So these days for one reason or another the cops are getting a very bad rap. Some stories are exagerations, other are legitimate gripes. I've always been the sort of person that though if you're going to bitch about something, then you better have an idea for a solution (which is why I don't support a lot of contemporary "social movements").
For one, I would make the training process longer. In California the Commission of Peace Officer Standards and Training has a minimum requirement of 664 hours for it's Regular Basic Course. With 9 hr of instruction per day, that's only about 74 day course, and there are a wide selection of courses. I don't see how it's possible to cover the relevant ground AND get in the necessary practical training all in 2 and a half to three month course. ESPECIALLY not the course related to law like Crimes Against the Person. In law school that by itself is the bulk of a full semester in a Criminal Law class. Evidence alone is a year long class. But you might say, they're not going to practice law, they're just going to enforce it. Well, to enforce the law, wouldn't you need to know what the law is?
Taking the time to teach these law courses as full length law classes would give officers enough working knowledge to apply the law in their work. Theoretically this would lead to less bogus arrests (whether harassment or a genuine ignorance of the law) and on the same token, less criminals getting off on technicalities.
The other thing, is, being a cop and patrolling the community will inevitably lead you into contact with all stripes of people, from people in a blind rage, intoxicated people, people experiencing hallucinations, and mentally handicapped people. I'm skeptical that you could get enough practical training to handle these varied situations in just a 3 month course. I would extend the training to at least a year.
Now on the other hand if you're going to a loud mouthed jackass who can only scream "What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want them? Now!" then what did you accomplish? Gee whoopteedoo, all you did was further divide people and polarize the issue, you're not helping. You are NOT helping. That's not to say that I don't think the movement as a whole doesn't have legitimate concerns, but on the same token what is your solution? Killing cops? Defunding/Disbanding police departments? This last one in particular has me laughing my ass off. Here's the thing, police departments do FAR more than just street patrols. They carry out criminal investigations, and that is a complex multifacted area with multiple specialists working in their individual fields. You have the field investigator who gathers evidence, such as making castings of tire, shoe, and tool marks. You have the finger print examiner who uses various tools and techniques to ID patent and latent prints. You have the firearms expert who ID's the type of gun used, and matches the bullet to the gun that fired it. Then there's the death investigator who works to figure out the cause of and time of death when a body is found. Etc, etc. It's a science and I knows this because I hold a certificate in basic forensic science. I mean, ok say we do get rid of the Police, who's going to do all this investigation work? You? Your random Black Lives Matter protester? Sorry but in a field like investigations, I want to a professional doing the work, not a "community solution." Did they ever think about that aspect of police work? Probably not.
On the same token though, the police department admins and unions need to realize that actions of incompetent or otherwise bad cops, reflects on all of them as a whole. The "thin blue line" helps this situation about as much as chanting for dead cops does. All it accomplishes is making people lose faith in the justice system and a justice system without the faith of the people is about as useful as a philps head screwdriver on a flat head screw. That's when you get people taking matters into their own hands, or worse yet siding with the criminals. No more "thin blue line" someone screws up, then they need to suffer the consequences. They need to branded a pariah, and not just branded a pariah, but showed to the public. In the law field, there's a periodical publication that goes out. When ever someone gets disciplined it's mentioned there. There needs to be the same thing for police, maybe a section on their website, "wall of shame" or something where bad cops are put on blast.
For better or for worse, the municipal police department is part of the community. It's officer's live in the community, it works in and with the community. Both sides need to realize that. More things like this need to happen where a BLM protest became a bbq jointly hosted by the BLM chapter and the local police. Where all members of the community are able to sit down and break bread. This is part of how you break down the toxic "us against them" mentality that's been poisoning things lately.
Demand higher standards, high standards for the police and higher standards for yourselves. For any group, be it a social protest group, or a government institution, you're only as good as your dirtiest member. Demand higher standards and either kick out the dirty or pressure them to act right.
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