Quote:
Originally Posted by Arles
I agree but what's the solution? You have a vicious cycle of more crime occuring in poorer areas leading to more arrests by cops leading to more animosity by locals towards the police leading to more stereotypes by the cops that poor kids who look/dress a certain way and have attitudes end up more often then not being criminals.
How do you break this cycle? At the end of the day, a cop in a perceived situation of crisis is going to default to saving his ass before worrying if he's being "too tough" or "not fair". It seems to me that the only way to improve this is to have fewer situations where cops perceive themselves to be in these crisis situations. I think that starts with more training on the police side, but you also have to have a community who's first inkling when they see a cop isn't to be combative.
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In any scenario with a great power disparity, it's up to the powerful to move first. I don't simply wait for my students to speak up, I change my behavior to encourage change in theirs. We need to work on policing and then return to communities, showing action, and ask for change on their parts.