Arrests are down - one reason is because groups of citizens are harassing the cops when they try to respond to calls. Shootings and killings are off the scale. Amazingly, none of these shootings/killings were done by cops. But how could that be? Notice this is not Fox News - if I posted a Fox article the libs would say it's racist/biased/right wing/etc. So I have a CBS article. But google it up, all articles say the same thing. Discuss! http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/...fatal-over-memorial-day-weekend-in-baltimore/
He isn't saying that. But in any job, having a bunch of people standing over your shoulder criticizing your work, is going to make your work suffer. ' You spend more time keeping your job than doing your job.
So you don't think criminals are taking advantage of the fact that the cops will be walking on eggshells? Everything a cop does there will be viewed as brutality whether it is or not. But it's a moot point, since the corrupt system forces people to become criminals, obviously. So the cops take it easy , crime increases, the law abiding suffer. The cops get aggressive, the people might go berserk again, end result the law abiding suffer. I think in a perfect Baltimore world, the cops do their job very politely and meekly, but if suspects resist arrest or attack cops, the cops roll over and become punching bags because that's what they are getting paid for.
The cops do this every fucking time. They overreach, they go too far abusing citizens, then when they get called out on it, they stop bothering to police at all, because they think it'll "teach people a lesson." Pro tip: When someone complains that you're doing one part of your job badly, the correct response is to try to do it better.
Maybe you need to decide what you'd rather have. Police overreaching or police not reaching at all. Because I'm fairly certain you are not going to get both. Of course, the best solution might be that all these "citizens" stop committing crimes to begin with........
How about we stop going to the extreme ends,period? This is stupid crap that most kids outgrow around the same time they give up their security blankets.
The opening three days of the Somme offensive were a thousand times worse than Memorial Day weekend in Baltimore.
That does seem to be the choice Baltimore police are offering. That they actual follow the law is apparently not an option they are willing to put on the table.
What do you mean will become? Anyway, Augusta is trying to get body cameras, but here is the snag - the cost of managing and storing all the data will be astronomical. Then again we have a chief of police and a mayor who would never let Augusta cops get to the point where there is systemic bad policing. Leadership matters! Yet even in Baltimore most cops follow the law. In almost every city most cops follow the law. But perception is reality - so now no matter what Baltimore does, their cops will be hated even more than usual.
Is that actually the case though? I've seen before communities that actively hinder the police, usually on the basis that "bad police behaviour by some officers" == "fuck all the police" If they've really decided to take their ball home, then the state needs to disband them and create a new force, if it's the community, well enjoy the criminals having a free hand. If it's somewhere in-between, well at least you can sack and prosecute the police, you're still screwed in the community prefers crime to police.
The community is very much hindering the police in Baltimore. Chanting, shouting them down, general intimidation, etc. They have been doing this in Baltimore for a long time, but rarely to the point where it hindred anything. But now it's taken to a new level. I really think totally replacing every cop and the mayor. Yes it's throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but summer hasn't even hit yet - and the murder rate goes up with the temperature in that hot humid city. Sooner or later (most likely sooner) a cop will get involved in a physical altercation with a suspect, and the shit will hit the fan. So Baltimore might need a complete "fresh start". And with the police experience gone overnight the drug dealers will have a field day until the new cops build up the connections/experiences that only come with a lot of time on the street. Damn I'm starting appreciate Augusta more & more. We might have violent crime on the other side of the tracks but overall the city is at least functional.
So how would you measure "better" in the case of Baltimore? Your version of better might seem like harassment/brutality to the citizens. Or your version of better might seems too laid-back and weak to the citizens. Because now if the cops resume anything approaching aggressive policing (being pro-active, pounding the pavement, aserting themselves, etc) they will cause a shitstorm. And you can lay out the facts & statistics about arrests all day long, but if the citizens are in "hate the cops" mode you might as well talk to the wall.
Policing that includes harassment/brutality is not better. It is a false dichotomy to suggest that it must be that or fail.
The people of Baltimore have made it clear they don't want a proactive police force so now they have one that's reactive.
@T.R's definition of "proactive" = "so what if they die in custody?" Another vote for All v Nothing. Show of hands, please. How many of you have ever actually been to Baltimore? Yeah, thought so.
Again, that depends on what different people consider harrassment/brutality. Just grabbing an uncooperative suspect to put on handcuffs would be brutality to a lot of folks right about now. So if you were a cop tell me you wouldn't be walking on eggshells knowing just by drawing breath you are the bad guy? BTW yes I have been to Baltimore and know a few folks from there. What's your point?
What difference does it make if you are from Baltimore? I see plenty of blame being heaped on police from people whom I'm sure the only uniform they ever wore was for McDonalds.
Garamet asked who has actually been to Baltimore, but I don't know why. It's a pretty typical urban center IMO.
I've been to Baltimore many times to visit my college roommate who for a while was a professor at John's Hopkins. Large sections of Baltimore were always borderline Mad Max territory. John's Hopkins used more police officers to guard one traffic intersection than were employed by my hometown of 13,000.
But I thought it's motto is "The Charmed City"? Augusta's motto is "The Garden City" but if you look on Bing or Google maps satellite view you don't see too many gardens. But all the dead bodies dumped around town would make good fertilizer! Speaking of: a couple of weeks ago I was out scouting deer hunting areas. One of the spots was right next to a steep ravine that's on the edge of a major road. As I was walking along parallel to this ravine I came across a GOD-AWFUL smell! I mean like "holy shit somebody died here" smell. Now this major road pretty much separates Fort Gordon from some high-crime areas. Not saying somebody ditched a dead body from out of their car and it rolled down into the ravine because few pedestrians walk in this stretch of road. Not saying that at all, but damn that was some overpowering stench of death right there. I guess I should have told the cops or the game warden, but the area did look good for hunting (I do try to keep my hunting spots secret) so by September whatever/whoever died will be pretty much be decomposed or eaten up by critters.
There are a lot of hunters and not enough hunting area. Thus you have to "think outside the box" and find spots other hunters may overlook but could be productive. Near a major highway is good because the deer get used to hearing and smelling cars and people all day, so your presence can remain undetected. Like I said though, the constant noise takes some getting used to.
