Posted on 01/27/2013 7:24:49 PM PST by chessplayer
The American approach to law enforcement was forged by the experience of revolution. Emerging as they did from the shadow of British rule, the country's founders would likely have viewed police, as they exist today, as a standing army, and therefore a threat to liberty. Even so, excessive force and disregard for the Bill of Rights have become epidemic in todays world. According to civil liberties reporter Radley Balko, these are all symptoms of a generation-long shift to increasingly aggressive, militaristic, and arguably unconstitutional policingone that would have shocked the conscience of Americas founders.
Rise of the Warrior Cop traces the arc of U.S. law enforcement from the constables and private justice of colonial times to present-day SWAT teams and riot cops. Today, relentless war on drugs and war on terror pronouncements from politicians, along with battle-clad police forces with tanks and machine guns have dangerously blurred the distinction between cop and soldier.
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Paradoxically, the idea that police would protect the rights of the accused and thus avoid having cases thrown out was justification of said professionalization.
It is seldom that we recognize the subtle ways in which the protections the courts (via a communist ACLU) have yielded to the criminal class have induced the tyranny we see, all of said advocacy funded by the extremely wealthy American analogue to British royalty.
I believe the lines are already drawn. Those on our side are here amongst us, and in counties across the nation. Many sheriffs are in our ranks.
Word.
We still have time to make a difference.
We don't have a say in that, it's a decision they all must make individually. Do they remain in the state of us vs. them, or will they recognize the real dangers this country faces, ie. NOT those of us that want to protect ourselves and loved ones, and that want to be left alone.
Historically, the sheriffs have the power to "deputize" private citizens in fighting crime and keeping law and order.
I think a powerful case could be made that the best return on investment in these times for our political efforts might be that expended in electing constitutional sheriffs. They are the leaders on the front line. If push comes to shove, this means...
It is available as a download here.
We always hearing politicians saying we need more police. Really? I’m of the opinion that the police are part of the reason for the escalation of violence in the communities. It’s thought that the militarization of police took off beginning in the 80s. I wonder if violent crimes have also increased proportionately in the same time?
Yes I have and they are definitely punks. Are you from NJ? NJ is full of these assholes. The facinating thing about cops in NJ is the cops in Newark, Jersey City and the urban areas are tough but tend to be professional. It’s the punks in the suburbs who run around with attitude problems.
So glad I moved out of that shithole state. If I didn’t have family living there I would never go back for anything.
“The facinating thing about cops in NJ is the cops in Newark, Jersey City and the urban areas are tough but tend to be professional. Its the punks in the suburbs who run around with attitude problems.”
So true. Here in NJ we thinned their ranks with a property tax cap that cost thousands of cops their jobs, leaving middle-aged police forces (the last hired were the first laid off); those urban cops were hardest hit because they often worked in cities that were dependent on state/federal aid for their pay. The cities haven’t been safe in decades anyway, so I don’t think there will be much impact; because of the whole “racial profiling” nonsense, cops had let the worst thugs have their way anyway.
Right before we started shedding cops they published a figure for the number of cops earning over $100K in NJ; they lost most public support at that point.
“They (for the most part) have already picked a side.
If they can’t keep USA law abiding citizens sufficiently cowed into submission, their next paycheck is in doubt. It won’t be the DOD that attempts to forcibly disarm the populace. It will be local union police forces.”
No doubt; t hey will do as they are ordered. Here in NJ we laid off thousands of them over the last few years; they weren’t effective anyway (they really weren’t allowed to do their jobs), and they cost a ton of money, so I have no complaints as they were let go. A lot of them are looking for opportunites in growing states rather than the dying northeast, because those days are over when they would just keep expanding while crushing the taxpayers. There simply aren’t enough companies and individuals to tax anymore; they bled them dry and chased them out, and what is left (the permanent urban underclass and illegal aliens) don’t pay taxes.
It does seem dirty and dead here, with graffiti everywhere, sky-high prices and a sort of resigned moroseness. People seem cheerful about Obama's re-election, which I understand only in the context of sycophantic commitment to an ideal despite the falling and crumbling reality that surrounds it.
But there's little that's "sunny" or "optimistic" about the region.
“it’s completely constitutional”
Never completely. Partly, maybe. There are only a spare few federal crimes listed in the Constitution. One of them, piracy, wouldn’t have anything to do with the FBI. Some handful of Washington’s powers could be seen as necessitating a force like it. But traditionally, and when I say that I mean according to how the Constitution is written rather than how our central government de facto operates, police powers are reserved for state and local authorities. JFK’s murder was a matter for Dallas police, which means as late as ‘63 there was no federal law against killing the freakin’ president.
You have my deepest sympathies. The northeast is an immoral sewer...Red Hampshire just 'doubled down on depravity' by electing two of the most vile women imaginable to Congress and another as Governor. They join Senator Jeanne Shaheen as a true female 'axis of evil'.
I’ve lived here my whole life, and it certainly is deteriorating. I see nobody cheerful about Obama’s re-election (I noted before the election the absence of Obama stickers even in the ghettoes, whereas they were everywhere in 2008); even blacks I work with who voted for him did it as much as out hatred for whites as anything else. They are always lamenting how much worse things are; maybe they just believe it isn’t his fault. They reminisce about the cruises they used to take, they new cars they used to own, etc. (they were just making it into the middle class when things fell apart); they got a taste of a better life and now it is gone.
There is nothing sunny or optimistic here, and I feel there won’t be for years. We are bleeding our youngest talent, and importing illegals to simply keep schools open and housing afloat. Tell them in TX what to look out for (just kidding, apparently they already know).
Nationally, crime is down. Much less bad than the 70s or 90s I think.
We need to end the image of police officers as Law Enforcement and return to the original intent: Peace Officers. The purpose of the police is to maintain the peace. Law enforcement can be done by a monkey.
They’re civilians and no better or smarter than any other civilians. We’re all in this together and the “professionalism” needs to be service oriented.
In Chicago our police motto is “to serve and protect”. Our fire motto is “we’re there when you need us”. The irony should be obvious.
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