You have correctly identified an obvious second-order effect of disbanding police departments. Americans have a long history of committees of vigilance, and the obvious outcome of a vacuum of authority will not be a lack of order, at least not for long.
The question is, as always, cui bono? If rule of our inner-city streets gets handed over to cartels and street gangs, doesn’t that tend to move power towards Democratic constituencies? If committees of vigilance begin policing the boundaries between inner cities and suburbs, doesn’t that provide more of the erstwhile prole racism that our media and cultural elites seem to think is always simmering below the surface of American life?
I think it’s likely that “abolish the police” is in part a negotiating tactic, a sort of anchoring. But it is telling that at a point in time where they could have pursued broad bipartisan police reform, the activist groups chose “abolish/defund the police”, a demand that will be rightly seen as insane among a bipartisan supermajority. They could have collected a win, even if it wasn’t everything they desired. Instead they opted for maximum division. It will be interesting to see what path Minneapolis chooses.
The reason for that is likely two fold…1. Expensive communities are never affordable to law enforcement. They almost always live nearby and commute. That’s not unique to NYC. And number 2…living within your immediate patrol areas really exposes your family to the risks of policing. Many officers won’t live within the jurisdiction they work; especially awkward when you’ve gotta arrest your neighbor whose kids plays little league with your kid. Cops like to compartmentalize, and for good reason.
I could be wrong to apply this broadly, many LEO might take exception with the reasons I’ve given, but I’ve definitely known those for whom these were real reasons.
But NYC teachers do have the residency requirement. That surprised me.
The way NYC does it has some flexibility, especially given the city’s size. No one actually has to live in the neighborhood they serve. Which might make the whole thing moot for the most public-facing folks.
You make a good point about separation of concerns, but the more I think about it, even better. It’s awkward, but it’s how we want the church to work. Discipline by those who know and love us. What a growth experience to maintain relationships with those who can admonish you privately while still respecting you in front of others.
Clearly, there are limits in multiple extremes. But it’d be a nice general rule.
When I lived in Cambridge, Mass., as an adult, I spoke to many cops, and never found one who lived in the city. But neither did many of the professors or execs, at least not many of the family men. Even those who could afford to live in the city where they worked/taught/served/pastored, if they had families, they preferred different settings. I was only able to be there, because I was splitting the rent three ways. I visited my old landlord in December…the rent has tripled in 10 years!
I definitely wouldn’t want the Cambridge Police to be made up only of yuppie DINKs. So, yeah, fathers from other cities need to be a part of the law and order.
It is discouraging to see how there is so much social upheaval going on as a reaction to this great tragedy.
I recently went on a prayer walk in the looted neighborhood here in Milwaukee, being organized by several local churches. Several officers followed us to serve as escorts. After we were done (short prayer walk!), I turned to the officers and asked how we could pray for them. I expected them to say something about the need of their own personal or family safety. Instead I was almost shocked when the nearest officer, after a thoughtful pause, asked for their hearts to remain soft as they are doing their job.
Before I prayed for them, I apologize to them, telling the officers that as pastors if we have been more faithful to our call, their job wouldn’t be so hard. Judgment does begin in the household of God. Pray for our nation. We have much to repent for. I spoke with a Chinese pastor who was born at the tail end of the cultural revolution. He is deathly afraid for U.S. Much of the talk today to him sounds like the same rhetoric used during the cultural revolution. The pastor told me amazing prayers of Christians in China which results in the growth of Christianity and revival in many parts of China. May God do that for us today.
I don’t know. The recent New York police union press conference actually made me think the police unions may be the only entities that haven’t completely lost their minds recently. Link below.
Watching mayors and lawmakers capitulate to rioters has been so surreal. Principles, reason and argument no longer have any place in our governing system. It’s all about sound bytes and positioning. Get the right photo ops, say the right things in the right places to appeal to the right demographics. Get indignant about the right tweets, etc.
Our hatred for authority as a culture is on rampant display right now. We have sown the wind, and we are presently reaping the whirlwind. We’re seeing actual mob rule right now. Civil leaders are literally bowing down to mobs. Bow down to the mob demands, or be destroyed. No discussion. No debate. Bow down, or face the wrath of the mob.
Mob justice is not justice. It can never be justice.
Like all unions, police unions have in part devoted themselves to protecting bad actors in their midst. While I certainly sympathize with workers who are unfairly targeted by management and have been protected by unions, protecting bad actors with badges is reprehensible behavior and directly undermines the trust that’s required between the public and law enforcement. Police officers and police unions are now being forced to lie in the bed that they’ve made for themselves.
I strongly agree. Watching the situation nationwide, with the newly-independent country in the middle of Seattle being but the latest example, I am terrified. It seems that there are no adults left among American leaders, elected, law enforcement or military. God have mercy on us.
