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Comment by a34729t | Hacker News Reader

Exactly. People complain police dont prevent crime, but dont realize that is not their purpose. The police exist to protect the government, not the people.

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The police are there to enforce laws, but enforce it by punishment, rather than prevention. The potential deterrence effect still applies, as people do get discouraged from crimes by the mere presence of the police. However, there is zero legal duty for the police to protect someone who is currently under attack from a criminal.

> However, there is zero legal duty for the police to protect someone who is currently under attack from a criminal.

That has to be incorrect, by the time someone is under actual attack from a criminal that criminal will have allready comitted crimes that the police can and have to punish for, i.e. Threat of Force with a Lethal weapon or sth like that.

Legally, the police do not have to swoop in to stop someone who is actively murdering you. They can just wait until later and write a report after you’re dead.

1981 Warren v. District of Columbia

Police don't prevent crime, they arrest and charge people for committing crime.

Arresting people because they might/could commit a crime would be a bad route to go down.

> The police exist to protect the government, not the people.

The police exist to protect the rule of the land. The military exists to protect the government.

"You see there are people who believe the function of the police is to fight crime, and that's not true, the function of the police is social control and protection of property."

- Michael Parenti

Which part of the government protects the people?

None of it

The part that is afraid of not getting voted in next election. As long as they make the voting ticket a two party/person race and ensure that their voters believe the opposition is the literal devil, then they don't have to be too afraid

Luckily that has never happened /s

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