Does anyone else agree with me that we limit the power of cops waaaaaaaay too much? They have all the ridiculous, time-wasting procedures they have to go through, they're not allowed to shoot to wound, and if there's a fight between a cop and a suspect, people tend to worry about the suspect much more than the people who work every day to keep us safe. I'm not saying that we should give them unlimited strength to do what they please, but it's truly to the point where vigilante's could do a better job than police, just because cops have their hands tied.
Because people piss and moan about how if you have a heart condition it can be lethal and it's inhumane and blah blah blah. Better than a bullet in the head or a beating with a baton if you ask me.
personally i dont like the police. they gave me a bull ticket for j walking when i wasnt even walking.. plus they think their all that and their so NOT and it pisses me off to see a person who thinks his above everyone else
plus since i read devoidless i dislike them more and i completely agree with devoidless.
The police have waaaaay too much power. Pistols, shotguns, rifles,water cannons, teargas, riot equipment, bodyarmour, fast vehicles, handcuffs, interrogation centers, torture ( in some cases), batons, the law behind them and basically a license to kill (criminals only though). How much more do you think they need?? Machine guns? RPGs? Bombs? C'mon they do their job pretty well already.
the police do have a lot of power. I've seen plenty of videos where police abuse their authority and power too much, if they were given more power it would be disastrous.
Does anyone else agree with me that we limit the power of cops waaaaaaaay too much? They have all the ridiculous, time-wasting procedures they have to go through, they're not allowed to shoot to wound, and if there's a fight between a cop and a suspect, people tend to worry about the suspect much more than the people who work every day to keep us safe. I'm not saying that we should give them unlimited strength to do what they please, but it's truly to the point where vigilante's could do a better job than police, just because cops have their hands tied.
First, non-lethal options have been introduced to police forces around the country. Takedowns, night sticks, rubber bullets, tasers, bean bag guns, stun grenades; all of these are being utilized when possible. Despite this, there are times when using the last resort of lethal force is necessary to prevent a criminal from causing greater harm (particularly to the police themselves) then it must be done without hesitation.
Second, the "rocedures" and paperwork you refer to are there to prevent police from overstepping their boundaries. This is a built-in garantee of our Constitution, that even criminals have rights, and law enforcement has an equal responsibility to ensure those rights are not violated.
We want police to "Protect and Serve" however, we do not want them to "Persecute and Enslave." There must be a set of checks and balances in place to prevent the institution of a "Police State."
Additionally, we as a nation are not doing enough to prevent the conditions that lead to criminal behavior. Police enforce the laws, they do not make them. We need to find better methods of dealing with criminals besides tossing them in the klink and throwing away the keys. We need to get to the underlying causes of why people turn to crime in the first place and fix them. We also need to go through our laws and make them more sensible, so our police can concentrate on protecting us more effeciently.
My overall view on this(not counting what I already posted) is this:
Always question those who have power, those who can potentially change your life forever. Putting blind faith on such people is not a sound idea, nor is giving then even more power when they can't properly handle what they have now.
Well living in England the police rarely have guns etc so I have a diferent perspective on them than I think would if they were armed. At least we have brand spanking new community Support Officers who have n powers at all it seems (if they do they don;t appear to use them in York). I think charles de menezes is a case in point of the shocking ways too much power can effect the police. Any other week and he wouldn't have been shot.
I live in Holland, and the police rules there are WAY to strict. to give a few examples: The Police may not shoot till they get shot. When someone get stalked they only may act until something BAD happens. The Police is spending more time giving speed tickets then catching "the real bad guys".
Also: everyday when i get to school i go throught a area. The police controls almost dayly if you stay on the cycle path and not go over the motorway (im 15 years old so that happenes to me ). if you get caught bicycling over the motorway they give you a ticket of 35 euro.
conclusion: the police power is not to limited, the small rules where you get tickets from cuts away the time they need to get the real bad guys (my opinion).
Someone earlier said that the procedures are there to protect people's rights. Yes, they are important, but personally, I feel they are too strict. You know the bomb squad tried to get a search warrant for the houses of the Columbine shooters 3 times, and were rejected every one because they didn't have enough evidence.
Also, there's a reason that non-lethal weapons can't be the ultimate answer. Some people have such high pain-tolerance, that they will keep attacking until they are physically unable to. If a guy's on angel dust or crystal meth, pepper spray is not going to cut it.
@The people who complain that cops spend too much time giving speeding tickets; Motor accidents take way more lives than murder every year, so I figure that's a decent way to spend their time.
For the people who complain about police corrution, deal with it. No matter what system you are talking about, there will always be corruption. And I mean every system.
Also, there's a reason that non-lethal weapons can't be the ultimate answer. Some people have such high pain-tolerance, that they will keep attacking until they are physically unable to. If a guy's on angel dust or crystal meth, pepper spray is not going to cut it.
I would prefer to see one crazy guy tasered than an innocent person shot repeatedly because the police made a "mistake".
Does anyone else agree with me that we limit the power of cops waaaaaaaay too much?
No I disagree completely. The rule of law is an intrinsic part of our civil liberties. If we give the police more power, where do we stop? It may end up that arbitrary arrest becomes socially acceptable. Coming from England, we have historically had pathetically incompetent police. They have improved, but not by much and giving them more power, frankly horrifies me. I would support other reform with regards to police procedure. The ridiculous large amounts of paper work nescessary in modern policing does restrict them from doing their jobs properly, but their lack of power is not the problem.
Also, there's a reason that non-lethal weapons can't be the ultimate answer. Some people have such high pain-tolerance, that they will keep attacking until they are physically unable to. If a guy's on angel dust or crystal meth, pepper spray is not going to cut it.
Electricity causes involuntary reactions. That is why they say that although not adviseable to touch anything that could be electrically charged do it with the back of your hand because it tenses the muscles meaning you can't let go. This being said, no matter what drugs you're on a taser gun WILL bring you down, you don't have a say in it, whether you're ready for the shock or not, whether you're on PCP, Speed, Coke or whatever else. It makes no difference. lethal force should only be used on someone who is lethal from a distance i.e. an armed suspect.
