Thought of a few small, painless things that might make relations better. In his book, Horace Cooper, a black businessman, suggests that the trouble between blacks and police began when police were put in charge of fund raising. I'm not directly quoting, but this is what I understood him to mean. Including quotas and expectations that they bring in revenue in the form of tickets. To me, that was always a bad idea. Get rid of that. Make "fix-it" tickets computer/mail generated. It would work like this...a cop notices a broken taillight. He documents the car's license plate number, calls it in, and the next day, the owner receives a letter in the mail telling him to fix it within 48 hours. 53 hours later, another cop does the same thing, and it's documented that he/she has already been sent a fix-it letter, so now the owner receives a real ticket, also in the mail and must pay it. Take the personal contact between police and drivers out of the equation. My neighbor protests that the police solve crimes by stopping people on these small pretenses and searching their car, and that is no doubt true; still I think the benefit, in terms of good will, would be worth losing that opportunity. Seems like a lot of confrontations stem from domestic abuse calls, and then the accuser refuses to press charges. How about if there is a 911 call and enough evidence that abuse occurred, such as bruises, etc., the aggressor is charged and taken to jail, regardless. Yes, girls, if you make the call, your old man is going to jail and you are going to court to testify. Period. I imagine this would cut down on some of these calls, in which the victim is really just mad and never intends to actually press charges. And the result would be that the police wouldn't have their time wasted, having to be pulled into so many family disputes. Good ideas? Bad? Anybody?
The traffic idea is good. I agree completely. Many infractions can be handled with remote cameras and other technology. The domestic abuse isn't a bad idea, but it would never work. A crime that relies on the testimony of the injured party needs charges to be pressed. Unless the cops have other evidence, the woman can simply change her story.
Snail mail. Needs to be longer than the time you've allocated. If I mail myself a letter it takes a minimum of 3 days for me to get it back. I'd imagine some places may take longer. Also some things shouldn't wait, like bald tires. For this to work you're going to have to make exceptions to the rule for safety's sake. One problem with this is you can't force spouses to testify against thier spouse. Also just because one has bruises does not mean something untoward happened. Ever hear of BDSM? But kudos to you for trying to come up with actual solutions rather than... welll... what's been happening of late.
fix it tickets are usually tail lights bashed with a billy club as pretense for the stop/search. domestic dispute should be a 24 hour jail for both fighters. give them time to sober up and cool down before the next round. confiscation of all weapons pending a hearing.
Actually the scientific studies demonstrate that the use of cameras is cost effective and the benefits extend beyond the penalties. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29549105/ The cameras also work to detect other crimes such as stolen vehicles and the identification of vehicles used while committing crimes. Consider the cost of having a paid officer sitting in one location 24*7 as opposed to a camera in the same location? While the officer has to leave the location in order to pull someone over and ticket them they miss others who were speeding. The camera takes a picture of everyone that was speeding and records the location, license plate, speed, date and time automatically and then the summons is sent out via the mail. If the fines are not paid then local DMV's will collect them when the renewal of either driver's license or vehicle license comes due.
I think taking traffic stops out is an intensely horrible idea. How many murderers, rapists and child molesters have been caught through simple traffic stops? How many kidnapping and child sex trafficking victims have been saved from simple traffic stops? If even ONE child trafficking victim has been saved they’re worth 1,000,000 Jacob Blake criminals being shot dead in the street by a cop.
Traffic stops discourage speeding and other bad driving. When people see a car pulled over with a the blue lights flashing, they tend to slow down. The number of accidents due to speeding has gone up because of the virus. There are fewer stops and people are not concerned about getting stopped.
They do this already and have laws in place that are supposed to help make sure people don’t get trapped in a cycle of debt via tickets. The problem is if a person can’t afford a $75 ticket, how are they going to afford the $100 repair? You just end up justifying a racist system vs fixing it. The problem is we don’t take into account poverty with our system. We need to take into account wealth when finding someone.
Bridget -- I give you an A for thinking through a "problem" and suggesting a fix. That's more than most people do. - Until certain bad dudes and bad dudettes stop fighting a cop over a little simple "no tag light" or "weaving" there will be a bad ending for the dude or dudettes. When a cop tells you to show proof of license, insurance, and registration he/she is doing their job. But if you want to fight, or run, or grab their taser, or grab their gun, something bad will happen to you in the end. We think there is a problem but the problem is brought on by one person. Below is the civil solution . . .
Red light cameras are another scam. That's why they've been abandoned in many locations around the country. The bulk of the money stolen for petty infractions go to private companies. Numerous jurisdictions have been caught changing the length of the yellow light so that more innocent people would be caught in the scam. The lights increase the number of rear end collisions and panic stops.
NOWHERE did I mention red light cameras! I am talking about cameras used to detect SPEEDING. We already have cameras on our highways that are used to monitor traffic flow and road conditions. We have them on turnpikes to catch those who don't pay their tolls. This is elementary policing that can and should be AUTOMATED.
When people see that flashing light behind a car pulled over, they tend to slow down. A hidden camera will not do that. As evidence, the death rate has gone up even though the amount of traffic has gone down because they are not seeing those stopped cars with the blue lights.
The last time I got caught speeding I was clocked at 79 mph in a 55 zone. It cost me $180. After I signed the fine and the deputy handed me the paper work to mail in my fine I shook his hand and said, "Keep up the good work" (I wanted to make the best of a bad situation). I guess when I put my hand out I was lucky he didn't shoot me.
I will probably catch a little flack for this. That is OK. I don't get many tickets. I generally never go more than 5mph over the speed limit. I was about fifty when I got my first ticket. Most likely less than a half dozen total. In the dozen times I have been stopped over the years it is all "yes sir" , "no sir". I go out of my way to be as polite as possible. However, my little ace in the hole is my retired military ID card. I keep my drivers license behind my ID card so the policeman always sees that ID card. I have been asked about it several times. Like where was I assigned, etc. It just adds a little evidence that I am sympathetic and on their side.
I tend to agree with ChiCowboy's reply. The "fix-it" things are simply maintenance issues; we might have some benefit from avoiding traffic stops that way. However- such a stop should never become a problem anyway, provided the driver is cooperative. While there are some police officers with problems, they are the exception, and usually when a conflict with that exception develops, it is still due to added issues created by a hostile citizen. Best advice for all traffic stops is to follow the officers instructions, cooperate and be polite- do not provoke a conflict. Easy to do, I've never known it not to work; frequently gets you off without a costly ticket. The issues with domestic violence usually does hinge of the complaint of a victim. I had some people in classes I taught years ago that were from a women's shelter. I learned a lot about the mindsets of abusive men- and about the women who continue to tolerate abuse, refuse to testify- and even when they leave a bad relationship, soon find another of the same kind. There's a limit to what police can do to help those who will not help themselves, and disturbance calls are one of the most dangerous for police. Such thing can readily turn into violent confrontations. My personal view is that the latitude police must have in dealing with this should be very wide, because the situation is so unpredictable. Good will is something created when people appreciate a consideration- but it depends on the person getting the benefit. Good will can also be seen as the gullibility of a cop to accept your word rather than follow protocol. Cops have to decide when it's proper to be lenient, and when they can't afford to take chances. It's the nature of their job, they interface with the best of us- and the worst.
Which suggestion are you referring to? I would think the cost of a police officer's time is expensive too. If someone, presumably a woman, calls 911 regarding a domestic abuse situation, AND has bruises all over her, I would think that could be used as evidence. Granted, if the victim refuses to testify, the prosecution most likely won't win the case in the end. Still, if she is subpoenaed and has to go to court, I think it would really decrease the calls received for family matters that are either bull or in which the victim doesn't really want the problem solved. So, voila, less interaction for the police in matters that they really can't solve anyway. I agree with those who point out that if people would just act right when the police come, this would seldom be a problem. Thus, I've had several traffic tickets in my life, but never been shot or taken to jail. Still, seems like we could have some small changes to prevent the likelihood of confrontation, or else I fear we won't have policing in the future. I can kind of relate to this (the let God sort them out solution). But, if there is real domestic abuse going on, I can't go with throwing the victim in jail.
