Omega Vision
Face Flowed Into Her Eyes
Originally posted by Surtur
Anyways one problem I think that persists everywhere is this wall of silence. It exists on both sides. On one side, we have the mentality that you shouldn't snitch. "Snitches get stitches". On the other side you have the d-bag cops that think "well, cops can do no wrong" who will go to great lengths to protect their own no matter the truth. So it just morphs into something out of control.On this issue, the police cause far more damage by covering up the corruption of other cops when it happens.
I think most black people know that the no-snitching culture is idiotic, but comedian Dave Chappelle put it well when he said that "black people want to call the cops too, they're just not sure what will happen when the cops show up" (my paraphrase)
I think the onus should be on police departments to do more to engage their communities. Bring back foot patrols and more outreach programs, more scrutiny of racial prejudice in hiring, and an end to the culture of impunity that you've pointed out in your post. In communities where the police have adopted these measures, we don't see nearly as much tension and mistrust.
http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2015/08/12/black-lives-matter-police-reform-rich-barlow
When Cincinnati police heard from residents that the neighborhood near a certain store was a hothouse of murders and drug dealing, they relocated a bus stop and phone booth to disperse loiterers, yanked the store’s liquor license, and got the city to raze the building to permit new development. Elsewhere, the police work with gang members and their families, trying to funnel violent people into better lives.The story stated the obvious, that this approach requires police to park their cars, walk beats, and familiarize themselves with the people and problems of their neighborhoods. I can imagine some grousing that this is social work, not police work. But there’s no arguing with success: According to the article, between 2008 and last year, arrests and crime dropped substantially.