The Shooting Gallery: Police Violence MEGATHREAD

Started by Syt, August 11, 2014, 04:09:04 AM

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Razgovory

I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

CountDeMoney

Bristol and Track getting gunned down by the police?  Now that's a grand jury I'd sit on.

derspiess

"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Razgovory

I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

derspiess

"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Sheilbh

I thought this piece from the Economist was interesting:
QuoteLessons from Camden
Dec 4th 2014, 18:35 BY R.W. | CAMDEN, NJ
Timekeeper

"I CAN'T breathe!" chanted hundreds of people throughout New York and around the country yesterday. The peaceful protests were in response to a grand jury decision not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, a Staten Island police officer, for killing Eric Garner after placing him in a chokehold in July. The chant is a reference to Garner's final words before he died. The chokehold—recorded on the mobile phones of bystanders—is a manoeuvre that is banned by New York police. For many protesters, Garner's death and Mr Pantaleo's freedom simply reinforce the view that America's criminal justice system is racially biased.

The timing of the verdict, less than two weeks after a grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer for killing an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Missouri, only burnishes this belief. Eric Holder, the attorney-general, has promised that the Department of Justice will investigate the Garner case. Earlier this week, he announced that the DoJ will soon offer new guidelines to law enforcement "to help end racial profiling, once and for all." He delivered his speech from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Junior famously preached.

As the administration casts about for ways to build trust between police departments and the public, they would do well to look at what is happening in Camden, New Jersey, a poor city that once had the reputation for being America's most dangerous. Camden disbanded its police department about 18 months ago, installing a new county unit in its place. Crime has since fallen considerably. Murders dropped by 49% to 31 between 2012 and 2014 (January 1st through November 30th). Shootings have been halved, robberies and rape are down by a third, and other violent crimes are down by a fifth. In a population of around 77,000, 35 fewer mothers are now burying their sons each year.

What is Camden's police force doing right? At the most basic level, the city has returned to old-style policing. Instead of using squad cars, officers now patrol their beats on their feet in pairs (or on bicycles). They knock on doors and introduce themselves, and learn the names of people in a neighbourhood. "Nothing builds trust like human contact," says Scott Thomson, Camden's police chief. Locals can be a great source of information about where the problems are, he adds, "but that's not going to happen without trust."'

The culture within the police department has also changed. "Two years ago, if you had 12 officers show up for work on a Friday night, you'd be lucky," recalls Louis Cappelli, head of the county's governing board. "That's no exaggeration." It used to take around an hour for police to respond to a call for help; now it takes less than five minutes. Officers are also trained to understand they are guardians, not warriors. "They are far more like a social worker than they are a crime fighter," says Mr Thomson. The department is also now working closely with other departments in the region, as few crimes are purely local. When drug dealers used to prowl Camden's streets, nearly 80% of the buyers came from the surrounding suburbs.

Around Camden, the effects of this approach can be felt right away. During a visit a few years ago, a community organiser warned me that I probably wouldn't be safe even if I drove around town.  At the time the city had 175 open drug markets. But now, with bullets no longer whizzing by, children can be seen walking to school and playing in parks once dominated by drug sellers and addicts. Adults walk to the shops without fear. "Residents were desperate for police protection," said Mr Cappelli. Would-be criminals think twice about carrying weapons as they are more likely to run into an officer. The McDonald's across the street from police headquarters is now once again a place to buy burgers, not crack. Camden's waterfront is safer than Harvard Square, boasts Mr Thomson.

Arrests have gone up, mostly for quality-of-life infractions. But officials insist their main tack for preventing crime is through building community relationships. Officers are not only more visible on the streets, but also more engaged with their neighbourhoods. They play sports with residents and organise crowd-pleasing events like a Thanksgiving turkey give-away. The police department had already invested in some new technologies, such as gunshot detectors and surveillance cameras in particularly high-crime areas. Some officers are also experimenting with wearing body cameras while on duty. But the city has found that these tools only work if there are boots on the streets too. 

Crime is down in Camden, but there is still much to do. Poverty remains pervasive: the city has the poorest ten square miles in the country. Barely half of all students finish high school. Still, there is much to cheer. Camden's safer streets are already luring new investments. Philadelphia's 76ers, a professional basketball team, is moving its training facilities and front-office operations across the river to Camden. Plans for new shops and restaurants are in the works for the surrounding area. Things are certainly looking up for Camden. Ferguson should be so lucky.
Let's bomb Russia!

CountDeMoney

When I say it, people look at me funny.  Guess I should do it with an English accent.

Razgovory

I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

garbon

I would have liked them to run this skit, minus, of course, as everyone is saying - the James Franco bits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzCih9RnWg
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

MadImmortalMan

Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 08, 2014, 11:13:35 PM
When I say it, people look at me funny.  Guess I should do it with an English accent.

Your point about hiring combat soldiers as a badge is an excellent one though. A cop and a trained killer are very different jobs.

Camden's thing is brilliant as well. It really is a problem of trust. Ferguson has riots because they don't trust their cops. That's at the core. I don't know how much of it is racism but that part is clear. The cops-as-friends thing needs to come back.
"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

Sheilbh

Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 09, 2014, 12:04:54 AM
Camden's thing is brilliant as well. It really is a problem of trust. Ferguson has riots because they don't trust their cops. That's at the core. I don't know how much of it is racism but that part is clear. The cops-as-friends thing needs to come back.
I suppose in terms of the racism, have African-American communities ever had the 'cops-as-friends thing'?
Let's bomb Russia!

garbon

Quote from: Sheilbh on December 09, 2014, 12:08:01 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 09, 2014, 12:04:54 AM
Camden's thing is brilliant as well. It really is a problem of trust. Ferguson has riots because they don't trust their cops. That's at the core. I don't know how much of it is racism but that part is clear. The cops-as-friends thing needs to come back.
I suppose in terms of the racism, have African-American communities ever had the 'cops-as-friends thing'?

"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

MadImmortalMan

Quote from: Sheilbh on December 09, 2014, 12:08:01 AM
I suppose in terms of the racism, have African-American communities ever had the 'cops-as-friends thing'?

I don't know but now the rest of society has lost it too.  :P
"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

CountDeMoney

Quote from: Sheilbh on December 09, 2014, 12:08:01 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 09, 2014, 12:04:54 AM
Camden's thing is brilliant as well. It really is a problem of trust. Ferguson has riots because they don't trust their cops. That's at the core. I don't know how much of it is racism but that part is clear. The cops-as-friends thing needs to come back.
I suppose in terms of the racism, have African-American communities ever had the 'cops-as-friends thing'?

Collectively, no.  Individually, yeah.  A good beat cop knows his neighborhood, the people in it, who's doing what where and when, and they know him.  But it's a lost art now, which is why I have always said kick the cops out of the squad cars and onto the beat.  You can't know your neighborhood from behind a mobile data terminal.

DGuller

Quote from: garbon on December 09, 2014, 12:11:38 AM
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 09, 2014, 12:08:01 AM
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on December 09, 2014, 12:04:54 AM
Camden's thing is brilliant as well. It really is a problem of trust. Ferguson has riots because they don't trust their cops. That's at the core. I don't know how much of it is racism but that part is clear. The cops-as-friends thing needs to come back.
I suppose in terms of the racism, have African-American communities ever had the 'cops-as-friends thing'?


How cute, they used to let civilians play with their pets.  :) Those were the days.  :(