In a staggering report last month, the Department of Justice documented pervasive abuse, illegal use of force, racial bias and systemic dysfunction in the Minneapolis Police Department. City police officers engaged in brutality or made racist comments, even as a department investigator rode along in a patrol car. Complaints about police abuse were often slow-walked or dismissed without investigation.
  • The_v@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1131·
    11 months ago

    Let me summarizes the entire article:

    1. Ethical cops decrease crime. So less of them are needed.

    2. Corrupt cops increase crime. So people think they need more cops. Which increases crime some more…etc…

  • magnetosphere @beehaw.orgEnglish
    461·
    11 months ago

    Instead of fighting to retain police officers who feel threatened by accountability and perpetuate that distrust, cities might consider just letting them leave.

    Sounds good to me. Police who won’t respect the people they’re supposed to “protect and serve” have no business being police.

  • CIWS-30@kbin.social
    4018·
    11 months ago

    I can see how that would work in some places, but where I live, the opposite would happen. There actually is crime for them to police. Hell, with organized crime going up after California turned certain types of stealing from a Felony to a misdemeanor, theft and smash and grabs have skyrocketed in some places.

    Plus, in the rural areas, Cartels are moving in and setting up illegal weed farms and such and threatening the local government and communities.

    I’m not saying that the police aren’t a bunch of racist, sexist, militant fascists: they are. But if we could reform the police, they have a use protecting people from actual crime. The one benefit of having actual crime to police is that over the years, I’ve noticed much fewer cops harassing or ticketing normal people for stuff like minor traffic violations or “just because”. Probably because they actually (for once) have better things to do.

    • ashok36@lemmy.world
      472·
      11 months ago

      Cartels are moving in and setting up illegal weed farms and such and threatening the local government and communities.

      Solution: Legalize drugs already.

      • Alto@kbin.social
        172·
        11 months ago

        Weed’s legal in CA (don’t get me wrong, it should absolutely be legal federally. I actually fully expect Biden to campaign on it).

        Any time there’s a highly regulated market, there’s going to be a black market. The best way to get rid of that is try to decrease the financial overhead said regulations create over time, lowering the incentive for people to buy off the black market. Obviously that’s not something that’s feasible to do overnight though.

          • The Snark Urge@lemmy.worldEnglish
            71·
            11 months ago

            They said they expect him to campaign on it, not “fix” it.

            I don’t expect a thing. He only needs to be better than Trump, again. As an incumbent. Against a literal criminal who tried to overthrow the government.

            Lowest bar in history, Jack.

          • Alto@kbin.social
            6·
            11 months ago

            He cares a lot more about winning the white house again than whether weed’s legal

            Edit: sp

          • mohKohn@kbin.social
            41·
            11 months ago

            As if the president could waive a wand and make it legal. He pardoned everyone in federal prison on possession.

            • DaSaw
              5·
              11 months ago

              Caveat: there wasn’t actually anyone in prison on possession at the time. Which isn’t to say it didn’t send a message to supporters of the drug war.

            • Alto@kbin.social
              2·
              11 months ago

              As if that’d be the first time a candidate has campaigned on something they can’t actually do

    • Aesthesiaphilia@kbin.social
      401·
      11 months ago

      The problem in my area is that the cops refuse to actually do anything. 20 or 20,000 makes no difference if they won’t actually do any policing.

    • aberrate_junior_beatnikOPEnglish
      276·
      11 months ago

      Hell, with organized crime going up after California turned certain types of stealing from a Felony to a misdemeanor, theft and smash and grabs have skyrocketed in some places.

      Question: why are people stealing? Isn’t it because they need money, because they are poor? Maybe the solution is to make people less poor, rather than to have a bunch more “racist, sexist, militant fascists” patrolling the streets.

      Cartels are moving in and setting up illegal weed farms

      Again, the obvious solution to this problem does not involve police.

      But if we could reform the police

      I’m not sure we can.

        • Chetzemoka@kbin.social
          201·
          11 months ago

          Yes. Literally. Look at city budgets in the United States. Police budgets are multiple times the amount spent on housing and social programs, which are things that actually reduce crime.

          Move money out of police budgets and into housing in particular. Housing first. Because the increases in homelessness and crime are primarily being driven by the lack of affordable housing right now.

          https://data.aclum.org/2023/04/05/fy2023-boston-police-department-budget/

          • SgtThunderC_nt@lemmy.zip
            2·
            11 months ago

            If California has affordable housing that was accessible to everyone it wouldn’t have the ORT problem worse than the rest of the country.

            • Lux@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              71·
              11 months ago

              If people don’t have houses, it’s more difficult to get jobs. If people don’t have jobs, they need a different way to get food. It really is that simple. Unconditional housing makes people less likely to be poor and less likely to steal than if they didn’t have a safe place to live.

                • Lux@lemmy.blahaj.zone
                  51·
                  11 months ago

                  “You think its easier to not have poor people than reform police? I dont think the first is feasible in a population this size. The latter is absolutely attainable with a dozen law changes to hold cops accountable, which will also mean less of them”

                  The person you asked that to didn’t claim that “it’s easier to not have poor people than reform police”. “Not having poor people” would require a complete restructuring of political and economic systems, while police reform would require fewer changes.

                  It is, however, easier to have fewer poor people, that are less poor, than it is to reform the police.

                  Step 1 is increase taxes on the rich.

                  Step 2 is use that money to buy and build houses.

                  Step 3 is give those houses to anyone that needs one.

                  So for your original question, no, I don’t think that.

    • TurtleJoe@lemmy.world
      71·
      11 months ago

      Where I live, we didn’t lower criminal penalties for anything like that, smash and grab crimes are also up, and cops still don’t do anything about them. They also have stopped doing any traffic enforcement, and have basically been quiet quitting since there was unrest about how they shouldn’t commit extrajudicial violence.

      The one thing they do still do, is hassle black men about weed, despite that actually being decriminalized in the city. Since they can still cite people under state law, they can ruin your whole day or weekend over a roach if they feel like it. Unsurprisingly, the statistics are literally 10 to 1 black to white people being cited for pot.

    • Baylahoo@lemmy.world
      3·
      11 months ago

      This is one of those instances where it seems that cops are contributing to crime in an area where the ambient crime doesn’t cover it up as a rounding error. In that case they do more harm than good. That same ambient increase in high crime areas gets overcome by police force. The ideal state is that police don’t contribute to crime at all. Like the artical states, public trust in police is the only way that’s possible (the cause and effect go both ways here). That and actually, across the board, effective police work. They are paid the same as or more than engineers. We should expect the same or higher competency for on the job skill set. Otherwise, turn them loose like any respectable company would in the same situation.

      • SuperSleuth@lemm.ee
        81·
        11 months ago

        I advocate for defunding and disbanding the current policing system. Back the blue till is happens to you!

        New system you ask? No qualified immunity, require licenses and liability insurance, always on body-cams that are publically accessable. Phew, there goes nearly every problem.

  • kidnose@lemmy.mlEnglish
    94·
    11 months ago

    Just remove guns from the public like every other country. Easy win.

    • Tigbitties@kbin.social
      183·
      11 months ago

      No, but maybe we need to rethink policing. Sure, nothing is perfect but we can get better if we took the time to get it right. It’s probably not that hard if we can admit we all kinda want the same things.

    • SwingingTheLamp
      102·
      11 months ago

      That’s not a conclusion supported by the facts here. What is supported by the facts is destroying the conventional wisdom that more cops means less crime.

      • MxM111@kbin.social
        53·
        11 months ago

        Yes, and there is a difference between actual crime and observed/reported for statistics crime.

    • joyjoy@lemmy.world
      14·
      11 months ago

      That’s like saying there will be no arrests if crime is made legal. Unlawful arrest is also a crime, which would be legal.

  • DaveNa@lemmy.mlEnglish
    525·
    11 months ago

    Yes, without police there wouldn’t be crimes. Genius. /s