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> Similarly, you are by and far more likely to be shot by your town’s police department than any other member of the government, because there are a lot more of
by vageli 6y ago
> Similarly, you are by and far more likely to be shot by your town’s police department than any other member of the government, because there are a lot more of them and they are a lot less trained and monitored than their federal counterparts.
> That doesn’t mean places like DHS don’t do bad things, they do, but you should look at your local cops first.
I would posit that many places don't have police at the town-level. As you move away from the coasts where the cities are far and the towns sparsely populated, policing responsibilities tend to rest at the county level or in a sheriff's department or similar.
- wjossey 6y agoI grew up in a small town of less than 6,000 people, and we had a full time police that was very visible and then county sheriff that operated outside the city limits. There was one police officer per thousand people in the town. They were very visible and everyone ended up having interactions with them at some point in their lives. The one time I needed them in my life they were supremely unhelpful and unsympathetic. Basically said to me and my family “not our problem.” Ended up using social services instead, who got the sheriff involved, who immediately took action and was helpful, sympathetic, and checked in after their time assisting was over. In hindsight, my town would have been better off allocating the police funding to drug rehab and social services, and just asking the sheriff to handle policing in the town.
- ashtonkem 6y agoIt’s patently obvious that while most cops view themselves as protecting society from chaos, they do not see the actual citizens that make up said society as people that they are ultimately responsible to. And sometimes you’re lucky if they view the citizens that make up society as people at all, tragically. I’m glad that the Sheriff was responsive and helpful though, it’s always nice to hear about public servants actually serving the public.
- ashtonkem 6y agoEvery town I’ve ever lived in has had its own full police department, including when I lived in Colorado and Ohio. The small city (~30,000) I lived in Ohio had their own MRAP and quasi swat team, without justification in my opinion. Even still, my general thesis would still apply at the county level.