Saturday, October 24, 2009

Spot On...

"A society that makes war against its police had better learn to make friends with its criminals."

7 comments:

Ten 80 said...

Right on the money.

OrdinaryLife said...

AMEN.....I want that on a t-shirt!

!!!HonigBehr said...

Just a reminder, some of us out here really admire you men and women. Keep up the good work!

Front Porch Society said...

Huh. Now there's something to ponder.....

HonkingAntelope said...

Amen to that! As much as I resent getting speeding tickets, I am always thankful for the hard work that many officers do to keep the worst of the world in check - even if it means writing a few speeding tickets at the end of the month for the benefit of the performance review (as long as you don't show up for court because you were busy booking some low-life into jail, hehehe)!

Unknown said...

Love it

Black Ice said...

"Sir Robert Peel's Nine Principles

The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.

The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.

Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.

The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.

Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it."

Sir Robert Peel, for those who don't know, is widely regarded as the founder of modern policing.

Note the point in bold. Sir Peel knew full well that if the police were viewed as an occupying army, then they might as well be one. This is just about where we are today.

All "us-vs.-them" crap aside(and, realistically, the current situation has been brought about by both sides), how do we--both citizens and police--heal this societal wound? Or is it even possible?

As police, none of you cops appreciate having to face down a whole neighborhood of trash for daring to arrest that Good Boy Who Was Just About To Win The Nobel Prize And Didn't Mean To Rape Those Girls And Shoot That Guy In The Liquor Store. As citizens, none of us appreciate things like the theft of firearms from law-abiding folks in NO after Katrina.

There's a whole bunch of mistrust on all sides, and I'd love to know how we can all get beyond that. It's not doing anyone any good in the long run.