Some ideas for fixing police corruption

Abolish qualified immunity for all government employees. They should carry personal liability insurance. Bad cops would price themselves out of a job.

Teach the Constitution at the academy and conduct monthly Constitution tests.

Criminal charges for any crimes instead of resigning with pensions.

Frequent maturity, I.Q., and mental health tests.

Abolish police unions.

Police must wear body cams that cannot be turned off or muted.

Citizen review boards instead of “we investigated ourselves and found nothing wrong”

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Graylight · 51-55, F

Qualified immunity does not apply to criminal charges or prosecutions. In the case of officers, it protects them from being individually sued. And it's not guaranteed under every circumstance. But imagine every disgruntled driver with time on his hands and the kinds of frivolous lawsuits that would arise. Think of the haughty 19-year-old who sues out of sovereign citizenship or because the way they were spoken to.

Constitutional law is an entire course of study at university level learning. Cops are...mostly HS graduates. THey should and do understand basic Constitutional law, but to the extent they need to. How well can you recite it? Police have far greater issues on their hands than whether pulling someone out of their vehicle at a stop is in keeping with the way the driver likes to be treated. Believe me, what you want them studying is fraud, because no one understands it and everyone's a victim of it.

Yes, should an officer commit a crime, that officer should be summarily dismissed. As for testing, candidates are subject to an entire battery of psychological assessment. They face hiring panels, submit to lie detector tests, their neighbors, friends and family are questioned in person. IQ tests are trash and don't measure anything an officer needs for the job. You cannot assess in a clinical way someone's maturity.

Police have the same entitlement to unions as any US citizen. Half the country employs body cams already, and more departments come on board every day. There are over 100 police oversight agencies within the United States' largest cities. These citizen review boards are responsible for a wide range of police activities (FDLE).

There are more than 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the US. Among all police, there was a total of 26,556 citizen complaints about police use of force. This corresponds to an overall rate of 6.6 force complaints per 100 full-time sworn officers. A third of all force complaints in 2002 were not sustained (34%). Twenty-five percent were unfounded, 23% resulted in officers being exonerated, and 8% were sustained. Let them do their jobs and focus at the top, because that's where the corruption starts and ends.

JSul3 · 70-79

@Graylight Ok. We have a training issue.
Many cops have 'shoot first, ask questions later' mentality and an affinity for shooting unarmed citizens...mostly black males...in the back.

We have rogue cops. They need to be rooted out.

Graylight · 51-55, F

@JSul3 Absolutely should bad cops be found and removed. The issue is very complex. Some department desire officer with a college degree; others would rather less education so you can be trained and molded.

Then there’s the transformation of the friendly neighborhood beat cop to a tactical para-military figure of today. Some cops now carry so much department-issued stuff that they need a harness or suspenders just for their duty belt. This has occurred in part due to growing crime. Largely, though, a shift happened wherein department sought out ex-military personnel to create a militant force. And when one’s given the freedom to do as they like within the law, those lines blur after a while. The very first thing guys who get assigned to undercover units start growing a beard; it's amusing. Just because they can. Imagine what these SWAT and narcotics officers might get to feeling they can do in a dark place where no one’s watching?

People are pushing back more than ever, though, and that’s a good thing. Bad cops shouldn’t be on the job, but they’re few and far between. Most of them will risk their life to save yours.

JSul3 · 70-79

@Graylight I was taught that if I ever needed help and could not find either parent, find a policeman.
That 'advice' changed on March 7, 1965, as I watched some people who peacefully crossed a bridge in AL were attacked by state police and beaten. That is the day I learned what racism was, what police brutality was, and realized that not every cop was a 'good guy' with a badge and a gun.

After all of the things I have seen and read since that day, now whenever I see a police officer, I ask myself: "Is this one of the 'good guys' or one of the 'bad guys?"

Do you understand how the 'bad cops' made me ask that question?

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Patriot96 · 56-60, C

Might want to teach constitution to democrats

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Patriot96 · 56-60, C

@Theyitis the 2nd is still relevant today. It protects us from lefty trolls

Theyitis · 36-40, M

@Patriot96 That’s not why it’s in the Constitution.

Graylight · 51-55, F

@Theyitis Abundant historical evidence indicates that the Second Amendment was meant to leave citizens with the ability to defend themselves against unlawful violence. Such threats might come from usurpers of governmental power, but they might also come from criminals whom the government is unwilling or unable to control. National Constitution Center.

Roundandroundwego · 61-69

That's obvious. People understand that can't work with the use of force it takes takes to crush Americans and make America possible, every day.

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