Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe
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@jon-nyc said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
You live in suburbia. In NYC they walk around and talk to people a lot.
I still think Phibes is right that the relationship to policemen is different. Talking to a policeman here feels like talking to any other person. The threat of authority and potential violence isn't permanently in the air. That's different in the US, I think.
I mean, just look at the protocol of a standard traffic check. Americans stay in their car and are worried that they'll be shot otherwise. Policemen approach the car under the default assumption that somebody might draw a shotgun or something at any second. It's a situation with a lot of tension. If they want to detain you, even for very minor things, they handcuff you and throw you into a car with security glass. These kinds of things are very different here.
@Klaus said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
@jon-nyc said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
You live in suburbia. In NYC they walk around and talk to people a lot.
I still think Phibes is right that the relationship to policemen is different. Talking to a policeman here feels like talking to any other person. The threat of authority and potential violence isn't permanently in the air. That's different in the US, I think.
I mean, just look at the protocol of a standard traffic check. Americans stay in their car and are worried that they'll be shot otherwise. Policemen approach the car under the default assumption that somebody might draw a shotgun or something at any second. It's a situation with a lot of tension. If they want to detain you, even for very minor things, they handcuff you and throw you into a car with security glass. These kinds of things are very different here.
The difference is nothing new. An English friend of my dad's came over here in the 1960's, and got pulled over by the police for some minor infringement. As the cop walked over, my dad's friend opened the car door, with the idea of apologizing and explaining to the police. To his amazement, the cop pulled a gun on him.
And to repeat a point I've complained about in the past - if you want to forge a bond with the public, try ditching the militaristic looking riding breeches and the mirrored sunglasses.
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Deputize everyone
About 70 percent of America's firefighters are volunteers, and 85 percent of the nation's fire departments are all or mostly volunteer,
Make the PD work like the FD
Maybe use something like the military draft
@Copper said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
Deputize everyone
About 70 percent of America's firefighters are volunteers, and 85 percent of the nation's fire departments are all or mostly volunteer,
Make the PD work like the FD
Maybe use something like the military draft
Do you know how many Volunteer Firefighters are arsonists? You would be surprised. I would hate to see the same thing happen with police.
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@Copper said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
Deputize everyone
About 70 percent of America's firefighters are volunteers, and 85 percent of the nation's fire departments are all or mostly volunteer,
Make the PD work like the FD
Maybe use something like the military draft
Do you know how many Volunteer Firefighters are arsonists? You would be surprised. I would hate to see the same thing happen with police.
@LuFins-Dad said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
I would hate to see the same thing happen with police.
cnn would give you the impression that it already has.
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I would be interested in some input from Taiwan Girl.
She has extensive experience working throughout Asia or SE Asia, I'd like to know her assessment of what she has experienced or seen in terms of the police, and incarceration. With any luck, she's been in jail in some of these countries, and can give some firsthand input.
In terms of the police during the Soviet era, I was told by a relative that police are "like a hot stove." You stay away and avoid them altogether.
Many of the ideas everyone has expressed, have been tried in the past, or are currently part of the justice system. So, how is it that good ideas revert back to the mean, which is not acceptible? My guess is that budget and appropriations slowly decrease, that good programs and good ideas end up under the "there's not enough money in the budget."
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I would be interested in some input from Taiwan Girl.
She has extensive experience working throughout Asia or SE Asia, I'd like to know her assessment of what she has experienced or seen in terms of the police, and incarceration. With any luck, she's been in jail in some of these countries, and can give some firsthand input.
In terms of the police during the Soviet era, I was told by a relative that police are "like a hot stove." You stay away and avoid them altogether.
Many of the ideas everyone has expressed, have been tried in the past, or are currently part of the justice system. So, how is it that good ideas revert back to the mean, which is not acceptible? My guess is that budget and appropriations slowly decrease, that good programs and good ideas end up under the "there's not enough money in the budget."
@Rainman said in Police vs. Prisons in the US and Europe:
With any luck, she's been in jail in some of these countries, and can give some firsthand input.
LOL Rainman. I guess you have not read my book - "My Five Years in Thai Prison"
There are so many cultural differences that make comparisons between countries almost impossible as @Klaus and @Doctor-Phibes talk about.
On one far side is Japan (and other asian countries) - the good of society is more important than the good of any one individual. "Throw a piece of garbage on the street?? No way, that reflects badly on not only you, but the neighborhood, city, etc.
Society says that guns are inherently dangerous, so we are going to make it very very difficult to own a gun. No problem, says the individual."
There is much more a "us" mind think versus a "me" mind think. I sometimes am frustrated when I see people think more of themselves rather than the impact on others. But, that is the US way, and I dont think it will change very soon.
In general, (north) Asian culture wants you to conform to the average. It is good in keeping alot of things in line, but individual behavior is why the US has the greatest number of patents and inventions, etc/
