Is it normal police reform?

53% Normal

Is it normal to think the police force should be cut in half and the extra money spent on better training and pay for police in the US? I like to think better training would allow them to make more rational decisions in dangerous situations and create a more prestigious or professional appearance to everyone. Police would be more accountable for their decisions, and with better training I believe they would be more confident in keeping lethal force to a last resort. What do you think?

Voting Results

53% Normal

Based on 17 votes (9 yes)

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Comments ( 23 )

VinnyB

8 years ago | pl

I am not trying to be rude, but I am not sure you know enough about any of the factors involved in that suggestion to make it. Such as...

How much training does an officer receive now?
What, and how much, additional training would they need?
What would be the estimated effective rate of this training?
What would be the cost of this training?

Without knowing any of that, I don't see how one could seriously consider the proposal, or even know that cutting half the police force is a reasonable, or even necessary, way to pay for it.

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Darkoil

8 years ago

I think more lethal force is needed especially in cases that are violent or have the potential to be. Take a random street thug who decides to carry an unlicensed gun or even a knife, the police should have the right to shoot them dead even if they are not brandishing it. These people need removing from society, not putting in prison but simply killed and thrown on a rubbish tip.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  8 years ago
  
  Wow, that sounds terrible to me.
  
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  - RoseIsabella
    
    8 years ago
    
    Why?
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      8 years ago
      
      I like to think everyone is innocent until proven guilty, shot dead without even brandishing their weapon for being a "thug"? What is a "thug" then? Anyone sagging and wear a red Hanes? Wheres the human respect? Not round here.
      
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      - RoseIsabella
        
        8 years ago
        
        Meh.
        
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thegypsysailor

8 years ago

Cutting the police force in half is not a viable answer unless you want the gangs and criminals running the streets.
I just don't see this as a huge problem. We are talking about 20 odd deaths or so a year here, whereas 800+ died the day before yesterday (in less than an hour) at sea in the Mediterranean at the hands of people smugglers.
I do not condone these deaths at the hands of police officers, but much of it is a reaction to the increased danger police officers are facing every day from the gangs and other criminal elements. These officers have wives and children too, and they just want to get home each night.
The problem isn't with the police, it's with a completely inefficient legal system that returns dangerous offenders to the streets with little more than a slap on the wrist. Life in a US jail is better than in any refugee camp or ghetto in the 3rd world. Hell, they get better medical and dental care than I get through Medicare, and I pay for that care!
I seriously doubt that 'sensitivity training' and 'touchy feely" indoctrination will lessen the accidental deaths caused by police officers, but I'm pretty sure it will cause a lot more officer deaths.
Being a police officer is a dangerous and unrewarding job in any country, but second guessing their actions from the comfort of your living room is hardly conducive to improving the situation.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  8 years ago
  
  The civilian death rate is more like 300-400 a year if I remember right.
  
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  - thegypsysailor
    
    8 years ago
    
    Could be, but only 20 or 30 make the national news. Still, 300-400 out of 318.9 million isn't really a bad number, unless one of them is your loved one, right?
    Not to be insensitive, but more people probably die from slipping on a banana peel.
    
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    - donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
      
      8 years ago
      
      howre yall payin for anythin in the states?
      
      if what yall says is true then yallre outside the country for 11 months or more and not subject to income tax and i doubts yallre runnin out to yalls accountant to report to the irs man whatever shadyass income yalls makin doin whatever it is yall doin anyways
      
      whats more yallre prolly on social security and im bustin my ass in my coal mine to pay for yalls lazyness
      
      so git to work
      
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      - thegypsysailor
        
        8 years ago
        
        It's been quite some time since THAT tax law changed, buddy boy. Even fer rednecks.
        Y'all can bust yer ass all yer wanna,but I paid into my SS account; it don't got nottin ta do wid you.
        
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        donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
        
        8 years ago
        
        330 days a year as a foreign resident earns yall 108k a year tax free
        
        them good ole boys in lagos are cleanin up in the oil patch
        
        yall hates on the government enough but still cashes the checks what says us treasury eh?
        
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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  8 years ago
  
  I didn't say anything about sensitivity training lol, God you're an idiot.
  
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  - thegypsysailor
    
    8 years ago
    
    YOU want to take half the police off the streets and YOU are calling ME an idiot? Get a grip!
    
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- la-la-la-la-la-la
  
  8 years ago
  
  Your argument would have been more convincing if you had added "btw, I'm not a racist. Some of my best friends are blacks."
  
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[Old Memory]

8 years ago

No, but I do think all police should be required to carry cameras at all times to show what goes on. The camera never lies.

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Elixis

8 years ago

Everybody will make mistakes on the job. It's hard to give enough training to anybody to make them a perfect anything. Especially when you're a cop on the job and you have to control the situation.
I think cutting the force in half is a bad thing for a few reasons. One, it cuts the coverage that the police force can have on an area. Especially in large areas like LA or NYC, where the population is dense and a lot of situations happen ( i mean in small areas too) it's hard for a smaller police force to act on it. I think the education is a great idea.
One of the problems of punishing a cop when they make a bad decision is that they, unlike the public, have to make constant decisions on the fly. The pressure that something they do while making a split-second decision could ruin their life could impact the way they perform their job and cost more lives than if they potentially make a bad decision. It's definitely bad when they make a bad decision and there should definitely be more training put into making sure as few of that happens.

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howaminotmyself

8 years ago

Cutting the force in half is a bad idea. However training them better, or different is advisable. I watched a tweaker get tased for resisting arrest when there were several cops present. He wasn't being that unruly, they could have used their hands but they are trained to pull weapons first. This seems odd to me.

I live in a town where the police have a horrible record of killing innocent people. It is a big issue and the public has taken to recording every single police interaction they see.

still, cutting the number of officers sounds naive and dangerous.

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green_boogers

8 years ago

In most jobs, when you fuck up, you get fired. Not so with police. Bad cops get hands slapped but never get their career terminated. Nobody is rewarded as generously for incompetence except for teachers.

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RoseIsabella

8 years ago

I don't care what happens to violent criminals.

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Are You Normal?

Is it normal police reform?