If you want to change law enforcement for the better, the very first thing to change is insignia.
Using military rank in police departments brings a built in automatic mental militarization of police agencies.
I just watched a West Virginia sherif interviewed on CBS talking about how police wanted to serve the community. He was wearing a uniform with Four stars on his shoulder boards. He seemed to view himself as the military equivalent of a four star general. The utilization of excess military vehicles and combat gear designed for war zones is an extension of this mindset that alienates and intimidates; an extension of Militarization.
Cops wear stripes and brass as indicators of responsibility and authority. We see these every day and think little about the implications. The military has a very different job description than civilian law enforcement. The military at its very base is designed to kill people, period. It of course has morphed into a much more versatile agency, but nonetheless, it is still and always will be designed to kill people.
Our police departments should not be emulating this. They are not designed to act as military agencies nor should they see themselves as such. They are first and foremost protectors and should be, and can be, uniformed in a way that reflects this.
It’s a simple thing, changing uniforms and rank designations. Delinking this military mentality from law enforcement is fundamental to bringing law enforcement into the modern era.
= new reply since forum marked as read
