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To what standard should police be held?

What standard of behavior should police officers be held to?

  • They should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us.

    Votes: 38 74.5%

  • They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us.

    Votes: 9 17.6%

  • They should be held to a lower standard than the rest of us.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 4 7.8%
  • Total voters
    51
molten_dragon

molten_dragon

Anti-Hypocrite
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A lot of the time when discussions come up of police mishandling something, you get people defending them by saying how difficult their job is. That got me curious about how people feel about the subject in general?

To what standard of behavior do you think police officers should be held while on duty? Should they be held to the same standard as anyone else? Should they get some slack because of their difficult job? Or should they be held to a higher standard of behavior because of the enormous amount of power they wield?
 
molten_dragon said:
A lot of the time when discussions come up of police mishandling something, you get people defending them by saying how difficult their job is. That got me curious about how people feel about the subject in general?

To what standard of behavior do you think police officers should be held while on duty? Should they be held to the same standard as anyone else? Should they get some slack because of their difficult job? Or should they be held to a higher standard of behavior because of the enormous amount of power they wield?
Click to expand...

There should be clear rules of behavior stating when the police may do things that others may not, what they are allowed to do in general and they should wear head band cameras to show what they did, so they will not be falsely accused and condemned.
 
Super human of course. As soon as they put on a badge and a uniform it must be assumed they're a hairs breadth away from the Nazi Gestapo and the repeated failure to give those they arrest a letter of apology along with a copy of the arrest warrant proves they are nothing but jack booted, mentally defective thugs whose very existence is of zero value.

duh
 
I checked "Higher standard than the rest of us" and then I wished I could have taken it back. They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us when it comes to malfeasance on the job. You do something improper as a cop, you should have to pay the price. No more, no less.

Why is a cop who does something "improper" any worse an offender than a teacher who abuses a kid, or a CEO who abuses his power - or a politician who abuses his office?
 
X Factor said:
Super human of course. As soon as they put on a badge and a uniform it must be assumed they're a hairs breadth away from the Nazi Gestapo and the repeated failure to give those they arrest a letter of apology along with a copy of the arrest warrant proves they are nothing but jack booted, mentally defective thugs whose very existence is of zero value.

duh
Click to expand...

You've been reading the same threads that I have.;)
 
In any situation involving power dynamics, the one who has more power should be held to a higher moral standard. This is not to say that the other party should just be allowed to do whatever and held to no moral standard, but in this case the police should be held to a higher standard.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
In any situation involving power dynamics, the one who has more power should be held to a higher moral standard. This is not to say that the other party should just be allowed to do whatever and held to no moral standard, but in this case the police should be held to a higher standard.
Click to expand...

And, of course, there can be no acknowledgment of or allowances made for their humanity. They give that up anyway when they join the force.
 
tres borrachos said:
I checked "Higher standard than the rest of us" and then I wished I could have taken it back. They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us when it comes to malfeasance on the job. You do something improper as a cop, you should have to pay the price. No more, no less.

Why is a cop who does something "improper" any worse an offender than a teacher who abuses a kid, or a CEO who abuses his power - or a politician who abuses his office?
Click to expand...

hat's what the poll left out.

Legally, they have to be at the same standard but we should (as should they, themselves) be held to a higher standard when it comes to dealing with conflict.

From what I have seen the problem we have with all these cops who make YouTube is that they don't just fail to deescalate a tense situation, they make it worse. When I did that kind of thing I didn't have tasers and pepper spray and a bullet proof vest. I also didn't have backup very often. Because of those things it occurred to me that if I got pissed off people to calm down and/or didn't piss them off in the first place it would make my job a lot easier. Most of the time when I got to "put your hands behind your back" folks did so without resisting.

Then again, the folks I was dealing with had no desire to be on COPS. They were more the Dragnet and Adam-12 kind of criminal.
 
molten_dragon said:
A lot of the time when discussions come up of police mishandling something, you get people defending them by saying how difficult their job is. That got me curious about how people feel about the subject in general?

To what standard of behavior do you think police officers should be held while on duty? Should they be held to the same standard as anyone else? Should they get some slack because of their difficult job? Or should they be held to a higher standard of behavior because of the enormous amount of power they wield?
Click to expand...

I believe that they need to be held to a higher standard.

I should be held to a higher standard than the public in the job that I do because in that particular area I have more experience, more knowledge and more power...thus I need to be more accountable.

I expect it to be the same for them. They are trained professionals.

Now having said that, if they are not screened properly and if people are placed into roles/jobs where they simply can not rise to the level of competence and expectation, then those who oversee/lead/screen them need to be held accountable especially when things get FUBAR and that does happen as we all know.

Peter principal applies here too.

I think we need to remember that in situations which go awry.
 
X Factor said:
Super human of course. As soon as they put on a badge and a uniform it must be assumed they're a hairs breadth away from the Nazi Gestapo and the repeated failure to give those they arrest a letter of apology along with a copy of the arrest warrant proves they are nothing but jack booted, mentally defective thugs whose very existence is of zero value.

duh
Click to expand...

I just wish they would get out of the movie making business, myself. Hiring these exact lookalikes to indulge in menacing behavior and then doctor the footage to look like the grainy stuff captured on a surveillance camera -- I mean really now.

Have they no shame?
 
They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us.

I expect LE to work within the laws and standards of their job.
I expect people to work and live within the laws and standards we have.

If we did, we would have less conflict within the US
 
X Factor said:
And, of course, there can be no acknowledgment of or allowances made for their humanity. They give that up anyway when they join the force.
Click to expand...

Never said that, but good job on attempting to put words in people's mouths because you can't actually refute their statement.
 
mike2810 said:
They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us.

I expect LE to work within the laws and standards of their job.
I expect people to work and live within the laws and standards we have.

If we did, we would have less conflict within the US
Click to expand...

Nicely said, Mike.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
Never said that, but good job on attempting to put words in people's mouths because you can't actually refute their statement.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your complete capitulation. :2razz:
 
molten_dragon said:
A lot of the time when discussions come up of police mishandling something, you get people defending them by saying how difficult their job is. That got me curious about how people feel about the subject in general?

To what standard of behavior do you think police officers should be held while on duty? Should they be held to the same standard as anyone else? Should they get some slack because of their difficult job? Or should they be held to a higher standard of behavior because of the enormous amount of power they wield?
Click to expand...

Anytime life or death is in one's hands, they should be held to a higher responsibility and they should be advised when they accept such employment that is the official position. In this Nation, they have a cultural attitude to protect their own. I think that is a flawed attitude. They need support, but not protection.
 
DaveFagan said:
Anytime life or death is in one's hands, they should be held to a higher responsibility and they should be advised when they accept such employment that is the official position. In this Nation, they have a cultural attitude to protect their own. I think that is a flawed attitude. They need support, but not protection.
Click to expand...

Probably if they weren't constantly berated and accused of being murderers and being falsely accused of things like in the Tawana Brawley situation, they wouldn't have such a circle the wagons mentality.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
In any situation involving power dynamics, the one who has more power should be held to a higher moral standard. This is not to say that the other party should just be allowed to do whatever and held to no moral standard, but in this case the police should be held to a higher standard.
Click to expand...

I think you're spot on.

The difference here is akin to that of a parent disciplining a child. The process needs to be consistent, fair and firm while still showing love and compassion.

Cops should be experts at diffusing tense situations using the least amount of force necessary. A cop who is respectful to those he contacts under all but the most extreme circumstances will generate confidence and respect from the community.

I will grant that there are those that the cops will meet who will not respond to courtesy and reason. Some folks are just plain bad but most of them are also known in their community and the community will understand a more heavy handed approach when the cop deals with that person.
 
IThere job is to maintain order, and make the community safe, they should be held to a very high standard.
 
molten_dragon said:
A lot of the time when discussions come up of police mishandling something, you get people defending them by saying how difficult their job is. That got me curious about how people feel about the subject in general?

To what standard of behavior do you think police officers should be held while on duty? Should they be held to the same standard as anyone else? Should they get some slack because of their difficult job? Or should they be held to a higher standard of behavior because of the enormous amount of power they wield?
Click to expand...

A higher standard. For two reasons. 1) The power they wield. 2) The public trust they have been conferred.

It's interesting to note that many of the LEO sycophants aren't willing to give average people the same amount of lee-way that they want police to have. Pretty hypocritical.
 
tres borrachos said:
I checked "Higher standard than the rest of us" and then I wished I could have taken it back. They should be held to the same standard as the rest of us when it comes to malfeasance on the job. You do something improper as a cop, you should have to pay the price. No more, no less.

Why is a cop who does something "improper" any worse an offender than a teacher who abuses a kid, or a CEO who abuses his power - or a politician who abuses his office?
Click to expand...
In other words, you advocate increasing accountability from what it is right now, as currently police are seldom held to account for their actions.
 
With all the cop hate in the country. I propose that we disband all Police Departments.
Or all anyone who wants to, to opt out of police protection.
 
radcen said:
In other words, you advocate increasing accountability from what it is right now, as currently police are seldom held to account for their actions.
Click to expand...

Not true, we have officers fired all the time here for way less than shooting anyone.
 
radcen said:
In other words, you advocate increasing accountability from what it is right now, as currently police are seldom held to account for their actions.
Click to expand...

No, I never said that. I said they should be held to the same standard as the rest of us. My post was clear. I answered the poll question.
 
CRUE CAB said:
Not true, we have officers fired all the time here for way less than shooting anyone.
Click to expand...

So do we, including in our biggest city here in NH (Manchester).

They get fired for on the job malfeasance, and off the job malfeasance.
 
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