Society as a whole has become so crooked and degenerate that good people in general are no where to be found at this point. At least from how I see it, Let alone good people that are capable of doing the job. This according to some forces law enforcement to lower standards to reach recruitment goals which then lowers the quality and even less good people want to be a part of it and the cycle spins down the shitter.
While this is the excuse they use, and it may be true to a point, I also think that people who would be good at law enforcement both don’t want to do the job, and are not typically hired by departments in the first place. The general problems are not the fault of the individual officers except maybe those in the command staff, but by joining and becoming part of that system and machine you make it your fault, especially if you know about it going in. Most jobs, law enforcement included want good little foot soldiers who follow orders and don’t make waves. People who they think are going to challenge things that they don’t want challenged are not going to make it through the hiring process, typically. You can get the hint based on the questions asked by oral boards and the entrance exams.
Also evident by the departments requirements for college. The requirement goes any where from 2-4 or more years of indoctrination typically and If they cared about anything other than the indoctrination they wouldn’t accept just any 4 year degree or any two year degree. Some do give preferences to certain degrees, but specific degrees are by no means a requirement for most places. The college degree just ensures that you have had 4 more years on obedience in the systems and most likely taken on enough debt that you will not risk loosing your job.
What are the solutions?
In short, It needs to be made that law enforcement answers to the citizens and not the state or the politicians in charge at the time. There needs to be personal reasonability on the cops when they do something wrong whether following orders or not and Laws need to be enforced in a way that errs on the side of individual liberty at all times.
Any solution is going to have two versions. The ideal one that works perfectly in the ideal world, and the real world realistic one that works with what you have at hand. The ideal solution might be a great long term goal keeping in mind the world is not ideal and never will be but the realistic solution is what you usually need to do, in order take the first steps towards it.
Many think the ideal solution is that law enforcement as we know it should be completely disbanded and a private option brought in to replace it. While there are some arguments to be made for privatization that have been proven in most sectors that it has been tried this will likely not be a palatable option for most people any time soon. Also to be fair it should be noted that private prisons have not been a shining example of what private law enforcement could be.
Now I am from the point of view that the problems in law enforcement are not fixable in their current state because its how the system is built. So I would be interested in some options of privatizing the justice system, however realistically the first steps are going to be taken within the system thats here.
Start right now and protect yourself
Learn the law. Criminal law, case law, and your rights then find a good lawyer that has a similar mindset, morals, and point of view as you. You need to train to defend your self in this arena just like you would nay other.
Goals to work for
Now as long as law enforcement serves the legislator/ the state and has no obligations to the citizens (Article here) it is nothing more than a political weapon to be utilized by the politicians against the people. The only possible exception is Sheriff Departments, but ONLY the ones where the Sheriff is elected because theoretically he answers to the people. This also implies that elections are un-corrupted and no campaign money has expectations on it but I am trying to be fair here.
The elected sheriff set up would be a great first start if you believe a state-esk solution is required and that no private sector option would work. Many would have to push for the disbandment of municipal police departments, and changes made to legislation already on the books, and possibly state and local constitutions.
Theoretically the results would be the legislator can make the laws, and the citizen bound sheriff’s department decides if they are appropriate to enforce or not precedent has somewhat been set on this as it is in regards to immigration and gun laws. Any way the legislator could punish the sheriff department themselves would have to be heavily reduced. No slashing their budgets, or firing authority etc. No way to force their hands into enforcing laws that should not be enforced. This would be easy locally at first as most sheriffs are a jurisdiction above the city and therefore the city cannot touch them however protections would need to be put in place at any county and state and federal level.
A responsibility now falls on the citizens as they have to be able to do some of those things in order to keep them in check themselves beyond just voting.
Cops = Citizens
One such option which really could and should be changed either way is that cops no longer get special treatment by the law. As long as cops are aloud to look at them selves as a separate class and no longer one of the citizens the problems will continue to get worse because they will never be effected by the laws they enforce. This was made glaringly visible during the pandemic as police unions would lobby and fight for their officers freedoms but not of the citizens.
No more exceptions, loopholes or extra protections. If something is illegal to posses they cannot posses it either with the only exception being collection of evidence. That means if certain equipment or tools or weapons are illegal then the cops don’t get them either. As well they need to be held to a higher standard to the same laws the civilians are. No more plea deals, or lighter sentences for crimes just because they are cops. The threat of being put in the cell next to those they arrest and for a longer sentence should be a reminder to not cross those lines.
Law Changes
No more laws to make their job easier. Its not the citizens job to give up their rights to make law enforcement easy. Citizens have inherent rights for a reason, other wise they would be called privileges.
No more victimless laws. If the only victim is the state, then its nots a crime its extortion.
No more qualified immunity, This should go for any government employee but cops specifically should know whether or not they are violating the rights of the people. And if they are suspected of it it should get sorted out in court like any other crime. If they are innocent or the case has no standing they should trust in the same system that they are sending people through to work it out.
No more plea deals. Plea deals as well as strategic lying on the side of the prosecutors, is used to force people through the system and not go to trial. Many innocent people have pled guilty on advice from lawyers to not “risk” trial. If there is not enough evidence to go to trial then the case should not be moving forward anyway.
Personal Responsibly
Cops need to be held personally responsible for their actions. In addition to no qualified immunity, No more shrugging any law suit responsibilities onto the department where the financial burden comes out of tax money. The citizens are essentially just getting a refund when they are abused in a way even the system cant justify.
Just like doctors and many other professions have to already, cops should have to carry their own insurance. When/if they commit so much wrong doing that their insurance is to expensive or they wont cover them any more then they have to figure it out or find a new profession.
Conclusion
Cops have been separated from the citizens through special privileges, and protections for too long and it only gets worse as time goes on. As long as the general population stays fat, lazy, and unaware of the threats in the real world we will always need designated protectors/peace keepers but when they don’t have to answer to the citizens they supposedly serve, they fall into becoming a tool of tyranny wielded by who ever is in charge. Used to harass and extort money out of the citizens to boost the governments budgets.
This is not all the options on the table, and the changes above would not totally “fix” law enforcement but I don’t believe you can totally fix law enforcement as we know it today but these steps would be a good step in the right direction. Shifting the scales back toward the individual for both freedom but also the responsibility that comes with it.
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