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I remember hearing or reading a suggestion that many US policing problems would be solved overnight if the law would simply mandate officers to wear dorky unifo
by anon373839 3y ago
I remember hearing or reading a suggestion that many US policing problems would be solved overnight if the law would simply mandate officers to wear dorky uniforms. The “militarized badass in aviators” image attracts the wrong type of people to the job, while a dorky uniform would mean that only those who actually wanted to serve the public would remain. I have no idea if it would work, but I always liked the idea.
- postmodest 3y agoSafety vests and Bobby hats for everyone!
- Animats 3y agoThis was for years actual policy in the UK, where most of the cops are unarmed. Using Land Rovers as police cars was considered too military, for example. Sunnyvale, California, has a combined police and fire department. They train their people for both and they move back and forth. Emergency medical services is in there, too. At one time, their cops wore red blazers with the city insignia.
- jackhack 3y agoBut consider that Sunnyvale, California has the benefit of a very upscale demographic, no gang activity, low organized crime, etc. What works for one place will likely not apply elsewhere (e.g. no one-size-fits-all solution). Organized crime (especially drug crime) is a quasi-military force. The police are threatening billions of dollars in illicit profit, and that will not go unchallenged easily.
- init2null 3y agoPolice will always need some SWAT and borderline military teams. The question is whether the average street cop needs to be weapon-wielding law enforcement, and I suggest the answer is no. The danger level goes down when it's known that a cop's power is in their reinforcements. The individual cop would be little danger and doesn't need to be shot.
- eadmund 3y ago> Organized crime (especially drug crime) is a quasi-military force. The police are threatening billions of dollars in illicit profit, and that will not go unchallenged easily. Arguably that should be addressed by a different organisation than the folks who enforce traffic laws and investigate petty theft. The state guard, perhaps?
- kulahan 3y agoWe do have an Association for Drug Enforcement, but having one government entity cover every bit of gang activity in the nation seems like a lot of effort.
- rsynnott 3y agoSo in Ireland, as mentioned elsewhere, our normal police wear a hi-vis Star Trek uniform, and aren’t generally armed. We also have a few specialised branches for organised crime, terrorism, etc, though; some of those _are_ armed, and have significantly scarier uniforms, and much more extensive training. Same organisation, but totally different role.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ryathal 3y agoForcing cops to double as firefighters helps a lot to keep undesirable officers out. It forces all cops to be in firefighting shape, which is significantly more difficult that the average police requirements. It also means cops need to be willing to run into burning buildings, which is more danger than the average cop would ever face.
- kulahan 3y agoIn Utah, at least, all cops are required to also be EMTs. I think understanding a lot about how the body works and how to save a life might also have an effect on how you respond to some events, but I don't know.
- kyleee 3y agoSort of depends on if they have a duty of care and are required to intervene medically. I think George Floyd is a good case study for reform; Chauvin and all officers should be required to assess for medical emergencies at all times basically and take at least some level of medical action when necessary. So Chauvin should have been required to check for consciousness and then provide aid once finding Floyd to be in medical distress.
- threatofrain 3y agoWhat Chauvin and fellow officers did was already in violation of policy. The problem is that they didn’t care, and having extra rules in the policy may help others but not George Floyd. If it weren’t for cameras things would’ve turned out better for those police officers.
- SpaceNoodled 3y agoIn my experience, Sunnyvale cops aren't better than cops anywhere else.
- parl_match 3y agoMenlo Park actually tried this - https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/uniform-experiment https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/uniform-...
- kamikaz1k 3y ago1973, nice > Abstract > FOLLOWING A DISCUSSION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS RELATED TO POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS, THE AUTHOR DISCUSSES THE RATIONALE BEHIND, AND RESULTS OF THIS CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT. IN 1969, THE MENLO PARK POLICE FORCE CHANGED FROM THE TRADITIONAL MILITARISTIC UNIFORM TO BLAZERS AND TIES, MORE IN KEEPING WITH CIVILIAN MODES OF DRESS. RANK WAS NOT EXHIBITED, NIGHTSTICKS WERE DISPENSED WITH, AND GUNS WERE WORN BENEATH THE BLAZER. RESULTS OF THIS NEW POLICE IDENTITY INCLUDE PEER GROUP ISOLATION, INCREASED INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION, INCREASED RECRUITMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH COLLEGE DEGREES, AND A DECREASE IN PERSONNEL TURNOVER. A 1971 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MENLO PARK POLICE AND TWO OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE AREA INDICATED A DECREASED NEED FOR A SYMBOL OF AUTHORITY AND IMPROVED POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS IN MENLO PARK. DESPITE ATTITUDINAL AND BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES, THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN GENERAL PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT MEASUREMENTS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)
- thsksbd 3y agoIts a cute theory, but police need to be respected to do their job. A dorky uniform is contrary to that. A police force that is not respected will lead to escalation of violence. We might not like what I wrote, but's basic human phycology.
- zzzbra 3y agothis is a bizarre attitude, similar to the one that conflates rehabilitation with punishment and justice with retribution.
- Clubber 3y ago>A police force that is not respected will lead to escalation of violence. Escalation by whom, the police or the citizens?
- thsksbd 3y agoBy both, which sucks either way.
- anyoneamous 3y agoRespect can be earned through repeated professional and trustworthy behaviour - what you are talking about is fear.
- beebeepka 3y agoFor certain types of people, respect can only be achieved via intimidation. Or mean the same thing. Edit: I think people are completely misunderstanding this post. I made a general statement about humans. Not about policing, not about a country. Just an observation that certain types of people only seem to understand/respect violence. Not every statement needs to be "unpacked"
- Kinrany 3y agoIf that were true, the appropriate solution would be deploying intimidation techniques against those people, not wearing a uniform that does it to everyone
- make3 3y agolonger training too. a two year college degree in policing feels like the minimum. we do that in Canada. Actually train police officers in de-escalation techniques, and in some amount of social work adjacent stuff, like how to deal with people with mental health problems, domestic situations or drug abuse problems in a more intelligent manner. This also filters out ppl who don't have the attention span or the brain cells to do that, which is a good thing. We also have separate non police folks for parking violations and other more menial stuff.
- PredictorX1 3y agoI agree regarding training: Police officers are expected to deal with all members of the public, some of whom have disabilities or other challenges which should be accommodated accordingly. Having enough police who are sufficiently trained would seem essential.
- rsynnott 3y agoHuh. Finally a reasonable explanation for the new Irish police uniform (which looks suspiciously like a hi-viz version of a DS9-era Starfleet uniform): https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0815/1315736-garda-uniform/ https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2022/0815/1315736-garda-unif...
- Kinrany 3y agoThat's an amazing uniform
- distract8901 3y agoAbsolutely incredible
- backtoyoujim 3y agoSwiss Guard is the exception to the rule.
- frob 3y agoIn the little village of 2000 near me, the 4 cops dress in all black and have a black-on-black motif for their vehicles. Literally, it is black text on a black car with some grey and gold outlining. I'm pretty sure it makes them feel like badasses as they ticket drivers for tinted windows or missing the obscured 35 mph sign a quarter mile after the highlighted and lit 45 mph sign.
- readthenotes1 3y agoAlso a theme in _A Confederacy of Dunces_, but applied to the military.
- autoexec 3y agoBad police officers in Thailand were at one time made to wear hello kitty arm bands. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/world/asia/07cnd-thai.html https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/world/asia/07cnd-thai.htm... Hello Kitty is popular enough that I worry it might encourage bad behavior