Out of the Blue

Friendly Bubble Blower!

I see you and I are determined to keep our disputation going a while longer, lol.

But first, yes, agreement! Wisdom in the justice system is in short supply and yet so desperately needed!  

Security is close to the first of the basic needs, of course.  For women in general it tends to become even more valued than for men.  And for some women, it is nearly equal to the primal basics of food, clothing, and shelter.

The title of your last post implied the famous Lord Acton dictum about power.  Therefore, I cannot fully agree with your stipulation that wanting to go home at the end of a shift makes police less likely to do anything that would interfere with that.   Distortion can occur far too readily for anyone with the potential power of freedom or restraint—or life and death—be they military members or law enforcement officers.   It doesn’t have to occur in a majority to be a serious problem, it only has to occur in a significant number, with the other members ignoring, going into denial about it, or even closing up or covering up about it.

Many of us—you and I included—have friends and family members who are in law enforcement, and we like and trust them.  Most people have no contact with police, outside of traffic tickets.  There is also the “Congressional phenomenon”--being unconfident about and dissatisfied with the police, but satisfied and confident with a friend or relative one knows who is on the police force.  Of course, we likely count our family and friends in that majority who do, at least in their minds, their best to serve and protect and get home safe.    But what do they tolerate?

It happens enough in “well funded” and “highly professional” police forces.  Yet especially in the poorer or lesser desired forces, there tend to be larger numbers of the marginals—those who shouldn’t be police officers—but because we value police officers little better than we  do teachers, it’s hard to attract sufficient high caliber folks in numbers.  And that’s even where there is adequate pre-testing and screening.  In many places, primarily for money reasons, there isn’t.

But more importantly is the blue code:  they don’t turn each other in.  They don’t “police” their own ranks.  Indeed, only when forced to, or when they are punishing someone for personal or tribal reasons, are members “given over to the justice system.”

THAT is corrupting.  At first, only a little.  After a while, it is like a descent into a group psychosis. 

Wishing it were otherwise will not unmake it so.

Yes, a great many law officers try to do their best. That’s who I’m appealing to.  The good ones must transcend the ones who have gone astray, and correct things. 

Yes, protocols of force usage do exist in a great number of police departments.  But even where protocols exist, are they followed?  Are there sanctions when they aren’t?  Is the standard override of “I was in fear for my life or the public’s safety” justification ever strongly questioned?  In the vast majority of cases for all these, the answer is no.

We do levy high expectations on officers who must work in often continually stressful environments.  They often deserve our reward and respect.  That’s one reason that law enforcement and military often get to retire after 20 years; the strain beyond that is often too telling.

Let’s suppose for the moment that I have overstated, at least for white people, the fear issue (which is entirely possible, but I will supply further arguments later) and that “safe” is the overwhelmingly dominant reaction.  There could still be complexity and nuance and situation-dependence there.  For example, even the neighborhood bully is a welcome sight when the menacing gang from another street shows up.

Also, would one feel “safe” if an officer seemed to start following you?  What if a police car seemed to start following you?  What if a police officer called from behind you, “Excuse me sir/mam, I need to talk with you for a minute.”

Would one feel the same if the police knocked on your door in the middle of the night?  How about if they knocked forcefully?  Shone lights from outside into your bedroom? 

How about if one were an activist?  Worked for justice?  Stood up to police and systemic abuses?

Even for those people who feel no fear at all toward the police, do they feel closeness?  Warmth?  Confidence?  Surveys cast some doubt.

I both looked at the research and canvassed many people from a variety of backgrounds and situations to get some additional words or phrases of how they feel around the police:  Besides Fear, there was Uneasy.  Intimidated.  Wary.  Skeptical.

I also dug into how citizens see the police:  Lazy.  Complacent. Unprofessional.  Arrogant.  Loners.  God-complex.  Not happy.  Ticket-crazy.  Snooping.   Abusive. Unfriendly.  Not courteous.  Biased. Disrespectful.  Unethical.  Not part of us.  Can’t catch real crooks and don’t try.  Tardy.  Aggressive.  Rule-breakers.  Harassing.  Excessive in use of force.

But there was also: Dedicated.  Cool-headed. Helpful.  Fair.  Needed. Protectors.  Reliable.  Tough.  Rule-enforcers.  Unappreciated.  Underappreciated.

The George Mason University study is some of the most comprehensive research, but it is now dated, nearly 14 years old.  It has been critiqued not only because of its being commissioned for police chiefs, but for being a product of the low-crime, go-go economy of the Clinton years, and thus some feel it is not representative of overall patterns, and especially those of today.   That criticism probably goes a bit too far.   For one thing the study did chronicle was that confidence in police has been on a steady (although slow) decline.  And, one of the most troubling of trends, individual citizen interaction—almost any interaction—with the police tends more often than not to to drive down satisfaction, confidence, trust, and support. 

Age plays a part.  Younger and disadvantaged people tend to have a perception of the police  that is FAR harsher than other age groups.  In general, one’s perception of the police tends to be increasingly milder and positive the more of the following factors one has:   older, socio-economic advantaged, suburban, white, and neighborhood satisfaction.

The more times police actually try to help citizens in some fashion, the better perception, the better cooperation, the better satisfaction, and the lower the crime rate.  Community policing is not just some buzz term; it works when done properly and embraced by both officers and the public.

According to the George Mason study, 20% of Americans fear the police will out of the blue (no pun intended) come and arrest them when they are completely innocent.  Since the study’s release 14 years ago, we have 1) had the Patriot Act and other measures of the security-fear state, 2) a marked decline in socio-economic wellbeing, and 3) the continued disconnection trend, all of which, and more, have given strong indication that the percentage cited in the study has substantially increased.

Of course white people don’t feel the same fear that minorities often do.  Not even close.  And white privilege makes our eyes less sharp to the realities that others face.  If one talks to African-Americans, they will readily tell you that North Charleston was not some isolated incident.  It is what happens all too regularly all over the country.

Most of the time un-recorded, unbelieved, and uncared about.

But we should care.  MLK was right when he said injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.