People are woefully uninformed on the profession, law and the policy of their agencies where they live. Even with my military experience and the fact that I had a lot of veteran and civilian LEO friends, I was also extremely uninformed before I went into the career. There is a certain amount of tragedy in the police-public interaction because of that gap. The two problems you mentioned are overwhelmingly driven by department policy and political/budgetary pressure from the local, county, state or federal government.
So, again. I'm not defending others, but allow me to offer some suggestions.
1. If you want to get a taste of critical scenario, try to find a department, academy or training facility who has a VirTra training setup and ask them if they will run you through it.
2. If you want to understand a little of what a typical LEOs day is like, request a ride along. See for yourself and inform your opinions further. Ask them questions, and if they are allowed to answer you may be surprised at the nuances of the answer. I did many ride-alongs leading up to my decision to switch careers.
3. Request a copy of your locals LEA's policy, and read it cover to cover. Ask about what you're interested in (ticket quotas, asset forfeiture, etc.).
4. Use resources like
US Law, Case Law, Codes, Statutes & Regulations :: Justia Law to review state law. Find or ask for a copy of local ordinances. Review what your states criminal procedure entails, and brush up on constitutional law.