JohnInCarolina

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  Battleborn → JohnInCarolina

  JohnInCarolina said:

  Kayak said:

  JohnInCarolina said:

  I don't think this needs to be a politicized.  That was definitely not my intention when I started the thread.  

  Hand-wringing it is, then.
  
  Although, saying our entire economic-political system sucks, isn't necessarily 'political'. More an indictment of our educational system, really...
  
  

  
   I think there are plenty of things that can be done and would be happy to discuss those.  We have several members of law enforcement here and I'm actually interested to hear what they think would make sense in the way of reforms, additional training, and etc.
  
  You specifically mentioned the likely Democratic nominee as well as the need for more progressive candidates.  That's pretty clearly political.
  
  But I'm not trying to censor what's discussed in this thread.  People are obviously free to post what they want until it gets stomped, which seems likely.  I'm just sharing my own perspective, which is that this topic need not be political.  TIA.

  It is my opinion that a police department needs to be representative of the community that it serves. What does that mean? It means that there has to be more buy in from the community and departments to recruit and serve. My department does a good job of trying to recruit minority and female applicants, but you can only hire from the pool that applies. 
  
  Training. Once again, I can only speak of my agency. Our academy goes above and beyond what is required by the state. Every two weeks we have dedicated training days for each squad (a lot of times this doesn't necessarily equal actual training, rather, it is a proactive day). In addition we have to have a certain number of additional training hours that must be completed yearly to keep certifications. To be totally honest, in order to become proficient at this job, officers HAVE to take it upon themselves and train in their off time. Whether that is studying case law, train Jiu Jitsu, range time or non departmental classes. 
  
  Police are asked to be so much. Jack of all trades. Psychiatrists, therapist, EMT'S, mediators, constitutional scholars, security, among other things. I was 33 when I hired on. I knew what I was getting myself into. I had life experience to understand what I was going to be asked to do. There is a fair number of people that hire on at 21 and have to figure things out on the fly. I can't imagine being that young walking into a house and have to try to tell a couple that has been married for 20 years how to handle their marriage.
  
  I say all this, not for recognition about how difficult the job is. At some level, everyone that joins a PD knows what is expected. Just a small amount of perspective. 99% of us do this job well. When one officer does something aweful, everyone of us gets lumped into it. It tarnishes the badge and each one of us has to work that much harder to regain public trust. Even when that aweful incident happened 1,000's of miles away. We don't really do that with any other job, do we? When there is a medical malpractice, we don't blame all doctors. When a DA loses and "open and shut" case or pleads a serious crime down, we don't blame every DA. I am fine with all that. Police are supposed to be held to a higher standard. We need to be held accountable when things like this take place. 
  
  I joined because I want to be part of the solution to bridge the divide. I don't want to be on the sideline.  I don't want to work with officers that view this as a job. It has to be a calling that is rooted in wanting to help people. Most of the officers I work with feel the same way.
  
  This is a bigger discussion than what I can type here. I can only speak for myself and my thoughts. 
  

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  May 28