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We need public safety.
I don’t know what this is, but it’s sure as hell not public safety.
From @nullagent:
https://partyon.xyz/@nullagent/113162515857048774
I am simply saying — hear me out now — that we should stop doing what doesn’t work, and replace the police with something else, something very different, that •does• work.
This is not a wild idea.
@inthehands If it was literally anyone other than a police officer, we'd be calling it a mass shooting, reporters would be digging up dirt on the the disturbed shooter/shooters, someone would inevitably call them 'crazy' and try to blame poor mental health, people would be pointing fingers at who gave them the gun.
But because the guy managed to complete 6 months of community college-level education, we give them a gun and a free pass.
@mathaetaes
Agreed 100%, except for the implied dig at community college, which is (1) frequently •awesome• and (2) far, far, far better than the training police get.
@inthehands it wasn’t a dig. I went and looked up the police academy in my closest major city, and it’s literally 24 weeks of classes at the local community college.
@inthehands have I brought up my idea to separate the function of cops into exactly public safety and law enforcement?
Public safety would be an emergency service, empowered very narrowly to contain and end dangerous situations, and obligated to protect life, health, and property, in that order. They would have no investigative or law enforcement powers whatsoever.
And law enforcement would be like it sounds, but with no authority to use force or violence.
@inthehands neither would have the authority to enforce traffic rules.
I'm not sure what to do about warrants and court judgements. My first thought is to have courts do it themselves, but that's a little fraught.
@jenniferplusplus Modulo a zillion details, this seems like a really promising direction of thought. As for your questions about who performs law enforcement functions and how, US Marshals are probably a model to study.
@inthehands Abolition is a well thought through approach to the issue of policing. But people want instant solutions to a problem that has developed for centuries. There are many solutions if folks would admit they are addicted to failed policing and would commit to redistributing resources to the things that do work.
@inthehands
There are a few pushes to make it happen, e.g. https://coreeugene.org/
Haven't gotten far enough to get rid of the police, but some communities are working on replacing them.
@inthehands If you're talking about US-model policing, one starting point might be the Peelian Principles. Mostly fallen by the wayside in the UK after 200 years but they were revolutionary in the 1820s, and to this day British cops aren't as venal and violent as their US counterparts.
Take the Principles and add an overriding duty to "protect the public" as higher priority than "enforce the law"—bearing in mind that even suspected lawbreakers are part of the public—and it's a start.
@cstross @inthehands 1. Serve the public trust. 2. Protect the innocent. 3. Uphold the law. 
@andrewg @inthehands Number two is a mistake; who decides who is "innocent"? Needs to be all-inclusive; 'protect the public".
@cstross @inthehands 4. [CLASSIFIED]
this is a great explanation; also tells me why I find Commander Vimes entirely relatable despite being a cop
@trochee @cstross @inthehands Heh. Ditto.
@cstross @inthehands We'd have to get to a point where an officer could be fired for violating their duties first... otherwise principles are just words on a poster in the break room.
It's a great idea, though. I'd love for police departments to be staffed with people who actually want to help, rather than people who like to feel powerful and in control of others. The cops I've randomly encountered in the UK were much more pleasant than any I've had to deal with in the US.
@cstross @inthehands Laudable as they were, were Peels principles ever really put to use?
I mean, I think they *should* be.
In the U.S. itself, the police have no legal duty to protect the public. This is settled law with limited exceptions (people in custody for example).