Why are American cops such psychopaths?

All cops are psychopaths everywhere. Jesus Christ didn’t you see Les Miserables?

Canadian cops aren’t quite that bad but they’re scummy too. Especially to native people.

Ahem.

Part of that is gun culture, they're terrified they might get shot so they go around shooting everyone they think MIGHT have a gun

We see no problem.

It’s the guns. Everyone in America is carrying one and that makes cops paranoid. Also,black males, should let themselves,be arrested quietly and not fight back or try to escape.That would help too.

It's especially a U.S. thing.

*American* cops? I'd say this applies any military or police force that uses guns.

Really there is a very thin line between cops and criminals. They both use violence, force, and containment/imprisonment to solve problems and see themselves as above or outside of society. Cops should be doing as a service to society or to meet some moral code but in reality, a lot of them are military minded and not much good at anything else.

[quote]Also,black males, should let themselves,be arrested quietly and not fight back or try to escape.That would help too.

zzzzzzz

Two things happened. In the 60s, the first SWAT units were formed in California to respond to sniper shootings that had taken place. Then pretty quickly, SWAT teams became part of almost all major police departments across the county. Initially they were charged with dealing with special assignments where there was a crisis like an active shooter or someone with hostages. Later they began being used to bust up drug rings in raids. Today, they've used them to do things as mundane as deliver warrants to non-violent offenders.

The police became more and more militarized as SWAT teams grew. Then in 1997, under Bill Clinton, a program called 1033 was created to provide local police departments with military grade weapons and equipment. So suddenly the PD have SWAT teams that are armed like the military with little to do besides brutalize people during minor things like serving warrants and responding to less than urgent calls.

And the effect of having these SWAT teams broadly influenced the behavior of all police officers. Whereas they used to be "walk the beat" police officers, they now all think that they're soldiers in a war (which is almost understandable because we armed them like they are) and they brutally overreact to every situation.

And that is part of why people have been calling to Defund the Police.

Because America sucks the conservative tit.

Thanks r10

We're also a criminal nation. Much less crime in places like Japan.

R13 You mean CIVILIZED countries.

Badly trained, poorly paid, inadequate supervision. Same as in most Third World countries.

In my county (which is in the top 1% of wealthiest counties in the US), there is a HUGE county jail, kept chock-a-block full 365 days a year. This is because the Feds pays the county a certain per diem for each occupant- which is less (around here, considerably less) than what it actually costs. So, you multiply several hundred bodies * 365 days * net excess and you get a really significant pile of money.

It is always fun to ask friends of mine what they think my county's annual sheriff's department budget is, and then tell them the real number. They invariably guess considerably less than a third of the real number.

A considerable percentage of the inmates are there for minor drug stuff, THC primarily. This is why there is so much pushback on legalizing pot (which I personally have never tried even once in my entire life, same with cigarettes), because the profit loss for this crew would hurt, and hurt a lot.

It's the power.

R10 I wish I could give you more than 1 WW.

Many are vets from the endless Afgan war with serious alcohol and drug problems. Protect & Serve means nothing to these wanna be "warriors". License to kill is their mind set and we have replaced the Taliban in their PTSD psyches. No it's just not a "few bad apples".

R11 And licks the authoritarian boot.

A big part of it is the separation of cops from the neighborhoods they work in. All cops should have to reside within the city they serve. If that means housing subsidies in high COL areas, so be it. NYPD must live in one of the five boroughs OR Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, WC, Putnam, or Orange County. So you have a lot of NYPD who are essentially LI white supremacists policing a city with a lot of minorities. The second issue is the lack of beat cops, cops who live in the cities they serve and walk around the neighborhood where they would interact and get to know the local residents. Cops unions have shut that down, and now nearly all cops police their beats in cruisers with rolled-up windows, which increases their separation from the communities they serve.

And the issue of Defund the Police. It's a good thing for the police and the community. Cops are not trained to deal with people having mental health issues. Defund would divert some police budget to social workers who are trained to deal with those situations. It puts cops in less danger and the community in less danger. But as with a lot of things, Democrats have shit messaging and couldn't convey to the drooling MAGATs what Defund the Police actually meant.

Because the minimum standards required to be hired as a police officer are far too low. There is little to no psychological profiling done on recruits. And the training standards at most police academies are absolute trash. There are cops all over America who graduate from police academies who are functionally illiterate. Plus, police unions have far too much power to protect bad cops.

R21, that’s because it was so poorly worded from day one, “Defund” and “Police” in the same phrase are a real problem.

R16, do not share your town but could you please share the name of the jail?