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>The Alabama Senate voted Tuesday to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church to hire fully deputized officers who would carry weapons and have the authority to make

by noarchy 10y ago

>The Alabama Senate voted Tuesday to allow Briarwood Presbyterian Church to hire fully deputized officers who would carry weapons and have the authority to make arrests. So presumably the church is paying for these officers? If so, I'm fine with that. Private companies pay for security all the time. But the fact that the officers are fully deputized (having the powers of government police) gives me pause, and may be the thing that makes this unconstitutional.

Radle 10y ago
It becomes unconstituational in the moment those officers make arrest that a normal police office wouldn't. It's highly questionable that this church needs police instead of normal security officers.
- dade_ 10y ago
  Not questionable if it is a Mosque in 2017, which is the next logical place for this to head. Then we can also have Jewish police, born again police, Catholic police. And what if 2 churches are next to each other? Maybe they can build a wall with turrets.
  - humanrebar 10y ago
    ...neighboring police forces routinely battle each other in the present day U.S.?
    - inetknght 10y ago
      So when do we build the game software and virtual reality playground to tell this police force how to arrest people? /s
    - wccrawford 10y ago
      They argue about jurisdiction, etc, but they don't usually actually clash. But government police forces are all working for the same people. These religion-based police forces are definitely not.
      - LyndsySimon 10y ago
        > But government police forces are all working for the same people. Not really. In Arkansas, the county sheriff is elected - as is the Justice of the Peace, who has limited police powers as well. There are also state police, municipal police, and various state and federal agencies with law enforcement powers. Each of these groups work for different entities, some of which are mutually exclusive. > These religion-based police forces are definitely not. A police force operated by a church is no more "religion-based" than the Securitas guy standing outside the grocery store is "retail-based".
        drivingmenuts 10y ago
        That depends. To whom do the police officers swear their loyalty? If their highest authority is The Constitution and they are trained and act as if it is, then maybe it's OK. But, this is a church. The church's highest authority is not The Constitution and that immediately calls into question who is the highest authority for any police officer hired and sworn by the church.
  - marklyon 10y ago
    Don't know where you live, but my old neighborhood in NYC had a Jewish police force - the Shomrim.
gm-conspiracy 10y ago
Separation between church and...?

by noarchy 10y ago

Radle 10y ago

It becomes unconstituational in the moment those officers make arrest that a normal police office wouldn't. It's highly questionable that this church needs police instead of normal security officers.

dade_ 10y ago
Not questionable if it is a Mosque in 2017, which is the next logical place for this to head. Then we can also have Jewish police, born again police, Catholic police. And what if 2 churches are next to each other? Maybe they can build a wall with turrets.
- humanrebar 10y ago
  ...neighboring police forces routinely battle each other in the present day U.S.?
  - inetknght 10y ago
    So when do we build the game software and virtual reality playground to tell this police force how to arrest people? /s
  - wccrawford 10y ago
    They argue about jurisdiction, etc, but they don't usually actually clash. But government police forces are all working for the same people. These religion-based police forces are definitely not.
    - LyndsySimon 10y ago
      > But government police forces are all working for the same people. Not really. In Arkansas, the county sheriff is elected - as is the Justice of the Peace, who has limited police powers as well. There are also state police, municipal police, and various state and federal agencies with law enforcement powers. Each of these groups work for different entities, some of which are mutually exclusive. > These religion-based police forces are definitely not. A police force operated by a church is no more "religion-based" than the Securitas guy standing outside the grocery store is "retail-based".
      - drivingmenuts 10y ago
        That depends. To whom do the police officers swear their loyalty? If their highest authority is The Constitution and they are trained and act as if it is, then maybe it's OK. But, this is a church. The church's highest authority is not The Constitution and that immediately calls into question who is the highest authority for any police officer hired and sworn by the church.
- marklyon 10y ago
  Don't know where you live, but my old neighborhood in NYC had a Jewish police force - the Shomrim.

gm-conspiracy 10y ago

Separation between church and...?