POLICE ALTERING TACTICS

POLICE ALTERING TACTICS

(FRAZER CHRONICLE)

(All the News That Nobody Else Will Print)

I read with interest an article written by Andrew Welsh-Huggins that appeared on the Associated Press news outlet that talked about how police departments throughout the United States are beginning to either change their policies, or are thinking about changes. In the article there was mention of building tensions “running high” over the killings of blacks by police.

 

I got to tell you, this malady (killing people of color) has been going on forever here in the U.S., in fact since the arrival of Chris Columbus back in 1492 people of color have been accosted by white people. Norseman explorer Leif Ericson visited the Americas earlier then Columbus, by about 250 or so years, and I’m sure that the Norseman had their own form of racial injustice, but Columbus is credited with opening up the future United States in the history books…..so lets us leave it the way it’s written.

 

Policing people isn’t an easy job, not when those who administer the policing are concerned first and foremost with control…..the very idea of somebody encroaching on my space is repugnant to many, many of us citizens. But it doesn’t matter, there’s good old Johnny Law with his baton or service revolver laying down the law as it were.

 

I’ve seen some really brutal scenes of police physical abuse perpetrated against kids, girls, women, and old people when it was absolutely not necessary. Whether in person, or on video, the abrasive acts that I’ve seen always made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and at my age that’s quite a feat.

 

From Detroit, to Chicago, to New York, to Los Angeles, police departments are taking a second look at how they practice their policing activity. Communities like Bend, Oregon; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Albany, Georgia are also looking at different ways to be less pro-active when it comes to dealing with the day to day activity that police officers usually come in contact with.

 

For the vast majority of cops, the day to day activity of law enforcement is a mundane boring job with much repetitive activity, pretty much like any other job with the one huge exception, cops wear a firearm holstered on their hip. How a police officer reacts to the public that he comes into contact with each day dictates how hard his job is going to be.

 

POLICING ACADEMY TRAINING

Without exception every state in the union has police training academies, colleges or universities for prospective officers, advanced police training as well as retraining of officers. Although every state is different, there are similarities for minimum requirements, not mandated, but some requirements are in place simply because of common sense thinking.

 

Physical and medical requirements, various background checks, some sort of entrant’s examination, usually some legal training, driving skills, special equipment training, and firearm training for new recruits. Police academies basically get recruits prepared for the police force that they will be assigned to upon graduation.

 

There also are police academies on the federal level, while state academies teach potential officers the rigors of policing, there is also an agency in each state that certifies not only academy programs, but in several states, validate individual officers as well.

 

Some states have open enrollment, (anybody can enroll), while others mandate that candidates must first be hired as potential officers. Rules for acceptance vary from state to state, and some states actually have a basic training type situation much like the basic training in the United States military.

 

Sadly there is no set of rules that might govern which type of person is allowed to carry a sidearm and be authorized to use deadly force. There is no across the board requirement for each potential police officer to take and pass a psychological evaluation, a polygraph exam, and far reaching drug screening test. There are states that allow felons the opportunity to become police officers, and many states do not require a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Investigation.

 

LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES IS A BIG DEAL

Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system, along with the courts and corrections. Although the three operate independently, the three collectively form a sort of chain leading from investigation of suspect’s criminal activity to administration of criminal punishment. Courts are vested with the power to make legal determinations regarding the conduct of the other two components.

 

There is local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies that are supposed to work in a sort of semi-cooperative atmosphere…..but very seldom do. There are dozens of agencies, and units of agencies within agencies, and within units. If this system sounds complicated, it should because it is…..complicated.

 

The cost of the entire policing agencies in the United States to the taxpayer is staggering, and runs into the trillions each year. There are millions of policing agents in the country, and if they are a brotherhood, and a thin blue-line, they are the biggest brotherhood, and the longest thin blue-line in the world.

 

With very little exception cops do almost whatever they feel is necessary to uphold the laws, and to protect themselves. I don’t like law enforcement and I don’t trust cops, or the judicial system of our country for that matter. Law enforcement, when it comes to convictions is like a National Football League franchise…..they’ll do whatever to secure a win, and sadly in many instances so do the cops, prosecutors and judges.

 

WHY THINGS GO WRONG IN POLICE WORK

Police executives face the consequences of mental and tactical mistakes made by police officers during difficult events. Accurate judgment and effective decision making by police officers under stressful conditions…..two of the most important elements in successful police performance are high perishable skills that are degraded rapidly in the absence of ongoing training and practice.

 

“Mistakes will happen and need to be accepted, the objective is not an organizational culture where officers are not allowed to make mistakes; rather the objective is to learn from the mistakes that occur, and to prevent their recurrence.”

 

The above are excerpts from an article in The Police Chief magazine from July, 2004, and even though the article is a bit more then 10 years old, much of what is said strikingly applies to today’s policing activity that seems to be almost out of control.

 

First and foremost policing agencies, no matter the level, simply can’t make mistakes…..not when the officer has a pistol holstered to his/her side. Cop mistakes, or lapses in judgment for any reason can mean the death of an innocent. There absolutely is no margin for error by law enforcement, and for God’s sake, if there is a mistake, or a bad judgment decision do not exacerbate the situation by tazing somebody, or applying a departmental choke-hold that has been banned, or worse, shooting somebody.

 

I can tell you this for certain, whenever an organization who figures that their members are right in the 1^st place, and wants to be in control in the 2^nd place, and has potential armament at their disposal that can stun, wound, or kill don’t need to change their tactics. They also don’t need to remedy past mistakes, or potential mistakes…..people die at their hands…..in that case, it’s pretty hard to change operating procedures…..there aren’t usually any witnesses.

 

As citizens of the United States, people who are appalled by the actions of law enforcement or prosecutorial community…..like me, need to stand up and be heard. Zero tolerance for mistakes, or of any poor decision during any kind of time is simply unacceptable!

HAVE A NICE DAY!