Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are news reports of several major cities having problems with large numbers of police resigning or refusing to show up for work. Will major cities in the future have serious problems staffing their police departments? What will be the result? Will more people leave these cities and then the financial problems of these cities worsen?
Personally I see more cities going the way of Detroit.
Its too soon to say. Policing is a difficult job. I certainly wouldn't want to do it. It seems almost inevitable that police will fall back and be a little more hands off. In theory that could lead to more crime and middle/working class flight. But, many cities remain attractive places to live for the young and affluent.
Longer term, if there is some acceleration in police force turnover that might not be a bad thing. In many US cities, low income minority neighborhoods are often served by middle class whites police officers who live deep in the suburbs and have very little social connection to the areas they police. Having more officers from the local communities would almost certainly be a good thing.
By minority cities, I assume you mean African-American cities. Baltimore has had a shortage of about 1,000 police officers for at least a decade and there have been many attempts to bring in additional police from other jurisdictions on a temporary or semi-permanent basis. Why city administrators have not made it a priority to hire more officers is beyond me. The city struggles with many problems, the biggest of which is corruption in city hall.
I can't imagine who would want to become a cop in those cities that have a majority public that hates and fears them and elected leaders that are saying the cops are the problem.
One would think that much of the racist grief could be fixed by hiring black officers to patrol black neighborhoods BUT I heard some BLM fool on the radio that said Black people that become cops are not black anymore, they are blue...
I think they really want no cops on the streets and they won't be happy until it happens so let them have their social workers and negotiators to solve the problems.
I can't imagine too many people will want to go into law enforcement especially if the ideas coming from the Left get passed into law and suddenly a cop could be held liable if a suspect gets hurt during the arrest. Imagine being sued by some loser because he tripped and skinned his knee when you were chasing him.
I can't imagine who would want to become a cop in those cities that have a majority public that hates and fears them and elected leaders that are saying the cops are the problem.
One would think that much of the racist grief could be fixed by hiring black officers to patrol black neighborhoods BUT I heard some BLM fool on the radio that said Black people that become cops are not black anymore, they are blue...
I think they really want no cops on the streets and they won't be happy until it happens so let them have their social workers and negotiators to solve the problems.
I can't imagine too many people will want to go into law enforcement especially if the ideas coming from the Left get passed into law and suddenly a cop could be held liable if a suspect gets hurt during the arrest. Imagine being sued by some loser because he tripped and skinned his knee when you were chasing him.
Pay a higher salary. Train recruits more carefully. Demonstrate that the job can be done without having to beat people into submission. If qualified immunity is taken away, pay for your police to have liability insurance.
Why? Would they treat law breakers differently? The laws are the same, or should be, for everyone.
People are more invested when there is commonality.
I live in very small town USA. Officers are required to live in the city/county where they work. People know one another and or their family members and it would seem there is more respect both ways. My brother was an officer for a time in our town and had to often arrest those he had gone to school with, worked with, worshiped with their family members. There was never any violence or force. Although one drunk did curse him (he was drunk) but later apologized.
Why? Would they treat law breakers differently? The laws are the same, or should be, for everyone.
I think there are subtle benefits to having police who have a connection to the area they are patrolling. You have more knowledge of the community for starters. You may have a deeper understanding and relationship with the people.
I grew up in a small town, people knew the police, they lived next to them or went to church with them, maybe they were even family.
In many big cities, the relationship with the police is far more distant and impersonal. You have mostly black neighborhoods served by white officers who live far outside the city and have almost no personal relationships with black people. Even if they are very committed to the job, it is only natural there will be some cultural disconnect.
Now that doesn't mean having more people from the local community is a panacea, but it would almost certainly help reduce tensions a little.
Cities with very high crime rates all have trouble finding quality officers of the law. This includes big, blue cities, unfortunately. And unfortunately the mayors don't always support their police--selling out to the democrats.
Policemen in such places deserve Battle Pay. It's the same way with their school teachers in difficult sociological circumstances.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
