Lately I've been hearing a disturbing sentiment both from current news and from persons I know personally here in the city where I live.Black people are saying that they do not want the police in their neighborhoods.They don't want community policing,they are no longer committed to developing strong relationships with law enforcement."Just stay away,You're not wanted here" one of my friends once said of police in 2011.Before the era of Black Lives Matter.
This year has been the year of the gun here in Toronto.A disturbing number of victims seem to be young black men in black neighborhoods.As a white person,I've walked in some of these neighborhoods and,for the most part I feel reasonably safe.Each there is another killing I'm assured "it's business.If you have no part of that business,you are not in danger." What I take this to mean is that it's come to be viewed as business as usual,to the point that those in certain neighborhoods would prefer that law enforcement just stay away,and let the situation remain as is.And,the reason for this preference is,in many cases that fear and mistrust of the police now outweighs fear of being violated by criminal activity within some communities.
But if you think the solution is to have police stay away,you'd better be careful what you are wishing for.Absence of law enforcement can only be called anarchy,and I'm hard pressed to understand who would choose to live under such a system.
To be certain mistrust of police would seem to be justified in some cases.The face of policing has changed in just the last few years,to a more impersonal,more militarized model.I used to see cops walking the beat nearly everywhere,stopping to talk to merchants and housewives,black and white alike.They were visible within the community,everybody knew them and their activities were based on respectful interactions with the public.To be certain the long arm of the law was there when needed to protect the rights and safety of all.But where has that model gone?Now,inasmuch as I've been able to observe, the typical police action seems to involve one or more police cars swooping down on suspects,or perhaps persons who are not even suspected of any particular.The presence is sudden and heavily armed,and there is nothing to be seen of the perhaps archaic idea of establishing good rapport within communities.Any emphasis on rights is not visibly apparent.
I live in suburban Toronto,far from those neighborhoods where most violence,either police or criminal is taking place.My neighborhood is a mix of white and Asian,mostly Korean,with smaller numbers of other visible minorities.It is not a predominantly black neighborhood,and,for that reason I'm sure my view is possibly skewed.I simply don't have the same experience relating to police as most young black males.But I can understand the growing mistrust.
However,a preference for anarchy is an unacceptable solution to a very real problem.Those suggesting it,including some individuals involved in Black Lives Matter,are simply jumping to the most extreme imaginable solution rather than suggesting other,less restrictive means.And they have the obligation not to simply oppose,but to involve themselves in proposing ways of bettering their communities.Dissent and outright opposition to police are not remotely the same thing.
What might some of the solutions look like?Well,perhaps restoring the idea of community policing would be a place to start.Restore the storefront police stations,put officers in the schools,require community service of law enforcement officers in the communities in which they work.So,along with patrolling the streets,officers would be involved in such things as coaching basketball or teaching literacy as part of their duties.
Moreover,does it not seem reasonable to actively recruit police officers from the communities being policed,especially where those communities are the ones that have identified trust issues with the police.Far better perhaps that enforcement be done by neighbors,rather than some random response by someone from outside those communities.It would seem to me that trust starts at home.
Reducing the militarization of police should be a higher priority as well.This seems to have come about in the post 9/11 era.Whether it's actually as result of a perceived danger of terrorist attacks or not really can't be established for certain.But I would note,that that perceived danger has grown into something other than a war on terror.It's grown into an undeclared war on Islam and on Muslims,many of whom are people of color living in those communities where police violence is most prevalent.Simply put,no government should be in the business of fighting an undeclared war,anywhere.Thus,heavily militarized police in some areas is going to be seen as existentially hostile.It's hard to view police as being there for your safety,as being someone to be trusted when it appears that you have been identified as an enemy.
Ideally I would like to see organizations such as Black Lives Matter proposing constructive solutions to the current situation.But that means they will have to drop the posture of complete opposition and take up an approach of diligent dissent.But to declare a preference for anarchy is simply an abdication of responsibility for ones own community and ones own best interests.
Blyndpapaya
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