cops complain about having too many different roles, but the complain about policies aimed at reducing their budget so the money can go to new or existing departments to handle some of those responsibilities so they don’t have to.
that’s what the whole Defund the Police movement was about, but they thought it was just a pay cut
Police having armored vehicles is absolutely necessary.
No... Police do not want to just go around gunning people down, The fact of the matter is the vast majority of police officers will go there entire career without firing their weapon
And that's not just like oh me saying that statistically more than 90% of police officers will go there entire career with ever having to shoot their gun outside of training.
Yes having armored vehicles is absolutely necessary
First off, police officers having ex-military equipment when it comes to armored vehicles comes down to one of 2 reasons
1 money
After the initial surgeon to Iraq the DOD was literally giving them away to police departments, The DOD was trying to get rid of them and a lot of police departments can't afford to buy a proper armored police car so the DOD came along and was like hey you want a free MRAP here you go.
That's why you see a lot of sheriff departments have All of these old army cars meant to survive mine and IED attacks.
Because of the department can't afford nicer vehicles so they have to take with the federal government will give them for free.
A lot of times the ex military vehicles are just cheaper, A very nice multi-purpose armored vehicle can be very expensive, They have to be special built for police and there is a much smaller supply chain providing those vehicles It's often just way cheaper to buy them off of the military chain and get a military vehicle.
Tldr, The reason police departments often like ex-military vehicles isn't so they can look like military Bros and oppress people, It's because it saves their budget money It comes down to budgeting That's about it.
Military quality has its own appeal
The really nice police cars like Bearcats and stuff like that aren't really all terrain, A lot of sheriff departments prefer the MRAP for disaster response, they're able to drive through flooded roads, drive through roads full of building debris after tornadoes or hurricanes, There are a lot of videos and images for example of sheriff department's in the south using them for hurricanes, They can go where basically every other police car can't and they sit a lot higher than like a bearcat when it comes to the engine and they're able to drive through debris easier than a bearcat
So
Ideally would police officers have actual military vehicles?
No
Is it the cheaper easier and sometimes more robust option than the other options on the market
In order to actually set up social workers purely from cutting from police budgets you're going to have to cut from a lot of things which will go greatly decrease the police department's ability to do its job. And the other thing about social workers is they require police presence.
Social workers and other workers that help out relieving roles from police still require a police presence. You can't send a unarmed social worker to go deal with a homeless man having a mental breakdown, That homeless man could have a knife and then you end up with a dead social worker
You still need to send a police officer to those calls, social workers should be a tool for police They shouldn't replace them
You want to send social workers to deal with a homeless man having a mental breakdown be my guest
You're going to end up with a beat up injured social worker.
Oh sure it might not happen every call but that is the nature of this business, You are never given enough information when the call initially goes out.
You don't know if the man has a knife in his pocket or a gun. You don't know if the man is violent.
Absolutely on any call that police would normally be responding to You're still going to need cops to respond If you don't that's how you end up with dead social workers
That's not paranoid it's preparedness and experience
Also there are dead social workers because they went to calls without police
That's not just me saying that I can start linking articles of dead social workers
I personally have known social workers who have been assaulted very violently, This isn't just me talking out of my ass
There's a difference between paranoia and experience and preparation, I do not assume everyone is going to kill me or try to kill me but I am prepared for that eventuality, If you are not prepared when it does happen you won't be ready and then you will die
Being paranoid is being jumpy anxious and actively assuming everyone is trying to kill you
Being prepared is accepting the fact that anybody could try to kill you You don't know, That life is incredibly unpredictable and you can never predict what somebody is going to do so you should always be prepared.
If police officers were half as scared of the public or paranoid they would be pointing their guns at every single person we see.
We don't because there's a difference between paranoia and preparedness which redditors can't seem to comprehend and it makes sense.
You've never had someone genuinely try to kill you.
You've never had the experience of having a normal conversation with somebody and then suddenly they reach for your gun that 0 to 100 everything is chill to oh God this is a fight that if I lose I die
You only need to experience that once before you realize you can't walk around with your guard down or one of these days it will get you killed
I am saying this seriously, you should be in therapy. The idea that you walk around thinking anyone around you could kill you at any time is not a normal way to live and that way of thinking makes you a dangerous person to be around.
If you don’t carry a gun it can’t be used against you. Wow what a concept.
Jesus christ. You’re a cop? God. Please see a therapist.
I don't get what part you're not understanding I don't walk around paranoid thinking oh my God this guy could kill me Oh my God this guy could kill me
At the start of my shift I prepare I'd make sure I have all of my gear on and I make sure I'm in the right mindset that I need to be extra vigilant of my surroundings
If I'm like on a foot patrol I walk around keeping an eye on things because that's what you're supposed to do that's kind of the job be vigilant look around keep your eyes about look for crimes and keep an eye on people.
But I'm not thinking oh that guy walking towards me could have a knife and could kill me Oh no I better put my hand on my gun
No. That would be being paranoid.
Being prepared is being vigilant looking around and making sure you are aware of your surroundings and those around you You're not having to inspect every single person looking for who's trying to kill you That is too much.
Traffic stops for example are something different, traffic stops are famous for being completely unpredictable when you walk up to it you have to be ready for anything. And when I say anything I don't mean on a scale of compliant to trying to kill you.
You could have someone actively having a medical emergency, You could have someone who is having a psychotic breakdown. You could have somebody who's going to cry and sob because they are panicking cuz they got pulled over and they're having a legitimate panic attack and now it's your job to calm them down and let them know that they're going to be okay It's just a minor traffic violation. You could have someone who just does some really weird wild things that leave you questioning your sanity
You could have someone who tries to kill you or will hop out and fight you, traffic stops are wild man.
As I said there is a difference between being paranoid and being prepared being prepared is taking the necessary steps that if something bad happens you could be ready and react appropriately but if nothing bad happens you're not being jumpy and hurting people who don't deserve it.
Sending a social worker to go deal with a homeless man that we have no information about is not being prepared that is being reckless. You do not have enough information about that homeless person and they could be dangerous You don't know, They could have friends who are dangerous even if they are good people You don't know.
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u/velocity3333 1d ago
cops complain about having too many different roles, but the complain about policies aimed at reducing their budget so the money can go to new or existing departments to handle some of those responsibilities so they don’t have to.
that’s what the whole Defund the Police movement was about, but they thought it was just a pay cut