Fogdog
Well-Known Member
We should listen to this guy:
www.cbsnews.com
DAVID BROWN: It's still true. You know, when a third of our prison population suffer from mental health issues. And basically the prisons aren't meant to be mental health providers. And that translates to cops having to deal with people who are mentally ill. Who- We don't have the training for that. And we just kind of by default take on that task.
I try to say things to cops and to citizens like this. Policing is the people business. It's not the enforcement business. And - and if you take away people from this formula, you lose the very nature of what policing is supposed to be about. We're supposed to be protecting people.
He makes a great point. Over the decades, more and more funding went to policing while mental health services, public education, and even animal control (re: cops chasing down llamas) were cut. He's right. Police are used in many capacities for which they have little training. For all of that money, we have a system that no longer serves and protects. It's become an institution that demands more from us while delivering the opposite of public safety.
So, let's listen to Officer Brown. Divert funds from police and fund social services so that we can have mental health professionals deal with mental health issues. Defund police so that drug treatment programs are available to addicts. Defund police and fund programs for at-risk youth.
I'm not going to use Trump's stupid line -- "what have you got to lose?", I'd rather we use reason, understanding, empathy and experience to guide us. We've put hundreds of thousands of additional cops on the streets but don't have the money to fix a city's lead-contaminated pipes. Fixing those pipes will pay off in lower crime rates within a very short time.
Also, end the war on drugs. Completely defund THAT.
So, let's listen to Office Brown and defund police so that the money can go into programs where it will actually reduce crime. He says they don't have the training for those services and from what I've seen the past few weekends, they don't have much training to be officers of the peace either.
Transcript: Former Dallas Police Chief David Brown on "Face the Nation," July 9, 2017
"Face the Nation" sat down with former Dallas Police Chief David Brown a year after five officers on his force were targeted and killed
www.cbsnews.com
DAVID BROWN: It's still true. You know, when a third of our prison population suffer from mental health issues. And basically the prisons aren't meant to be mental health providers. And that translates to cops having to deal with people who are mentally ill. Who- We don't have the training for that. And we just kind of by default take on that task.
I try to say things to cops and to citizens like this. Policing is the people business. It's not the enforcement business. And - and if you take away people from this formula, you lose the very nature of what policing is supposed to be about. We're supposed to be protecting people.
He makes a great point. Over the decades, more and more funding went to policing while mental health services, public education, and even animal control (re: cops chasing down llamas) were cut. He's right. Police are used in many capacities for which they have little training. For all of that money, we have a system that no longer serves and protects. It's become an institution that demands more from us while delivering the opposite of public safety.
So, let's listen to Officer Brown. Divert funds from police and fund social services so that we can have mental health professionals deal with mental health issues. Defund police so that drug treatment programs are available to addicts. Defund police and fund programs for at-risk youth.
I'm not going to use Trump's stupid line -- "what have you got to lose?", I'd rather we use reason, understanding, empathy and experience to guide us. We've put hundreds of thousands of additional cops on the streets but don't have the money to fix a city's lead-contaminated pipes. Fixing those pipes will pay off in lower crime rates within a very short time.
Also, end the war on drugs. Completely defund THAT.
So, let's listen to Office Brown and defund police so that the money can go into programs where it will actually reduce crime. He says they don't have the training for those services and from what I've seen the past few weekends, they don't have much training to be officers of the peace either.
