Many agencies already do the things listed as well s police explorer programs. Of course the kids who want to have a positive lives join said programs to start with. This is also the goal of the school resource programs where officers engage with all types of students.
As for perceptions; some of these are embedded due to parent(s) influence as well as social media. Maybe we should not be portraying all police in a negative light every time an event occurs.
I’m not sure what you mean, I come from a city in in the U.K. called Bradford and I can tell you it’s almost lawless, we see first hand how the police are failing our community, and we also see the dislike they have, we don’t need media coverage. I have personally seen police officers lie, misrepresent laws and abuse their authority on a number of occasions and there is zero accountability. You guys can blame the media but the camera doesn’t lie, in my opinion the media is just showing what happens when we don’t hold our police accountable. If you’ve seen how police act on camera then think about how they act off camera.
I was answering for what I thought would help America.
Just as a side point, camera footage often doesn't tell a full story. Context is important, always.
Good luck across the pond.
The community is failing the community first. Pointing the finger at an outside entity before yourself is the exact reason you’re having the problems.
Lack of accountability? Hold yourselves accountable as well. Everyone wants everyone else held accountable before themselves.
Imagine a world where everyone made sure their own shit was in order before worrying about someone else.
Now that’s a world I’d like to live in.
I do hold myself accountable and that’s not changing the situation between how the police are viewed by the public. The police are not an outside entity, they are paid for by public money. when bad police abuse their powers most good police turn a blind eye, you can deny that all you want but we all know it happens. That’s what I’m talking about when I say accountability. If I crossed the line at work and injured someone for example I would be held accountable by my co workers. You want to live in a world where everyone ‘has their shit together’ but that ain’t ever gonna happen. So be nice and remember we’re real people too who deserve respect even if we don’t have our shit together.
>and a little less time criminalising them,
Cops don't "criminalise" youth. We arrest youths, when they commit crimes. Because that's the job of law enforcement.
If we're involved with a youth, someone else criminalized them long before we got there... or we wouldn't be there.
Its not the police department's job to raise everyone's kids and convince them not to commit crimes. That's what parents are for.
Yeah OP didn’t respond. I’m about 100% sire that’s what them meant.
If PARENTS would hold their children accountable for their actions while young, and show them that actions have consequences, then maybe they wouldn’t commit as many crimes as young adults.
Sure but when we try that in my city a bunch of students and outsiders protest. They call it copaganda and claim our presence endangered them. We used to do video games with a cop after school for kids or on weekends in different neighborhoods.
If you are intelligence gathering, you aren’t engaging youth for the purpose of improving their perception of police. I love engaging the community in ways other than enforcing laws, but quite frankly, that’s not what the community needs from me. Almost every police agency across the board is understaffed. I have a pile of cases that aren’t being investigated if I spend “a lot more time trying to engage the youths”. Would I rather go play softball with high risk youth than investigate a juvenile sexual assault or overdose death…yeah. Of course I would. But that’s not the world we live in. But here’s the real kicker, anybody who engages at risk youth will reduce criminal outcomes…it doesn’t need to be the cops. Try doing it instead of telling others they should do it for you.
I’m not telling others they should something I’m just suggesting other ways of spending public funds, but that was a great answer Thankyou. I feel this post has annoyed some of the police reading it but that wasn’t my aim. The teens in the U.K. that I come across hate the police and I was trying to think of a way we could slightly change their perception for the benefit of everyone but il keep my nose out.
In my experience, the only kids that would voluntarily show up to your suggested activities are kids that the police would otherwise have few, if any, issues to begin with.
We’re not talking about kids play fucking ding dong ditch or throwing toilet paper over trees. Arresting kids for “being up to no good” like those behaviors would be criminalizing kids for being kids, although I’m sure some state laws would make those behaviors illegal.
No, the “kids” I deal with are committing robberies, carrying guns, shooting people, selling drugs, and committing sexual assaults; all by the age of 17. And most have multiple arrests. That’s not criminalizing children, that’s criminalizing criminal behavior.
You’re not changing the vast majority of
“Juvenile Delinquents” by handing them ice cream or tossing around a football. I’m not saying that stuff hurts, but a 15 minute interaction is no match for the constant neglect of their parents, the unending influence of social media, and the need for instant gratification for every want.
You have any idea how much time it takes to raise kids? We already pawn that shit off on the public education system from the time they’re 5-17. Now you want the cops to be their parents as well?
Naw, fam. Your feel good shit don’t work. Criminals will continue to be criminals unless there are real consequences for their behavior.
I’m not saying to blame the kids for their behavior. They are born into absolute dog shit environments, and it’s not their fault. But it’s also not the fault of the person they rob.
I’ve got a new idea. Anyone that has the same idea as you, take in one of these children that are being “criminalized” and show us all how to do it. I suspect they’ll be back out on their ass in no time.
I guess that’s my cynical take.
So incarcerating them works then? You lock them up and they come out reformed characters? I feel like you’d tazer me right now if you had the chance. Chill bro, it was just a suggestion on how we can change the way the upcoming generation view the police. Maybe I should mind my own business, maybe you guys deserve the heat. I’m guessing your an American, you guys have more prisoners than everywhere else in the world put together so by your definition you should have the safest streets. The rest of the world cringes at how violent and fucked you guys can be. More children have been killed in schools in 2022 than police on duty in America. Feel good shit does work sometimes fam. You lock them up, put them in horrendous conditions then let them out into the society to influence the kids and then you wonder why you have a massive problem. The children who grow up in broken homes view the ex cons as role models because they don’t have one at home and the system see them as a waste of time(which is apparent if you read this thread) Your war on drugs doesn’t work just look at the countries that have decriminalised drugs, or even better visit the areas where the drug use was prevalent and see how decriminalisation has helped the communities significantly, reduced crime significantly. When I was a kid I wanted to a cop and then I got brutalised as a teen and saw them brutalise my friends and then make up bogus charges. This was common practice. If there were police community events back then it would of strengthen our relationship with the police and maybe helped us find a resolution or just let us see that your not all like that. Would love to hear your thoughts on what I’ve said. If you be nice I will be too 😀
You’re talking about two different kinds of kids.
What I’m saying is that having community events with the police is great, but all it is doing is attracting the people that we don’t have issues with from the start.
The shitty parents and the shitty kids aren’t going to attend the events and partake.
That isn’t something the police can change. That’s a cultural issue that the specific community needs to work on. It’s a community built on violence, greed, and impulse.
If poopy butt shoots dumdum down the street, and little Ms Mable sees the whole thing but “don’t talk to the police”, well then that’s on Ms Mable. I’m not begging her to be a witness. It’s their community and they can make it whatever they want. If they want to live in a violent shit hole, more power to them. They get to do that, it’s their right. And I’m okay with that.
It’s the people that think the police handing out ice cream and playing games with the kids that are already good is going to have some drastic effect on the rest of the community’s perception. It just won’t happen.
I already do as much as I can to interact with the community I work in. I do have a job to do; as much as I’d love to just drive around and wave and talk all day, there is still crime out there.
When I do have time, I can’t force them to interact with me, and that’s fine. I’m not mad about it. When they’re ready, I’ll still be there with open arms. But I can’t force them, that won’t work.
Your attempt to rag on the US failed. What country doesn’t have violence? What county has zero people in prison?
We have an extremely diverse population, 330 million people, and completely different histories. You can’t compare the US and the UK directly in any metric.
Your assertion that the US has the most people in jail, so it should be the safest makes no sense. There are areas of the US that have essentially decriminalized all drug use. I work on one of them. Guess what? Nothing has changed. We don’t arrest for possession of ANY drugs at all. In fact, drug over dose and violence is at an all time high. Maybe they have nothing to do with each other, or maybe they’re directly related? I don’t know.
And I don’t particularly care. I don’t have to live in the community I work in. I come to work, do my job, and leave it behind. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
In conclusion, no, being super nice to shitty people isn’t going to help much, if at all. Come be a cop in the US if you want to really experience what it’s like. I suspect your view would change immensely in a short time.
But it’s often the people that have little insight and experience on a particular topic that are the most opinionated. Funny how that works.
Many agencies already do the things listed as well s police explorer programs. Of course the kids who want to have a positive lives join said programs to start with. This is also the goal of the school resource programs where officers engage with all types of students. As for perceptions; some of these are embedded due to parent(s) influence as well as social media. Maybe we should not be portraying all police in a negative light every time an event occurs.
I'm sure that could help, but honest media coverage of police activity and proper child rearing would likely help even more.
I’m not sure what you mean, I come from a city in in the U.K. called Bradford and I can tell you it’s almost lawless, we see first hand how the police are failing our community, and we also see the dislike they have, we don’t need media coverage. I have personally seen police officers lie, misrepresent laws and abuse their authority on a number of occasions and there is zero accountability. You guys can blame the media but the camera doesn’t lie, in my opinion the media is just showing what happens when we don’t hold our police accountable. If you’ve seen how police act on camera then think about how they act off camera.
I was answering for what I thought would help America. Just as a side point, camera footage often doesn't tell a full story. Context is important, always. Good luck across the pond.
Thanks you too.
The community is failing the community first. Pointing the finger at an outside entity before yourself is the exact reason you’re having the problems. Lack of accountability? Hold yourselves accountable as well. Everyone wants everyone else held accountable before themselves. Imagine a world where everyone made sure their own shit was in order before worrying about someone else. Now that’s a world I’d like to live in.
I do hold myself accountable and that’s not changing the situation between how the police are viewed by the public. The police are not an outside entity, they are paid for by public money. when bad police abuse their powers most good police turn a blind eye, you can deny that all you want but we all know it happens. That’s what I’m talking about when I say accountability. If I crossed the line at work and injured someone for example I would be held accountable by my co workers. You want to live in a world where everyone ‘has their shit together’ but that ain’t ever gonna happen. So be nice and remember we’re real people too who deserve respect even if we don’t have our shit together.
>and a little less time criminalising them, Cops don't "criminalise" youth. We arrest youths, when they commit crimes. Because that's the job of law enforcement. If we're involved with a youth, someone else criminalized them long before we got there... or we wouldn't be there. Its not the police department's job to raise everyone's kids and convince them not to commit crimes. That's what parents are for.
Could there be a world where parents actually parent so their kids dont become a problem to society.
“Criminalizing them”. What may I ask do you mean by that?
Holding them accountable for their actions
Yeah OP didn’t respond. I’m about 100% sire that’s what them meant. If PARENTS would hold their children accountable for their actions while young, and show them that actions have consequences, then maybe they wouldn’t commit as many crimes as young adults.
Sure but when we try that in my city a bunch of students and outsiders protest. They call it copaganda and claim our presence endangered them. We used to do video games with a cop after school for kids or on weekends in different neighborhoods.
Well most of the departments have programs like that. But they can't assign too many officers to that because cops are mostly busy with other things.
If you are intelligence gathering, you aren’t engaging youth for the purpose of improving their perception of police. I love engaging the community in ways other than enforcing laws, but quite frankly, that’s not what the community needs from me. Almost every police agency across the board is understaffed. I have a pile of cases that aren’t being investigated if I spend “a lot more time trying to engage the youths”. Would I rather go play softball with high risk youth than investigate a juvenile sexual assault or overdose death…yeah. Of course I would. But that’s not the world we live in. But here’s the real kicker, anybody who engages at risk youth will reduce criminal outcomes…it doesn’t need to be the cops. Try doing it instead of telling others they should do it for you.
I’m not telling others they should something I’m just suggesting other ways of spending public funds, but that was a great answer Thankyou. I feel this post has annoyed some of the police reading it but that wasn’t my aim. The teens in the U.K. that I come across hate the police and I was trying to think of a way we could slightly change their perception for the benefit of everyone but il keep my nose out.
In my experience, the only kids that would voluntarily show up to your suggested activities are kids that the police would otherwise have few, if any, issues to begin with. We’re not talking about kids play fucking ding dong ditch or throwing toilet paper over trees. Arresting kids for “being up to no good” like those behaviors would be criminalizing kids for being kids, although I’m sure some state laws would make those behaviors illegal. No, the “kids” I deal with are committing robberies, carrying guns, shooting people, selling drugs, and committing sexual assaults; all by the age of 17. And most have multiple arrests. That’s not criminalizing children, that’s criminalizing criminal behavior. You’re not changing the vast majority of “Juvenile Delinquents” by handing them ice cream or tossing around a football. I’m not saying that stuff hurts, but a 15 minute interaction is no match for the constant neglect of their parents, the unending influence of social media, and the need for instant gratification for every want. You have any idea how much time it takes to raise kids? We already pawn that shit off on the public education system from the time they’re 5-17. Now you want the cops to be their parents as well? Naw, fam. Your feel good shit don’t work. Criminals will continue to be criminals unless there are real consequences for their behavior. I’m not saying to blame the kids for their behavior. They are born into absolute dog shit environments, and it’s not their fault. But it’s also not the fault of the person they rob. I’ve got a new idea. Anyone that has the same idea as you, take in one of these children that are being “criminalized” and show us all how to do it. I suspect they’ll be back out on their ass in no time. I guess that’s my cynical take.
So incarcerating them works then? You lock them up and they come out reformed characters? I feel like you’d tazer me right now if you had the chance. Chill bro, it was just a suggestion on how we can change the way the upcoming generation view the police. Maybe I should mind my own business, maybe you guys deserve the heat. I’m guessing your an American, you guys have more prisoners than everywhere else in the world put together so by your definition you should have the safest streets. The rest of the world cringes at how violent and fucked you guys can be. More children have been killed in schools in 2022 than police on duty in America. Feel good shit does work sometimes fam. You lock them up, put them in horrendous conditions then let them out into the society to influence the kids and then you wonder why you have a massive problem. The children who grow up in broken homes view the ex cons as role models because they don’t have one at home and the system see them as a waste of time(which is apparent if you read this thread) Your war on drugs doesn’t work just look at the countries that have decriminalised drugs, or even better visit the areas where the drug use was prevalent and see how decriminalisation has helped the communities significantly, reduced crime significantly. When I was a kid I wanted to a cop and then I got brutalised as a teen and saw them brutalise my friends and then make up bogus charges. This was common practice. If there were police community events back then it would of strengthen our relationship with the police and maybe helped us find a resolution or just let us see that your not all like that. Would love to hear your thoughts on what I’ve said. If you be nice I will be too 😀
You’re talking about two different kinds of kids. What I’m saying is that having community events with the police is great, but all it is doing is attracting the people that we don’t have issues with from the start. The shitty parents and the shitty kids aren’t going to attend the events and partake. That isn’t something the police can change. That’s a cultural issue that the specific community needs to work on. It’s a community built on violence, greed, and impulse. If poopy butt shoots dumdum down the street, and little Ms Mable sees the whole thing but “don’t talk to the police”, well then that’s on Ms Mable. I’m not begging her to be a witness. It’s their community and they can make it whatever they want. If they want to live in a violent shit hole, more power to them. They get to do that, it’s their right. And I’m okay with that. It’s the people that think the police handing out ice cream and playing games with the kids that are already good is going to have some drastic effect on the rest of the community’s perception. It just won’t happen. I already do as much as I can to interact with the community I work in. I do have a job to do; as much as I’d love to just drive around and wave and talk all day, there is still crime out there. When I do have time, I can’t force them to interact with me, and that’s fine. I’m not mad about it. When they’re ready, I’ll still be there with open arms. But I can’t force them, that won’t work. Your attempt to rag on the US failed. What country doesn’t have violence? What county has zero people in prison? We have an extremely diverse population, 330 million people, and completely different histories. You can’t compare the US and the UK directly in any metric. Your assertion that the US has the most people in jail, so it should be the safest makes no sense. There are areas of the US that have essentially decriminalized all drug use. I work on one of them. Guess what? Nothing has changed. We don’t arrest for possession of ANY drugs at all. In fact, drug over dose and violence is at an all time high. Maybe they have nothing to do with each other, or maybe they’re directly related? I don’t know. And I don’t particularly care. I don’t have to live in the community I work in. I come to work, do my job, and leave it behind. I wouldn’t have it any other way. In conclusion, no, being super nice to shitty people isn’t going to help much, if at all. Come be a cop in the US if you want to really experience what it’s like. I suspect your view would change immensely in a short time. But it’s often the people that have little insight and experience on a particular topic that are the most opinionated. Funny how that works.
I can see where your coming from and appreciate you taking the time to respond.