Two things, we need for the cops to live in the areas where they serve, and we need for the cops to realize that just because people are poor does NOT mean that they are evil.
The cops live in the nice middle class neighborhoods and they come in to patrol the poor neighborhoods like they are superior, they come into the poor neighborhoods to bust bad people instead of feeling like part of the community. The community is at the bodega, drinking beer, and smoking pot, and eating tacos, etc, and there is a sense of community, and then the cops roll in like outsiders and like bullies and they harass people. The community ends up not liking the police, instead of realizing that the police are there to help them in the case of an emergency.
So, the cops need to live in the communities, and they need to be from the communities they serve, so that they know that these are good people, and the cops need to feel like they are a beloved part of the community instead of being outsiders.
The cops need to live in the communities, and they need to have families and friends in the communities, and the cops need to be more like the Cub Scouts, to protect and serve, and less like the Nazi Brown Shirts. Right now the cops are like outsiders, and they violate people's Constitutional Rights and these people do not even know their rights and they never read the Constitution. The cops need to be there to help people, instead of just trying to arrest them and bust them and harass them.
If all that the cops do is harass you and bust and arrest you, then that is not a good relationship to have within our communities. The cops need to live in the neighborhoods, and they need to go to the community barbecues, etc, and they need to have family and friends in the neighborhoods.
We also need to train Crisis Intervention Specialists, and we need more Wellness Centers, etc, and Mental Health Associations, etc.
Also, I had a cool thought, the senior citizens are lonely and bored in retirement homes, we could get them to run crisis intervention help-lines, they can learn how to run suicide prevention hot-lines, etc. Our senior citizens love to help people.
Salute,
Tony V.
