That said, how do you know poorly behaving officers are the exception? And, is it just “good” vs “bad”? Is it really binary? What about the “good” ones who have turned a blind-eye on the “bad” or “not so good”? (perhaps due to poor leadership or fear of retribution). I have dealt with a lot of law enforcement officers and, in my experience, they were pretty good; however, I have met several bad apples – I’m not sure they are the exception, but likely a minority portion.
In policing, as in politics, we can’t afford to have any meaningful portion of them to be “bad” because they wield certain amount of authority. Standards absolutely need to be higher. And, again, having dealt with many of them, IMO, the standards are definitely not higher.
Education, credentialing, PTSD access and support.
It takes a certain person who has to be attracted to or OK with the idea of controlling other people in the first place. Add a sense of isolation and repeated circumstances where in general, nobody really wants the police around (until they absolutely need them…) creates bias confirmation that they are alone, unappreciated, unsupervised and basically free to administer"justice" as they see fit us is set-up for misunderstanding, mistreatment and bias confirmation. So it doesn’t seem surprising to me that a guy with aggressive tendencies who largely spends times with 1. other cops and 2. Criminals and miscreants goes rogue on someone on occasion.
FWIW, I grew up with a lot of police officers, and I saw a lot as a EMS guy. I’m also married into a cop family. Not a lot of guys like Mr Rogers on the force though. Why is that? Selection bias contributes to a self-fulfilling prophecy, and everyone’s surprised about “a few bad actors.”
also, the fact that we now have armored personal carriers in even small towns creates this mentality of “us vs them.”
It’s a really really important and tough job. You’d have to be a saint to behave like Andy Griffith.
Ok…my initial list includes: Ethics, Education, Training/Shooting (I shot with a lot of them. Most of them were really bad.), etc. Oh, along with higher standards, there should be a commensurate increase in total compensation. And, if they commit crimes, the commensurate punishment should be higher.
Many officers have education, and many cities encourage it, but people will have to stop with the “defunding” stuff if they want to require degrees.
The higher paying departments in Utah start cops at $20 an hour.
You’re going to have to define what you mean by credentialing. Officers go through a long and involved hiring process. On average less than 20% of those who apply even make it to the actual final selection process.
Officers are required to obtain at least 40 hours of ongoing training, and most get 2-3 times that each year. Background checks etc happen every year. (And are more demanding than military background checks) One thing that does need to change (and departments like slcpd already do this) is finishing IA investigations even if an officer resigns.
Utah has pretty good access for things like PTSD care, and it’s getting better. It’s certainly something that’s has changed and improved in the 13 years I’ve been on the job.
I can only speak for the several hundred cops I know, but the person you describe is really rare, and, rarely lasts. (I also know very few officers who associate only with other officers. That’s actually a big point of emphasis throughout the police academy)
Incentive for you know Press Gayney scores that encourage judicious use of force, courtesy, educational advancement, and other community-based initiatives.
Ultimately, the police work for us.
It’s ridiculous in inner city environments were people spend their whole lives with at least significant wariness to abject fear.
I can tell you with my department if you can’t shoot you can’t work. The qualifications are not easy. (Interestingly enough, one of the nationwide criticisms of police is they spend too much time teaching firearms skills)
More compensation would be great, but sadly I don’t see that happening. Society doesn’t value police officers, social workers etc like they do teachers and fire fighters.
And that leads to the other problem with training, education etc. It’s very hard for large departments to hold trainings. There are not enough officers to cover shifts while officers are in training, in order to do that more officers (or overtime) is needed, which goes back to funding.
I don’t know any officers who would turn down more training, despite most getting 80-120 hours a year.
Seems like that might not be the case in Aurora CO or other places. I’m glad you know a lot of police officers that don’t fit the description and that’s very encouraging to hear. But it’s also true that a whole lot of people have died or suffered abuse under the hand of the police and it’s widely known.
Tough topic, for sure. And, as I posted earlier, I don’t necessarily disagree with you regarding the exception/minority characterization. I have friends in large departments in which they see systemic racism/discrimination/un-ethical behaviors. It’s really sad and upsetting to hear.
To the good ones, I have a hell of a lot of respect for them. It’s a tough job. Given my experiences, I have a very low view of the human species. My hats off to the good ones. It’s unfortunate how our public servants are treated. First, and foremost, I blame the politicians – and to some extent the people who put them there.
but I absolutely agree with you, firefighters are treated like saints and nurses have great street cred but police officers are routinely disrespected; even by say, the 80-year-old woman pulled over cuz she’s going too slow on the highway.
I agree with others who celebrate first responders. Police officers are a vital part of our community and beloved heroes. Thank you for your service and for being an exceptional and professional human being when you wear the uniform.