It's not surprising that the Covid-19- friendly events of
the past couple of weeks have inspired several idiotic or misleading tweets.
Here are two which are not atypical:
Many demonstrators, some of them black, undoubtedly have brought the coronavirus back to their families, resulting in more death. Moreover, these protesters and others demand not only needed reforms, but fewer police officers, if any at all. That will not only encourage more crime, particularly in poor black and Latino neighborhoods, but also make more humane police practices less viable. Irony is not dead.
Share |
Camden, NJ also disbanded their police department in 2013. Homicides dropped by 50% to the lowest numbers since 1987. Crime dropped even more drastically. The police department is now smaller, paid less, and handcuffs/any weapon is a LAST resort. This is common around the world. https://t.co/lqDRShvZJZ— Stephanie Abbott 🐝 (@_StephOnSports) June 7, 2020
police do not need to exist, Camden NJ has already defunded and re-regulated the public safety system, anyone who tells you it’s impossible to defund and abolish our current police system is either uneducated or lying to you— bobby wasabi (@bIondiewasabi) June 8, 2020
The city of Camden, NJ, 50%+ Latino and 42%black, has long been one of the poorest and crime-ridden cities in the USA. In
2012 it disbanded its police department and replaced it with the Camden County
Metro Police Department. While there was
legitimate reason to do so, it also eliminated all union contracts, which
resulted in incoming officers being paid poorly with fewer benefits than the
previous officers had.
Moreover, it placed the municipal police department under
the control of the county (hence, Camden County Metro Police Department), thus
under the control of the Board of Freeholders, controlled by George Norcross,
an insurance billionaire who is at worst the second most influential individual
in New Jersey politics. If Camden
policing is held up as a model for the reform movement, proper context demands
an explanation of the complexities of southern New Jersey politics, which
unhelpfully is routinely ignored in news reports.
Several important reforms were enacted. Community policing, including more engagement
with the community, is encouraged.
Training emphasizes de-escalation and the force now has more black and
Latino members.
But there is one other change, grotesquely under-emphasized,
which is conveniently ignored by activists. The police force in Camden is not
smaller than it once was- it is significantly larger.
This is, in the context of this summer's politics, a dirty
little secret. The larger number of
police officers not only helps deter crime and allows officers to respond more
promptly to reports of lawbreaking, domestic disturbances, and other
emergencies which arise. It also. permits them to engage more fully with the
community because their time is not monopolized by more traditional duties.
Many demonstrators, some of them black, undoubtedly have brought the coronavirus back to their families, resulting in more death. Moreover, these protesters and others demand not only needed reforms, but fewer police officers, if any at all. That will not only encourage more crime, particularly in poor black and Latino neighborhoods, but also make more humane police practices less viable. Irony is not dead.
Share |
No comments:
Post a Comment