>> How can police departments around the country improve?
Cut the employment rolls to 35%. Triple the pay. Require advance degrees in constitutional law. Mandatory retirement by 50. No pensions. Subject to capital punishment for egregious crimes.
Agree.
We need fewer police, but much better trained (and paid) ones. Less SWAT equipment and a lot my training in psychology, de-esclating conflict, constitutional law, very advanced martial arts to be able to disarm and subdue instead of going Tueller drill.
In some areas a cop is more like a bomb technician or a fighter pilot; *ONE* mistake and a good chunk of a city can be damaged; such people should be among the best paid public servants and the most highly trained ones.