I can't say, either. I moved from the US to a country where police training takes 4 years and cops generally are, and are perceived as, a force for good. Everything is much more relaxed. My friend and I even had a drunken rager of an evening with a pair of off-duty cops and it was a lot of fun.
I'm not sure what it would take to get there in the US, but whatever obstacles are in the way to true reform are not only the fault of police, but are pretty deep-seated social issues.
Particularly, the US has a political legacy of expediency being successful and popularly supported, while adhering to principles is seen as pointy-headed pedantry. When it comes to the portrayal of law enforcement and criminal defense in popular tv shows and movies, more often than not, protagonists bend the rules to catch criminals who otherwise use procedural loopholes to evade justice. So, the people that adhere to principles are the villains, and the people who bend the rules are heroes. This social current manifests in real, actual political life when partisans promote or cherry-pick gossip and news that they themselves know are false, but if widely believed will harm their political opponents.
This trend hits US cops specifically in two ways. The first is that bending the rules is expected and sticking to principle is not rewarded. And that's not by "the leadership" but by you, you reading this - if you have ever thrilled to a hero bending the rules. The second is that even cops who do stick to principles can be savaged in the media with a presumption of guilt because everyone knows ACAB.
I agree that the whole “Jack Bauer bends the rules and the terrorists are thwarted—therefore the end justifies the means” trope is harmful. But this isn’t what’s wrong with general day-to-day policing today. Focusing enforcement on (profiling) black people and shooting everything in sight without accountability aren’t examples of bending the rules. They are standard procedure, sanctioned and supported by police chiefs, DA’s and judges. This isn’t cops taking shortcuts like Jack Bauer, it’s cops doing exactly what is encouraged and rewarded.
I'm not sure what it would take to get there in the US, but whatever obstacles are in the way to true reform are not only the fault of police, but are pretty deep-seated social issues.
Particularly, the US has a political legacy of expediency being successful and popularly supported, while adhering to principles is seen as pointy-headed pedantry. When it comes to the portrayal of law enforcement and criminal defense in popular tv shows and movies, more often than not, protagonists bend the rules to catch criminals who otherwise use procedural loopholes to evade justice. So, the people that adhere to principles are the villains, and the people who bend the rules are heroes. This social current manifests in real, actual political life when partisans promote or cherry-pick gossip and news that they themselves know are false, but if widely believed will harm their political opponents.
This trend hits US cops specifically in two ways. The first is that bending the rules is expected and sticking to principle is not rewarded. And that's not by "the leadership" but by you, you reading this - if you have ever thrilled to a hero bending the rules. The second is that even cops who do stick to principles can be savaged in the media with a presumption of guilt because everyone knows ACAB.
How do we fix all of that?