Naturally
a lot of this discussion has focused on abuses by the police force.
It
is important to remember that there were complaints about racist, abusive, and
dishonest behavior by the police before technology started backing it up. Now not
only can people record encounters easily, but then the footage can be shared
and demonstrations can be planned via social media. Unfortunately, right now
all that does is show people who are willing to see it that there was no
justification for the death after the fact.
I
am not against police wearing body cameras. I think it's a good idea, but most
of the relevant video evidence has come from bystanders and their phones. Body
cameras have been mysteriously turned off, officers have moved to the side of
dashboard cameras, and cell phone videos have shown officers say things that
did not match up with their actions, perhaps to get audio in their favor.
Outfitting the police with cameras is one tool, but not a cure-all.
I
do think there are some changes that could be a huge help in changing how
police work is done.
One
important thing is to change how police work and local governments are funded. We
learned from Ferguson is that there is an
over-reliance on tickets and fines for funding. This happens in many
communities. Courts are set up to be as inconvenient as possible. The poor are
disproportionately targeted because they do not have the means to fight it.
This
is regressive. More to the point it's cruel. It also creates an inherently abusive
relationship with law enforcement toward citizens. Even without the threat of
violence, there is fear for the citizens, because a simple traffic stop can be
financially devastating. There were many accounts of people losing jobs due to
court problems for minor offenses.
It
is not at all incomprehensible that the power can go to an officer's head, nor
how dangerous that can be.
Of
course the next step is to end the War on Drugs.
This
is also a funding issue, because a lot of funding goes there, and then more funds
go into incarcerating people. Some corporations do find of way of turning that
into a cash cow too, at least part of that is coming out of your tax dollars.
I
understand the concern that ending said war will result in more people using drugs,
but law enforcement has not been successful in curtailing drug use. At all.
Making drugs illegal has created a thriving black market, and a lot of violent crimes
come from that. It makes it harder for addicts to seek treatment. It encourages
the promotion of stronger versions of drugs. It terrorizes poor neighborhoods
and is racist in its implementation.
Speaking
of cash cows, a lot of money flows to departments through this program. That
appears to encourage extraordinary measures to keep numbers up. The military
style weapons encourage SWAT style antics. This gets people killed.
I
was looking for information on Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7 year old killed in a raid
on the wrong apartment. That was not strictly a drug raid, but also I found
this:
All
the drug war does is compound misery. That can be dealt with better through
other, peaceful measures. If you have any doubts on that, try reading Chasing
the Scream by Johann Hari. He also has a web site:
Taking
both of those steps will probably mean that we will need less police. We will
certainly need less jails. People will fight that.
It's
worth fighting back.
No comments:
Post a Comment