As a freelance writer, I am lucky, in that my work compels me to learn and think about many things that I would not otherwise deal with. For the last few weeks, I have been participating in the local police Citizens Academy, here in Waltham, MA. It's a program they offer a few times a year to the general public, free of charge. Various policemen participate in this program, and I am certain that they are picked because they know how to talk, and they love the work they do for the force. This is, after all, a wonderful chance for them to enhance the public image of our police force. When considered from that standpoint, this class is largely a success. Most of the people who come to these classes are enthusiastic about what they learn there. And most of the men who have been talking are intelligent and thoughtful.
However, this writer has a number of questions about the philosophy these men have been speaking. Questions about the rightness of what they do. My questions were crystallized on the evening two women officers spoke with us. These were good, caring women who spoke of what it was like to work in a male dominated profession where being physically fit and aggressive are considered absolutely necessary. Among the things they said is that most women do not have the upper body strength that most men have, so when they are in a situation where they are expected to subdue a presumed criminal, or bad man, as they like to call such people, they cannot do this with punches and kicks as easily as a man could. Instead, they must talk him down.
This writer asked whether they received training to do this, and their answer was no, that they had to learn how to manage while on the job. The young woman who answered my question said that the emphasis here is on the use of force, much as if the police force were part of the army. Some of the men spoke of getting their kicks by shooting weapons at people in the name of crowd control. Their job is to uphold the law, and defend the status quo. They are not there to make waves, or to make drastic changes in policy regarding how our laws will be upheld.
In this country, which has the highest proportion of its population in prison, one of their detectives said that 90 percent of the crimes they receive are never solved. Even so, it is their job to arrest someone. And then, no matter what the stated ideals are, it is up to that person to prove he is innocent.
Men are chosen for this job because they enjoy using force against other people, and in many situations they have only fractional seconds to decide how they will deal with what is happening. Logic would tell you that yes, there will b an abundance of incidents of police using more force than would be necessary. It is no wonder that nearly every day another story comes out in the news concerning police brutality. And it is easy to see why the general population does not trust policemen.
The problem lies in our system, and this is just one more sign that it is sick. However, last night I rode around with one police officer for a couple of hours. It was a quiet night. He drove up one street and down another, covering his beat, and we spent that time talking. He was a thoughtful and well educated young man, who reads and analyzes what he reads, and he thinks about how his job affects the rest of society. And I am gladdened to know that there are such men on the force.
