Ask HN: How can the U.S. fix “the problems with the police”?

2 points·forgottenacc56··4 comments

What do you see as the main problems with the police, and can they be fixed?

I've lived in good areas and bad areas, and the police act very differently in each of those areas. So my impression is that, in both situations, the police are responding largely in reasonable ways to their environments.

So I believe that the ultimate fix to the "policing problem" is 1) Fix the economy so that most crime is no longer motivated and 2) Reinforce community values so that people don't feel so alienated from their community.

Of course, there will still be some crime - but it will be a relatively small amount.

I know this sounds baitish, but is it reasonable to yell "stop resisting" while beating someone?

I agree, of course. And is it reasonable to say "they were reaching for my gun" or "they were moving toward me" or "I felt threatened"? These all seem like well-practiced platitudes.

But having said that, I'm not sure that I would be much different if I were in their shoes. I travel - so I've spent time in bad parts of Jersey and Chicago. I would probably be doing the same thing to justify whatever I was doing to keep myself safe - including categorizing everybody as "the enemy".

We need to find and address root causes - patching symptoms won't work.

Your comment about you probably doing the same as police shows empathy (police are people from the general population), and your comments on finding root cause shows rationality. Your comment did not deserve a downvote.

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