America's police forces, in every state, require reform, and I'm talking about more than just mandatory body cameras. The problem is not that there are bad cops out there. The problem is that our police forces' judiciary systems fail to do anything about them. In 2008 and 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint with the Justice Department accusing the Newark, N.J. police department of misconduct. The investigation yielded that only one of 261 filed complaints was sustained by the department's internal investigations. I find it hard to believe that 260 of those complaints were unjustified. Bad officers require accountability. Someone needs to police our police, because they definitely aren't doing an adequate job of it.
Growing up, my best friend's father was a police officer. Once, at dinner, I can recall him saying, "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride." I think what he meant was that your defense attorney can get you an innocent verdict or get your charges dropped, but you can't avoid the giant hassle involved with being sucked into the maelstrom of our legal system. Don't get me wrong, I have respect for the man, but this way of thinking is messed up. Officers shouldn't even be conscious of the "ride.” If someone deserves the rap, they deserve the rap, but no one deserves the ride. To me, this just highlights how bulletproof the average officer feels. Too many times have I seen a squad car blast past me on the freeway with no lights or sirens. They simply act with impunity, content with the knowledge that they are immune to the laws that they are supposed to enforce. I still don't understand how someone with body cameras might help, but regardless, a reform of internal affairs investigations and discipline is far more important.
We also can't forget that there are also a lot of good cops out there. In fact, the majority of alleged violations of power are due to a small minority of officers who are repeat offenders. Just as in all walks of life, some police officers are just prone to thuggery and selfish behavior. The majority of people, in general, are functional members of society who do their jobs honestly — just like the majority of police officers. Unfortunately, however, the bad apples with badges don't get punished like those without.
Why aren't there any civilian organizations that aim to police the police? Obviously, they can't do it themselves. The general public so far can only hope to increase scrutiny, but what is scrutiny without a means to action? I realize full well that there is more at play here than just discipline for bad officers, but that alone would be a great start. Discipline can't be in the hands of those being investigated. Ultimately, the police represent how the government leverages violence to control citizens, and so far, that arm of violence is allowed to move completely independently. It is completely unchecked, and I believe that this is wrong.
