A new lawsuit filed in federal court last month alleges that the Baton Rouge Police Department ran a “torture warehouse” where members of its Street Crimes Unit strip searched, beat, and otherwise humiliated people and then released them, often without their being charged with a crime. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, the FBI opened a civil rights investigation into the allegations of misconduct at the now-shuttered warehouse known as “the BRAVE Cave.”
I would like some feedback on a dumb idea I have. I'm sure it has major flaws, including it being a pipe dream that could never get put into action.
All police departments are required to be unionized (at whatever resolution the motion is passed, local, state, whatever.).
Police unions are now responsible for all pensions and benefits, and funded via police salaries. However, municipalities are no longer required to fund any kind of police misconducts or settlements. The funds for these lawsuits come directly from police pensions, and if need be, directly from police paychecks. As well, eliminate qualified immunity and double the penalties for police misconduct of any kind.
The only way I can think to make reforms to the system apart from its elimination ( which is a pipe dream) is to make make them feel it in their wallets directly, and to make all department members accountable for the conduct of any department members. This would necessitate a cultural transformation, because the old timers who define that culture don't want their retirements to be chipped away by jr's doing dumb shitty things.
Thoughts? I'm sure the idea has flaws, but the force of economic violence can be very coercive.
You'd have to add a provision that any money received in fines or tickets or other such stuffs gets sent to the fed to be shredded so they don't try to float their boat by ticketing people over every little thing.
But honestly I could see it working.
The main problem with this is that the hits these days are in the millions of dollars and that adds up fast. So the inevitable result even with just good faith mistakes would be that people would stop being cops. People who could be good cops wouldn't join to replace them because of the risk, and the entire thing would likely just disintegrate.
On the one hand fine! On the other hand, what takes its place?
This is not intended to be a pro-cop argument, just an explanation of the problem. We need a social institution that can fill that gap in a better way.
I prefer the insurance angle, where LEOs have to carry insurance similar to how doctors carry malpractice insurance. Any settlements are paid for by insurance instead of the department; officers who cause problems will have their rates go up, until they eventually become uninsurable.
Pretty appropriate way to handle it with current "systems and institutions", too, nice.
City of Chicago is 22,000 police officers short of full enforcement. That means the good ones have left and they can't fire the bad ones, and they pay ridiculous salaries because nobody wants to be a cop. That song ain't called "fuck the firemen"
oh noes, glorified parking tickets task force will not be able to assassinate on the job :'<
there are trained social workers and there are proper SWAT teams to replace this fat underbelly of bureaucracy and corruption
Sarcasm aside, there's still gangs and prostitution and shoplifters and domestic violence and all that. Some sort of public safety mechanism needs to exist.
Oh my god, prostitution? What will we do in a world where two consenting adults trade services for money? Thank god we have paid murderers on hand to ensure that can’t happen!
I'll second this.
Sure, let's overlook the girls forced into prostitution and pretend they are all consenting adults. Until it is legalized and regulated it's is an area prone to abuse and exploitation.
Gangs and DV are often problems the cops themselves are some of the worst offenders in, and sex work should be legal anyways.
Shop lifting is best handled through trial afterwards rather than intervention during.
The rare instances where an intervention of force is actually necessary could be covered by NG reserves or FBI field agents if a force is seriously so incompetent that they bankrupt themselves on liability.
Slowly we're getting back to "cops, but without corruption"
the police does not PREVENT any of it
No, but how do we as a society respond, thoughts and prayers or some sort of actual response?
I'd love to hear your suggestions.
Lol. Love the downvotes.
No response! Only criticize!
Welcome to lemmy