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Comment by dade_ | Hacker News Reader

Not questionable if it is a Mosque in 2017, which is the next logical place for this to head. Then we can also have Jewish police, born again police, Catholic police. And what if 2 churches are next to each other? Maybe they can build a wall with turrets.

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Don't know where you live, but my old neighborhood in NYC had a Jewish police force - the Shomrim.

...neighboring police forces routinely battle each other in the present day U.S.?

So when do we build the game software and virtual reality playground to tell this police force how to arrest people? /s

They argue about jurisdiction, etc, but they don't usually actually clash.

But government police forces are all working for the same people. These religion-based police forces are definitely not.

> But government police forces are all working for the same people.

Not really.

In Arkansas, the county sheriff is elected - as is the Justice of the Peace, who has limited police powers as well. There are also state police, municipal police, and various state and federal agencies with law enforcement powers. Each of these groups work for different entities, some of which are mutually exclusive.

> These religion-based police forces are definitely not.

A police force operated by a church is no more "religion-based" than the Securitas guy standing outside the grocery store is "retail-based".

That depends. To whom do the police officers swear their loyalty?

If their highest authority is The Constitution and they are trained and act as if it is, then maybe it's OK.

But, this is a church. The church's highest authority is not The Constitution and that immediately calls into question who is the highest authority for any police officer hired and sworn by the church.

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