1. Balkanize police into distinct departments with different training and oversight. The police are tasked with far too many jobs at once and don't do a very good job at any of them.
2. Redirect some portion of funding to community development and fighting poverty, i.e. crime prevention. Instead of buying military surplus equipment, create after-school programs, ensure that kids get fed, etc.
If a police department is stretched thin, balkanizing should help with that. Having police doing too many things is a big part of the problem.
The police resist reforms constantly. They protect themselves and lie brazenly with little consequence. While morale is certainly something to consider, it's not the elephant in the room. There must be real consequences, and for that there must be real mechanisms of oversight, firing, and prosecution of cops and those who act in bad faith to protect fellow cops.
The police often pay for shipping, maintenance, and kitting out the equipment. They might receive a free stripped-down M16, but they still use their own budgets to make it tacticool. Just an optic and light run $1k or so.
1. Balkanize police into distinct departments with different training and oversight. The police are tasked with far too many jobs at once and don't do a very good job at any of them.
2. Redirect some portion of funding to community development and fighting poverty, i.e. crime prevention. Instead of buying military surplus equipment, create after-school programs, ensure that kids get fed, etc.
If a police department is stretched thin, balkanizing should help with that. Having police doing too many things is a big part of the problem.
The police resist reforms constantly. They protect themselves and lie brazenly with little consequence. While morale is certainly something to consider, it's not the elephant in the room. There must be real consequences, and for that there must be real mechanisms of oversight, firing, and prosecution of cops and those who act in bad faith to protect fellow cops.