The Future of Police in America (Part 3/3)

I’m I continue to think a lot about the future of police in a diverse, free and democratic society such as ours. My view goes all the way back to 1960 when I first became a municipal police officer. Yes, things have gotten better in some areas – like new technologies, but not so better when it comes to how we treat people and show our commitment to the rule of law and an ethic of service above self. 

Today, I am providing you with a link to one of my short “Walk in the Woods” videos from a few years ago – “What Needs to be Done.” I hope it encourages you to think big and deeply about this important social task called “policing.” Not “law enforcement,” but “policing.” For what police should do in a society such as ours is less enforcement and more problem-solving, helping, and directing.

Years ago, I wrote a piece for the American Journal of Police entitled, “A Note from a Cop in the 21st Century.”Here are some highlights of what I hoped would have transpired as we, a nation’s police, entered the 21^st century. Excerpts from a note written by “Police Specialist D. Futura,” from the future.

• “I work in a very trusting and supportive atmosphere… Leadership in my department does not seem anything like what I have read about in the 20th century
• “My organization seems ‘flatter’ than the hierarchical pyramid of yesterday’s police departments… We respect each other as individuals: competent, professional persons who are part of an important function… We are respected by the community…
• “We have, of course, a uniform and identifiable mode of dress, but not the military style uniform… There are no rank symbols… we address each other on a first name basis, from the newest employee up to the police director…
• “We see ourselves as community workers and organizers… serving as mediators, negotiating settlements in all kinds and sorts of community problems…
• “Our job today is to maintain community order within a human rights framework… Keeping the peace with a maximum amount of problem solving and a minimum amount force… We brainstorm solutions and select the best-known method to do business… We are committed to constant, continuous improvement.
• “I am an integral part of the neighbourhood community in which I work.  doing an extremely important job and my neighbourhood appreciates it. I have the authority and ability to help them solve their problems, keep their neighbourhood safe and peaceful, and maintain a high-level quality of life…”

I wrote this over three decades ago. I fully expected at the time I retired that we would have made some major, positive inroads towards a more non-violent, safer nation during the coming years.

That did not happen. So, the question today is why? Why isn’t the function of police more advanced? Why can’t our amazing Mars-seeking technology develop a way to capture and contain another human being without extinguishing their life? Why can’t our technology enable police to disable a speeding, evading vehicle? Why is our killing rate so uncomfortably high compared to other free and democratic countries? And why aren’t we more collaborative with those whom we serve? In short, why have we not become a trained, licensed profession? 

What is your dream — your vision — your hope — for police in America?

For without a positive, engaging vision for the future, we will all come to perish!