someone who is there for them, not someone they should be afraid of. The vast majority of Americans are law-abiding citizens and the police force should reflect that. The way I see it, our cops resemble too much of the SS and not enough Andy Griffin.
On that same line, I would eliminate tanks and SWOT vehicles. I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with that idiot Biden. Then again, a broken clock is right twice a day. I will claim that 99% of the tyme our streets are not warzones. And when they were this summer, did they do any good?
The next couple of things are going to sound nitpicky, but it's my blog, so whatever. Cops should not be exempt from traffic violations. It doesn't sound lyke a big thing, but when you already have a public image problem, why would you turn on your flashing lights, just to run a red light? Evertyme I see this, I think that cop believes he is above the law. Every cop car should have a safe driving device built-in, and if a cop breaks any traffic law while not in pursuit or on a call, they should be ticketed. They should also be fined and or suspended everytyme they turn off their dashcam or body cam. This brings me to the next point. All dash and body cams should be reviewed by a public auditor before it can be destroyed. This footage should only be kept if there is any incident, to begin with, but it should be reviewed by someone other than police before it happens. Transparency increases public trust. I keep hearing how expensive it is to store footage, but we do not need thousands of hours of footage of some fat ass eating donuts on the side of the road. I admit that was uncalled for, but you get my point.
While I am not for defunding the police, I do think we should eliminate some of their duties. Since we already have a federal drug enforcement agency, I would get rid of the narcotics department. They have better resources and can easily travel across the state and country lines better than local police departments can do. I would also eliminate brake tags (inspection sticker for those of you outside Louisiana) checkpoints, stop sign traps, and speed trap areas. Evertyme I see a group of cops standing around, and stopping people for brake tags, I die a little inside. That tyme would be better spent at local playgrounds or walking in neighborhoods, to better include themselves with the community. The police should have a presence in both good tymes and bad tymes. It should not be news when a cop plays basketball with some kids, it should be the norm. Again, it instills trust, and it humanizes the cops.
Another proposal I have is very radical. Eliminate local police departments. Yep, make all cops property of the state. They can work 6 six months in a high crime area and then get transferred to some quiet area. This last idea is ridiculous and would not work, but I don't hear you coming up with anything.
Here is the bottom line, I understand how hard and frustrating it must be to a cop, especially now with so much hatred for them. Some of it is justified and some of it is not. People yell that the police institution is part of a systemic racist organization. Their proof is the disproportionate number of arrests and tickets to people of color. This is a chicken and egg scenario. Because of high crime areas, cops spend more tyme there. Black people do not break more traffic laws than white people, but because lots of violent crimes happen in predominately black areas, black people will end up getting more lower-level violations. A small fraction of 6% of the population commits about half the violent crimes in America. Does it justify racial profiling? No, but it does give a more logical reason to the disparities than simply stating it is racism. As the numbers from the FBI indicate, almost all murders are committed by whites and blacks almost equally. A tiny fraction of 6% of the population commits the same number of murders as an even smaller fraction of 37% of the population.
Another frustrating aspect of being a cop is their catch and release program they are dealing with. You already know how I feel about the prison system, if not shame on you, but there has to be a better way. At some point, a cop must feel demoralized after arresting the same person over and over again. Is it the court system, is it incompetent district attorneys? I do not know, but somebody is messing up, and we are left paying for it, and cops are just chasing their tales.
I do not have what it takes to be a cop. I know this. The first tyme I showed up on a call to investigate abuse, I would end up in jail for assault. I know this about me. I understand that it may not seem so, but I lyke to set myself up for success. I would not be a successful cop, but I have much respect for those who chose to protect us. So that's it, everyone. I guess I could have just said get rid of bad cops and change their uniform and the cop problem would be fixed. But I am not a fast typist and this blog is good practice. One last thing, if a good cop covers up for a bad cop, he is not a good cop. As always, remember to laugh, cry, and think daily.