Austin city council agree to cut 100 million from police budget (San Antonio: safety, move)

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by riaelise

Additionally, I am concerned that the public's mistrust of police will result in fewer solved crimes as people will be reluctant to provide info/intel. They'd rather just suck up the death of a loved one than provide any assistance to police. Or deal with cartels. Police still need informants to make a dent in gangs/drugs/etc. and that pool will continue to diminish due to people not wanting to "help the enemy". Sadly, the most affected will be poor minority neighborhoods.

part of the increase in police state is because drugs are illegal. Some drugs should be legal. It is possible that legalization of marijuana actually reduces the use of more addictive drugs.

legalization of mj will eventually reduce the gangs and cartels.

I think a lot of the issue with police and black/hispanic minorities is that people trafficking drugs are more likely to be minorities and to be involved with drug related violent crime. This creates a stereotype in the minds of police which causes them to behave differently with minorities.

If we can solve the drug, education, and single parent household problem. I think we would solve a substantial portion of the violent crime and racism problems that we have in the US.

Education - pay kids to do well in school. Have nationwide contests with big dollar prizes. Celebrate winners as heroes. let families choose their school within the school system. Use a rideshare model to get kids to school across town.

Drugs - legalize most drugs, use the taxes to fund addiction, expunge all drug related convictions

Single parent household - allow people that are married to stay on welfare. Tie welfare to the parent that makes the least. Remove the cliff loss of benefits when people work. For every dollar you make, you only lose 20 cents of benefits. Once you lose benefits you dont get them back until you are back at zero.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by Austin97

part of the increase in police state is because drugs are illegal. Some drugs should be legal. It is possible that legalization of marijuana actually reduces the use of more addictive drugs.

legalization of mj will eventually reduce the gangs and cartels.

I agree with this, there is no reason Marijuana should be illegal.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by USMC0372

Yes, I agree, being detained by the Police can be intimidating for people who have never really had any interaction with Law Enforcement. The chances of you going to the store are slim to none. And if the slim chance that you fit the description as the suspect in a violent crime, you would be told why you were being detained. Watch the video that I posted of the Full San Antonio incident. There were no guns drawn. Does what you describe happen, rarely yes, do I condone it, no.

Yes, people are becoming more adversarial for a number of reasons. The Police should NOT have to adapt to that, if we make that the norm, that it's ok to be adversarial, then why have Police at all? As I stated many times, do we need some Police reform, yes, but we need personal accountability and people reform. The mob mentality and social media platforms showing the videos of lawlessness and wanton abuse against the Police (NYPD especially) is a catalyst for the adversarial attitude.

You have every right to be concerned about the sliver of the Police Officers that abuse the badge, that is not acceptable. I agree, beating someone or using excessive force is never warranted. As I stated, I don't trust cell phone videos, as evident in the San Antonio case the, only aggression was by the man who was detained and assaulted, kicked and resisted arrest, but you don't see that in the cell phone videos and the many videos the media wants you to see only certain snippets.

From experience, working in an urban area people that mistrust the Police still provide information. Drug cartels are dealt with on a more Federal level typically, so again your basic drug dealer or his family may not want to interact or give information. I do not agree that only poor minority neighborhoods suffer, crime in general is not relegated to just minority areas. Suburban areas, higher income, burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, etc.

Not sure if you’ve raised or dealt with kids, but this reads like the adult who finds the kid being picked on equally at fault for daring to fight back.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by USMC0372

I do believe that a study was done (I have find it) that correlated that states that legalized marijuana had no drop in crime, specifically drug crime. As far as marijuana legalization, I have my thoughts on that. As far as for legalizing all drugs that's a tall order. There would be more violence. Where would the drugs me made? In a lab, by big pharma? Drug dealer's will still fight for their turf, it would just be legal to possess it.

People said the same about alcohol when repealing Prohibition. The illicitness of the narcotics is the main driver of the high stakes (i.e. big money and violence) of the drug trade.

Heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, all have legitimate medical forms currently. Many of their illicit abusers have legitimate uses for them and would benefit from professional oversight and/or counseling if they had affordable legal access to them. Research into psychedelics is showing a lot of promise for uses in mental health field and addiction. The tax money saved from decreased violence and taxes collected on newly legitimized business could go toward addiction counseling.

I personally like the decriminalization model where the unpermitted manufacture and distribution is criminal, but the end usage of illicitly manufactured drugs is ticketed with court ordered counseling.

Would it cure all addiction and violence? No, but it’s worth trying, because clearly harsh punishment doesn’t work. Would we still need police? Yes, but far fewer, and they would be highly paid tactical fighters, not catch all emergency responders.

[Westerner92]

Originally Posted by USMC0372

I don't disagree about the possible medical advantages of said narcotics. The problem is on paper it sounds great, but just like alcohol, it can get into the wrong hands where Police will ALWAYS be needed.

It's quite common for people with medical marijuana cards to sell some of their weed to minors in NJ. The same can happen if you decriminalize narcotics. Highly paid tactical fighters? LMAO. Seriously? Where do you come up with your ideas. Have you ever traveled, been out of the United States? You're knowledge on theory on Law Enforcement on an American level is laughable and Orwellian at best.

Minors already had no issue getting access to weed before legalization. Teen usage hasn't noticeably changed in Colorado since legalization according to the annual surveys conducted by the state health agency, but incidents involving high potency THC concentrates spiked.

Travel and living abroad is where I've gotten my ideas. I've spent extensive time visiting family and friends in Spain and the UK and personally know police who are highly trained tactical fighters. They can subdue a crazed knife swinger without hurting either party. I didn't know any Victoria police when I lived in Melbourne, but it's definitely the safest large city I've ever been to.

I've also spent months in places like Northern Ghana and Java where the foreigners in the car had to duck below the windows on certain stretches of highway to not get pulled over by police for tribute.

America is on the nicer side of the middle. You really only call them if you're prepared to ruin someone's life, and there is no practical check on their branch of power. Orwellian stories happen every day, and suicide by police is a literary plot point. The most influential police trainer in the nation, David Grossman, has seminar tours about "killology", including details like how the sex the night after killing someone is the most intense they'll have in their lives, that videogames are making people more violent (completely oblivious that the few people who internalize videogame violence tend to go into policing). He has multiple competitors. Yes, every municipality has an independent police force, but the culture is still a problem all over the nation, particularly in forces patrolling the poorest areas. We can do better than that.