Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/07/01/cops-are-civilians.html
…
1 Like
I wish the people who authorized this kind of stuff watched less Judge Dredd and more Battlestar Galactica.
45 Likes
You don’t even need to get them to watch science fiction.
Of course Theresa May is trying her best to get rid of that. I’m sure that Robert Peel is spinning in his grave at his modern day successor in the party he founded.
27 Likes
No, but that seems like a less Herculean way of going about it than actually expecting them to read a book.
23 Likes
Judge Dredd is fucking satire and not meant to be taken as a guide book.
19 Likes
Just be glad they haven’t been reading Jonathan Swift.
23 Likes
Reading some history would do.
10 Likes
This is nothing new or surprising, unfortunately.
17 Likes
Give’m a hammer and everything is a nail.
17 Likes
It probably doesn’t help that because of a decade of war, we have thousands of former military taking the roles of cops. Now I don’t say this to disparage the military, but the training and actions one takes in a war is way different than in policing. I realize many people focus on the fact that they know how to use a gun, but gun skill should be one of those things most cops should never have to actually use…
What I find interesting is that every little po-dunk town or county now wants to put together a SWAT team. While these teams have some merits in limited circumstances, and very large cities probably should have them as an option, most places they are like spoilers and large exhausts on stock Civics - completely unnecessary.
31 Likes
It is not just the weapons, it is the outfits. When you dress people like an occupation force, they will act like an occupation force. Since when do the cops need to wear masks and black body armor? We have gone from the days of cops dressed in blue to cops dressed like Darth Vader wannabees.
25 Likes
More like Sisyphean. At least that’s how it feels to me every time I suggest that one of my younger colleagues or my children should read a book.
4 Likes
These no-go kids and their failure to use media the way I do! Off… my… lawn!
4 Likes
Give em a sense of constant omnipresent threats and everyone they encounter might be reaching for a gun.
5 Likes
Since the sky started falling.
9 Likes
2 Likes
Establishing that people get killed when you militarise the police, using Reasoned Argument, the Design of a Statistical Experiment, and then Gathering Proper Data, leading to a Quantified Result and Predictions?
Crazy.
We all know Guns equal Freedom because Constitution. It’s basic math. Why do you hate America? We have scientists. The best scientists. They show the opposite. The exact opposite. And we know they are right because they have the best evidence…
16 Likes
I am curious to see if they could tease some conclusions out of the data regarding what if any difference the type of military equipment makes when given to police. Basically, is the increase in police killings related to the deployment of more lethal military weapons (such as giving every cop an assault rifle vs. pistol), or due to psychological factors (give them a military uniform/armor and they’ll start acting out a soldier fantasy).
4 Likes
The real question about military equipment:
6 Likes
