4 ms·

In Japan, police carry pistols, as well as other things (baton etc.). They're trained in de-escalation from what I've read, and it's extremely rare that they e

In Japan, police carry pistols, as well as other things (baton etc.). They're trained in de-escalation from what I've read, and it's extremely rare that they ever use their guns. When they do, it's apparently a huge paperwork headache, and every round absolutely must be accounted for, so police avoid it if at all possible. You don't need to disarm cops to keep them from escalating unnecessarily; you just to have proper procedures and training. Perhaps it also helps that cops here are dressed as professionals, with shirts and ties, rather than as paramilitary troopers.

jimnotgym 3y ago
>Perhaps it also helps that cops here are dressed as professionals, with shirts and ties, rather than as paramilitary troopers. 100% it helps! That is how police were dressed in the UK when I was young. They were known as the 'boys in blue'. Now it is all swat team black. If you dress someone as a soldier and equip them as a soldier, we shouldn't be suprised if they act like one.
- cafard 3y ago
  Oh? 50 years ago, the Lakewood, Colorado, police were called the "blue blazers" because they dressed with jacket and tie. I never heard they were better thought of locally.
  - selimthegrim 3y ago
    I believe this was tried somewhere in California, too
    - sprayk 3y ago
      Menlo Park, green blazers, I believe. I recall a 99% Invisible episode about them.
  - jimnotgym 3y ago
    I'm only 42.... police in the UK got their perpetual guns and SWAT outfits post 'war on terror' iirc. I remember clearly seeing the first 'bobby on the beat' in my home town wearing a stab vest over his white shirt and tie. He had traditional dark blue trousers and shoes (rather than combat boots). It is a rural town. I never heard of a knife crime. We thought it was health and safety nonsense. This would be mid 2000s. I told a policemen friend (non uniform) that i didn't like that they moved someone after to black polo shirts. He said it was because sweat made the colour run from the stab vests into their white shirts...
- suoduandao3 3y ago
  Given the off-duty soldiers and off-duty police I've interacted with, I'd prefer a soldier over a police officer any day. I know you mean 'a soldier in enemy territory' but it's worth highlighting.
- FireBeyond 3y ago
  Hah, here the cops get a choice of that black, or a camo-green style uniform that is very Army-eque (not full blown camo, but from not much of a distance you'd assume they were military, not LE). > we shouldn't be suprised if they act like one I'd love it if cops were held to the same rules of engagement as the military. You, as a civilian, are expected to remain calm while LE is aggressive and shouting at you. You, untrained, are expected to remain unafraid with guns pointing at you, but a trained cop can "fear for his life"...
chongli 3y ago
The situation on the ground is very different in Japan. Rarely do you have mass shootings or gang and drug violence. Those problems are a daily reality in the U.S. American police officers would never wear a tie. They’d (rightly) fear that someone would try to strangle them with it.
- watwut 3y ago
  Japan does have drug violence. Also, being a cop in an America is fairly safe occupation. And most deaths are from traffic accidents - cops mortality is mostly because they are a lot on the streets and get killed by cars.
  - wizerdrobe 3y ago
    To play Devil’s Advocate here, could it be safe because they’re able to defend themselves against grievous injury and death? Instead of looking at death, we should look at overall incidents of violence for an honest measure of the danger involved. There are somewhat controversial figures in the civilian world around “Defensive Gun Use,” including non-lethal acts ending possible or would-be violent encounters that, if true, speak to guns leading to less death and injury than the current ~10,000 number we suffer as a nation. I’ve heard a similar argument that we shouldn’t look at the murder rate as a measure of inner city violence, but attempted murder type charges for the fact that casualty care in hospitals is so much better these days that would-have-been murders are now only attempts. An interesting stats rabbit hole I have, sadly, not the time to explore.
  - shiroiuma 3y ago
    I've never even heard of drug violence here. Where did you see it?
- avianlyric 3y ago
  > The situation on the ground is very different in Japan. Rarely do you have mass shootings or gang and drug violence. Those problems are a daily reality in the U.S. The vast majority to US police offers will never encounter these situations in their careers. There’s no reason to have every officer armed to teeth just in case they’re blind sided gang violence, or a mass shooting. Besides we also know that most U.S. officers have no interest in responding to types of incidents, preferring to sit it out until someone else comes a deals with their mess. > American police officers would never wear a tie. They’d (rightly) fear that someone would try to strangle them with it. That’s why police officers in other countries wear clip-on ties that are specifically designed to breakaway if yanked on. Nobody wears a real tie.
gorlilla 3y ago
A costume and it's accessories do not make someone a professional.
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  A costume absolutely can affect the attitude and behavior of the person wearing it. You should try an experiment yourself: go to work one day in your usual outfit. Then, the next day, dress up in drag (assuming you're male) or a furry costume and see if you behave the same. The costume changes how people perceive you, the assumptions they make about you, and by extension the way you interact with those people.

jimnotgym 3y ago

>Perhaps it also helps that cops here are dressed as professionals, with shirts and ties, rather than as paramilitary troopers. 100% it helps! That is how police were dressed in the UK when I was young. They were known as the 'boys in blue'. Now it is all swat team black. If you dress someone as a soldier and equip them as a soldier, we shouldn't be suprised if they act like one.

cafard 3y ago
Oh? 50 years ago, the Lakewood, Colorado, police were called the "blue blazers" because they dressed with jacket and tie. I never heard they were better thought of locally.
- selimthegrim 3y ago
  I believe this was tried somewhere in California, too
  - sprayk 3y ago
    Menlo Park, green blazers, I believe. I recall a 99% Invisible episode about them.
- jimnotgym 3y ago
  I'm only 42.... police in the UK got their perpetual guns and SWAT outfits post 'war on terror' iirc. I remember clearly seeing the first 'bobby on the beat' in my home town wearing a stab vest over his white shirt and tie. He had traditional dark blue trousers and shoes (rather than combat boots). It is a rural town. I never heard of a knife crime. We thought it was health and safety nonsense. This would be mid 2000s. I told a policemen friend (non uniform) that i didn't like that they moved someone after to black polo shirts. He said it was because sweat made the colour run from the stab vests into their white shirts...
suoduandao3 3y ago
Given the off-duty soldiers and off-duty police I've interacted with, I'd prefer a soldier over a police officer any day. I know you mean 'a soldier in enemy territory' but it's worth highlighting.
FireBeyond 3y ago
Hah, here the cops get a choice of that black, or a camo-green style uniform that is very Army-eque (not full blown camo, but from not much of a distance you'd assume they were military, not LE). > we shouldn't be suprised if they act like one I'd love it if cops were held to the same rules of engagement as the military. You, as a civilian, are expected to remain calm while LE is aggressive and shouting at you. You, untrained, are expected to remain unafraid with guns pointing at you, but a trained cop can "fear for his life"...

chongli 3y ago

The situation on the ground is very different in Japan. Rarely do you have mass shootings or gang and drug violence. Those problems are a daily reality in the U.S. American police officers would never wear a tie. They’d (rightly) fear that someone would try to strangle them with it.

watwut 3y ago
Japan does have drug violence. Also, being a cop in an America is fairly safe occupation. And most deaths are from traffic accidents - cops mortality is mostly because they are a lot on the streets and get killed by cars.
- wizerdrobe 3y ago
  To play Devil’s Advocate here, could it be safe because they’re able to defend themselves against grievous injury and death? Instead of looking at death, we should look at overall incidents of violence for an honest measure of the danger involved. There are somewhat controversial figures in the civilian world around “Defensive Gun Use,” including non-lethal acts ending possible or would-be violent encounters that, if true, speak to guns leading to less death and injury than the current ~10,000 number we suffer as a nation. I’ve heard a similar argument that we shouldn’t look at the murder rate as a measure of inner city violence, but attempted murder type charges for the fact that casualty care in hospitals is so much better these days that would-have-been murders are now only attempts. An interesting stats rabbit hole I have, sadly, not the time to explore.
- shiroiuma 3y ago
  I've never even heard of drug violence here. Where did you see it?
avianlyric 3y ago
> The situation on the ground is very different in Japan. Rarely do you have mass shootings or gang and drug violence. Those problems are a daily reality in the U.S. The vast majority to US police offers will never encounter these situations in their careers. There’s no reason to have every officer armed to teeth just in case they’re blind sided gang violence, or a mass shooting. Besides we also know that most U.S. officers have no interest in responding to types of incidents, preferring to sit it out until someone else comes a deals with their mess. > American police officers would never wear a tie. They’d (rightly) fear that someone would try to strangle them with it. That’s why police officers in other countries wear clip-on ties that are specifically designed to breakaway if yanked on. Nobody wears a real tie.

gorlilla 3y ago

A costume and it's accessories do not make someone a professional.

shiroiuma 3y ago
A costume absolutely can affect the attitude and behavior of the person wearing it. You should try an experiment yourself: go to work one day in your usual outfit. Then, the next day, dress up in drag (assuming you're male) or a furry costume and see if you behave the same. The costume changes how people perceive you, the assumptions they make about you, and by extension the way you interact with those people.