Read on Twitter
Legit question: on which calls do officers need to show up w/ guns? Is defunding the police not about rethinking and rebuilding a broken system?
I'm not anti-police, I have several friends on the job, & I understand it well, but can we think critically about the role of police
I'm not anti-police, I have several friends on the job, & I understand it well, but can we think critically about the role of police
We need detectives and investigators. We need the ability to investigate and solve crime, but what other issues would best be resolved with other agencies and mechanisms?
For example. Today my dad was setting up a ladder and scaffolding to paint the side of his house. His neighbour is a jerk. His neighbour called the police to have him charged with trespassing. An officer showed up and cautioned my dad against trespassing.
My dad called me with a WTF? How am I supposed to repair and paint my house. (BTW - you are allowed to access your neighbours property to repair and maintain your property - must give 48 hours notice and return things in good order). https://www.london.ca/city-hall/by-laws/Documents/accessA6.pdf
So - I call the desk Sgt. and sort out the situation. But here is an example of a situation that did not require an armed officer intervening.
Another example in another province - work being done on a house, property line dispute, neighbour calls the police because workers are accessing property over a disputed property line (the ONLY access to the property). Neighbour then tells police workers stole from him.
Armed officer shows up where work is being done and search the house for stolen tvs without the homeowners permission. (Workers were worried about being charged for a theft they knew nothing about and reluctantly provided access to a property that they don't own for a search)
Again - there are better mechanisms than armed officers to deal with these issues.
Now on the other side - there are many situations where we need armed officers. We need police when there is an active situation. We need the men and women who are trained to disarm and safely deescalate violent people and people with weapons for public safety.
When a crime has been committed - theft /burgraly / assault etc. We need trained investigators to investigate this crime and lay charges.
Do we need armed officers for traffic violations? At present those are the ones who are authorized to issue tickets, but if we rethink the system - do we need them? Could we not have traffic enforcement officers who have the same rights and privileges to issue offense notices
If there was a situation where they felt there was a risk to their or the public personal safety they could certainly then have an armed officer aid the situation.
I think the bottom line is that people are asking us to rethink, critically, why things are the way they are and how we could do better. Putting resources into preventative services, may be a more economical, efficient, and positive long term solution.
Do you know why your car is being broken into? Poverty, addictions, trauma. What if we solved those things?
What if people weren't desperate for the $3.24 in my cup holder in my car? What if people had somewhere to sleep and knew where their next meal was coming from? What if people received counselling and access to addictions services?
Sometimes systems need to be dismantled and built back up to be more efficient and serve the community in new and different ways. If you keep doing what you're doing, and the problems not going away, maybe try something different. That's what people are really saying here.
