Police reform or citizen reform

POLICE  REFORM  OR  CITIZEN  REFORM

The news the last few days has been obsessed with police reform, calling for more training, higher education standards, more tasers, less guns. All the focus is how the police must better interact with the community. I did not hear anyone discuss how the community needs to better interact with the police.

When I was growing up I never heard my parents ever disparage the police. It was accepted that they had a job to do and that as citizens it was our duty to cooperate with the police.

Do you believe those values are taught to the children in Chicago or other major cities? The adversarial relationship between police and minority communities has only worsened during the Obama administration.  I don't remember Obama, his Attorney General, or any minority leaders ever encouraging respect for police, don't run when confronted by police, don't resist arrest, don't assault a police officer, don't attempt to humiliate and embarrass police, keep a civil and respectful attitude to the police and it most likely will be returned in kind.

I understand that respect for the police has been hampered by state and local politicians who have used petty laws to increase revenue for their area. This is a situation that should be addressed, as it undermines the citizen's view of the police and fosters an adversarial relationship. This is not the fault of the police, but the fault of their political bosses who require quotas or other incentives to increase revenue. 

This is a problem in some areas of the local community. Anyone who drives down Route 100 in the Fogelsville area knows what I am talking about...or rolling stops at Buckeye Rd and Route 100, this has been going on for years. I must say the Penna. State Police have been pretty good in this respect and they have focused on real problems on the highways.

I understand that in some cities in America millions are collected in petty fines, often on the poorest members of the community. This should not be a difficult problem to correct, I suspect the police would be happy not to be revenue enhancers.

Any attempt to put all the blame on the police in this difficult time will only produce poor results. These problems need to be addressed by parents, who need to instruct their children, as well as community leaders, politicians from the local level up to the president.  Only a shared respect by all members of the community will have a positive result.

originally published 12/31/2015