Perverse incentives are one of the worst issues in modern law enforcement. They exist at nearly every step and they are causing a rot that will take decades lot

Perverse incentives are one of the worst issues in modern law enforcement. They exist at nearly every step and they are causing a rot that will take decades lot of concentrated effort to remove. if you build a system, patchwork, entirely reactive, from the deep roots of racism and anti-labor movements (https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/)(https://nleomf.org/slave-patrols-an-early-form-of-american-policing) https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/)(https://nl... and then ignore the nearly 50% rate of decline in violent crime since 1993(https://www.statista.com/statistics/191129/reported-violent-crime-in-the-us-since-1990/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/191129/reported-violent-...), and in fact, have a population undergo a rapid INCREASE in PERCEIVED violent crime (https://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Production/Cms/POLL/ozgaysrcqku8igcmvkhtba.png https://content.gallup.com/origin/gallupinc/GallupSpaces/Pro...).... well its hard to be surprised. If we wanted to actually evolve our system, top to bottom, to focus on reduced recidivism and a reduced prison population without increasing violent crime, one of the first steps we should take is a deep pass over every perverse incentive in the system. Revenue sources has to be the biggest category. Ignoring salary, there are so many fines and fees that directly fund the police. (https://www.brennancenter.org/series/how-perverse-financial-incentives-warp-criminal-justice-system https://www.brennancenter.org/series/how-perverse-financial-...) civil asset forfeiture is plain and open theft, and it directly incentivizes as many arrests as possible. incarceration facilities of all kinds are funded based on bed space and occupancy for christs sake (https://www.brennancenter.org/series/how-perverse-financial-incentives-warp-criminal-justice-system https://www.brennancenter.org/series/how-perverse-financial-...) Military cooperation agreements give all sorts of free military tech to police agencies and swat teams, and they constantly take christmas morning style photos with them (https://wallpapercave.com/wp/wp9861590.jpg https://wallpapercave.com/wp/wp9861590.jpg). a small town near my hometown had a population of 4500 when the 'police department' (police force was 30ish people) got a fucking APC from the military for free. This was in 2010ish so i cant find a direct source, but i did see it in person.