Originally Posted by
David A. Rowe
Respectfully, but utterly disagree. I mean... the Pinkertons. Also, there are actually still privatized police forces: the railroads.
Privatizing the police force will be like pouring Dawn instead of bleach into a stopped-up toilet when the clog runs all the way to the street and beyond. We need to hold politicians accountable at the state and local level first and foremost. From them, the executive functions of policy and practice that drive the way police behave will change over time, but it all starts with people paying attention, thinking, and then doing their civic duty to be involved enough to hold people accountable. Recent examples of this, nationwide, have demonstrated that our ruling elites typically fold like a cheap card table
Actually, I think it would be beneficial to have states decide on supplementing local and county police agencies in order to raise salaries where it's most needed: rural areas. The problem, now, is that those areas are so underfunded because they have almost non-existent tax bases (that are already terribly overburdened by federal taxes) that they can't afford to pay police well. That leaves two people who get into and STAY in policing long-term. Those who are sufficiently dedicated for the right reasons... or the wrong reasons. That's also, actually, Reagan's fault to some extent.