And to further expand on this, even though it sounds horrible to the average American, regular military >>>>>> national guard ainec in terms of dealing with civil unrest imho. The levels of training and discipline for your typical national guardsman is somewhere above cop, but not that far above and well below that of a regular soldier.
Twice a year we would get a bunch of national guard units doing their summer camps at our PDS in Italy and it was ALWAYS an absolute joy to witness our battalion sergeant major encountering them for the first time, usually either in the mess hall or lined up outside waiting to get in. Their uniforms always looked like shit, haircuts were never per Army regs, boots not shined etc etc. It was just a god damn Ted Talk in ass chewing for the entire base to witness and it always ended with, “I want to see your little ass and your first sergeant in my office in one hour and I fucking dare you to be a minute late.”
Not to be too argumentative, but I don’t think the problem with cops is that they don’t have enough of the right kind of training and discipline. It’s that they have too much of the wrong kind. And the wrong kind is just driving around in their cars day in and day out, carrying weapons, demanding respect and compliance, being (justifiably) despised by many, and (as Johnny pointed out) being told over and over that they are there for each other and their lives are more valuable than civilian lives.
Meh, I’ve seen that stereotype in videos and such, but I don’t get the impression that’s generally true. I’d snap take an all female police force over the status quo.
Sure. That’s the thing. An all female police force may very well have a different culture that might weed out sociopaths who want an excuse to crack skulls.
But in a macho workplace culture that values masculine traits, a woman has to conform to that culture to be more easily accepted. One could argue that she is taking on traits that a lot of male cops have that are invisible to us due to gender stereotypes.
To the obvious question — are veterans quicker to resort to force in policing situations? — there is no conclusive answer. Our investigation obtained data from two major-city law enforcement agencies, and considerable anecdotal evidence, suggesting veterans are more likely to get physical, and some police executives agree.
But any large-scale comparison of the use of force by vets and non-vets is hampered by a chronic lack of reliable official record-keeping on issues of police violence.
Some other conclusions about veteran-cops emerged more clearly:
Veterans who work as police are more vulnerable to self-destructive behavior — alcohol abuse, drugs and, like William Thomas, attempted suicide.
Most law enforcement agencies, because of factors including a culture of machismo and a number of legal restraints, do little or no mental health screening for cops who return from military deployment, and provide little in the way of treatment.
Hiring preferences for former service members that tend to benefit whites disproportionately make it harder to build police forces that resemble and understand diverse communities.
Yeah, the other condition upon which police won’t stop looting and violence is if no one even thinks about implementing reforms or touching their budget.
Two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, (1, 2) in contrast to 10% of families in the general population.(3) A third study of older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24% (4), indicating that domestic violence is 2-4 times more common among police families than American families in general. A police department that has domestic violence offenders among its ranks will not effectively serve and protect victims in the community.5, 6, 7, 8 Moreover, when officers know of domestic violence committed by their colleagues and seek to protect them by covering it up, they expose the department to civil liability.7
Starmer tells PM UK should be supporting Americans protesting against George Floyd killing
Sir Keir Starmer has written an open letter to Boris Johnson challenging him to explain what the UK government is doing to support those Americans protesting against the killing of George Floyd. He asks for information about what concerns have been raised with Washington about the way peaceful protests are being suppressed, as well as for an assurance that exported British riot equipment is not being used by the US authorities in this way.
Starmer says:
The death of George Floyd has justifiably prompted anger and a burning desire for fundamental change. The UK must be clear in showing that we understand this frustration and that we are ready to stand together with those who seek to tackle the injustice and inequality that remains within all our societies.
I have written to the Prime Minister calling on him to urge the United States and President Trump to respect human rights and the fundamental democratic right to peaceful protest.
Let’s see if he gets a response that doesn’t include “watermelon smiles” or “piccaninnies”.
But as long as we are chatting about folks who prefer “she/her”, once again our sisters are literally the front line against police brutality… like always it seems.
and it always ended with, “I want to see your little ass and your first sergeant in my office in one hour and I fucking dare you to be a minute late.”