Trust in the present time

[madera23]

Originally Posted by wall st kid

Yes, the reason is that the cops in his area are going on the guilty until proven innocent theory.

Innocent people appreciate law enforcement looking out for their well being, but i'm pretty sure that innocent and honest people want to be treated like honest people, they want the cops to be better at sniffing out the crooks, not just treating everyone like a crook and THEN trying to weed out the honest ones after the hassles.

Ask yourself how you feel when you are just minding your own business, driving down the street, and you see a cop behind you. Do you think "Phew, i feel much safer now" OR are you feeling worried that he might pull you over just because he's bored and wants to hassle you.

I think the majority of society would rather NOT have a cop behind them on the roads.

Good decent people arent bothered having cops
behind them on the road.
They would feel safer.

[madera23]

Originally Posted by markg91359

There are too many people moving from the military into the police when they leave the armed services. There are too many police who serve as guardsmen and reservists. Rather, than being a job qualification, I think the police departments ought to discourage service in the national guard. I also think they should look carefully at any applicant who is coming directly from the military. I have nothing against the military, but I think its poor preparation for the job of being a cop.

The kind of person who ought to be a policeman is a four year college graduate with a degree in psychology or sociology. He ought to have lots of background in resolving conflicts without resorting to violence. I suppose more departments don't do this because it might cost more to hire this type of applicant instead of someone who goes to the police academy and spends a couple of months there.

There in old television show from the 1960's and 1970's called "Adam-12" that does a good job of patterning the way that the police ought to do their jobs. In this show, officers Reed and Maloy ride around in a patrol car. They have no body armor, no protective helmets, and no other fancy technology to protect them. In the show, they frequently respond to calls that don't involve criminal acts. What they do have to learn is a way of getting along with all the people in the community that they police. They do carry firearms and rarely, in the show, they have to use them. However, the guns they carry are not these Glock 20 shot semi automatic pistols. They carry Smith and Wesson .38 revolvers that contain all of six bullets.

Another model should be the British Police. I have been to London and other parts of the United Kingdom. Many of the British Police do not carry a firearm. However, what I can say is that the British Police communicate through their demeanor and respect they give ordinary citizens that they are there to protect and serve the public not to throw people in jail or to abuse anyone.

There is a bottom line here. If you go into a polarized situation looking for conflict than you are likely to get it. If you dress up like soldiers preparing to fight a war, you may well up in a war.

I am white, 55 years old, and am upper middle class. When the police stop me, they tend to treat me respectfully and courteously. I don't think they same thing is true for minorities.

I haven't taken sides particularly on any of these controversial police shootings. I think there is a larger problem. For whatever reason, large sections of the poor and minority communities don't have confidence in the police. We need to do what we can to restore that confidence. Its really that simple.

Minorities are treated respectively if they show that they are respectable.
Cops know them when they see them and treat them differently.
The larger problem in the cases of Ferguson are their upbringing.
How would you react if you saw a bull coming at you?
How can confidence be restored if people don't change. Confidence is earned, not a free gift.