Questions tagged [police]
Questions related to the civil force of a state, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.
114
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9k views
Are police in Western European countries right-wing or left-wing?
In America, the police have a reputation for being politically conservative. One rarely sees clashes between conservative demonstrators and police.
In Europe, though, there seem to be lots of clashes ...
18
votes
3answers
4k views
What happens to rank-and-file law-enforcement after major regime change [closed]
The question is inspired by the current situation in Myanmar, but since at the time of writing what will happen remains to be seen and obviously people on here can't predict the future, but surely ...
6
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1answer
471 views
Why do so many Sheriffs run unopposed in the US?
I read that nearly 60% of the incumbent Sheriffs run unopposed. Why is that?
10
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3answers
504 views
Do other countries provide police the same degree of immunity that USA police officers have?
In the USA, police have a high degree of immunity for their actions in the line of duty. It is nearly impossible to sue an individual officer due to qualified immunity, and one can't sue a precinct ...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
Is there a “unified command” over all the defense forces in Washington D.C.?
A Unified Combatant Command is a task organized command structure used to coordinate forces around one objective. Examples include CENTCOM (https://www.centcom.mil/), which coordinates the armed ...
2
votes
2answers
124 views
What can be done at the Federal level to increase police accountability? [duplicate]
There are a vast wealth of carefully documented instances with video evidence of police misconduct in the US. Often times the departments internally investigate and find no wrongdoing, even when it's ...
3
votes
1answer
195 views
Can members of congress carry weapons into the chamber?
Congresswoman Boebert has stated that she will bring a loaded glock into the DC. The article here says that weapons can be carried around the streets of Washington D.C but a permit is required. ...
14
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5answers
1k views
Comparing the summer of 2020's BLM protests to the events at the Capitol on 6th January, 2021
I realize that this is a contentious matter and do not want to start a heated discussion. In fact, having just come from one, I don't want a discussion at all - just some dispassionate, neutral, ...
14
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2answers
458 views
Did the FBI inform the US Capitol Police on the level of possible threat on Jan 6?
It's been reported that following the rioting and break-ins from Trump supporters at the Capitol, both the (acting) chief of the US Capitol Police and the Seargents at Arms of both chambers have ...
12
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1answer
791 views
Whose responsibility is the physical security of the US Capitol?
It will seem, at first glance, like this question has an easy answer; the US Capitol Police. It might be that that's the answer, but I'm not sure whether it goes more in-depth than that. During the ...
0
votes
1answer
130 views
Estimating state-sponsored extreme loss of freedom rates by country [closed]
This question deals only with "extreme loss of freedom". "Extreme" means that "going about day-to-day life" is severely curtailed or impossible. Losses of freedoms due to ...
-10
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2answers
205 views
Can the US police be replaced with minorities volunteer squads? [closed]
As long, as George Floyd killing reveals huge problems in the US police departments, discrimination and racism in the US police, some reform was started. But it isn't clear, would it change anything ...
45
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7answers
7k views
How do progressive US political thinkers explain anti-black police discrimination in cities where the population and government are majority black?
There is a common narrative among progressive political and racial thinkers in the United States that all or almost all police departments are systematically racist in a way that does significant and ...
18
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9answers
7k views
Is defunding the police compatible with a libertarian mindset?
In light of recent tragedies, many people have been saying "defund the police". I'm a moderate conservative and moderate libertarian and generally think that defunding the police is a bad ...
2
votes
1answer
267 views
Why are American Juvenile Curfew Laws not Unconstitutional?
Many jurisdictions in the United States have curfew laws, which prohibit youth of a certain age (usually under 18) from being in public or in a business establishment during certain hours.
Given the ...
0
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0answers
92 views
How many sworn officers are in each local police department in the United States?
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports on department sizes, but it only includes the fifty largest departments. I do not believe the fifty largest departments are representative of smaller ...
16
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5answers
7k views
Do people in countries besides the US react negatively to “militarized police”?
A 2018 PNAS study concludes that
militarized “special weapons and tactics” (SWAT) teams are more often deployed in communities of color, and—contrary to claims by police administrators—provide no ...
6
votes
0answers
151 views
What can local governments do to reform the police & policing? [closed]
Much of the oversight power for police departments and sheriff departments is with local government.
For example, in Michigan, the elected officials that oversee police departments in cities are City ...
4
votes
1answer
486 views
Amongst U.S. police forces, are combat veterans more likely to abuse force than those who lack combat experience? [closed]
In the United States, amongst police forces, are combat veterans more likely to abuse force than those who lack combat experience?
In my opinion, the main difficulties are in the definitions of ...
41
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7answers
5k views
What could the US federal government do to reform the police?
There is a widespread belief that policing in the USA suffers from systemic racism. Let us suppose that Joe Biden gets elected President and decides that this is a priority. Let us also suppose that ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
Why does California Attorney General Xavier Becerra refuse to disclose records of police? [closed]
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is accused of illegally refusing to comply with Senate Bill 1421, which required him to disclose the records of police officers.
Why does he do this?
https://...
3
votes
0answers
48 views
Which states have weakened police unions’ collective bargaining power over disciplinary issues?
Matt Yglesias, liberal political columnist for Vox, just tweeted this:
Months into the era of everyone reading White Fragility and posting Black Lives Matter memes and declaring racism a public ...
1
vote
1answer
257 views
How does the release of George Floyd's death footage change the perception of his death? [closed]
The Daily Mail recently released the bodycam footage of the death of George Floyd. How does this video corroborate/counter the claims that have been made regarding the incident?
(One specific claim ...
2
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1answer
146 views
Is there any significance to calling state police “troopers”?
Does anyone know of a historical or legal reason in the US that state police get called "trooper", while the rank and file local law enforcement are referred to as "officer" (or &...
13
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4answers
1k views
In the US, what is the meaning of “declaring a Riot”?
According to CNN, the Portland Police Bureau "declared a riot" on July 4th, 2020 after protesters shot commercial grade fireworks at both the state and federal courthouses. Some local ...
1
vote
0answers
157 views
Why don't majors/governors order their state police to arrest unmarked federal agents? [closed]
I wonder why the local US governors/majors, which reject federal agents on their streets, don't just order their local police force to arrest all people, which exercise violence and don't wear any ...
-1
votes
1answer
192 views
How can I respond to the DHS activities in Portland? [closed]
There are reports out of Portland, Oregon that federal officers are using certain tactics to try and disperse protesters. Suppose some citizen of the United States (but not Oregon itself) finds this ...
2
votes
2answers
195 views
What possible steps could be taken to fight racism in the police? [closed]
Within the US, what steps could be taken to try to prevent racism in the police?
For example, there is no strong 'test' for racism that can't be double-guessed. Even then, there is the potential that ...
12
votes
3answers
602 views
Why are CBP and other organizations within DHS allowed to arrest protestors?
As per the reporting about federal officers arresting protesters, I am wondering about the jurisdiction of the US's Department of Homeland Security. What is the specific legal purview that allows DHS ...
3
votes
1answer
352 views
Is the “Defund the police”-argument anti-police or not?
I am doing some research into the Defund the police-movement, and am finding increasingly contradictory information, and so my basic question is, is the movement anti-police or not?
On one hand, you ...
9
votes
4answers
970 views
What are Arguments in Favor of Qualified Immunity for Police Officers?
Currently there is concern about police brutality and overreach. One suggestion I've heard often is ending qualified immunity, and there are many videos with convincing arguments for removing the ...
1
vote
0answers
147 views
What conclusion can we draw re the Black Lives Matter movement from the Roland G. Fryer research on police use of force? [closed]
In the following article we read:
A new study confirms that black men and women are treated differently in the hands of law enforcement. They are more likely to be touched, handcuffed, pushed to the ...
-7
votes
1answer
131 views
would making the Police a branch of the Military meet the demand of abolishing the police? [closed]
during a conversation with my family yesterday, an idea came to me of merging the Police and military as a potential solution to the demand of abolishing the police, but at the same time retaining a ...
50
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2answers
4k views
Why is the amount of training for police officers in the United States so low compared to other developed countries?
In the wake of current events the U.S. police have once again come under immense public scrutiny, putting the focus on various aspects such as police brutality, racial discrimination, qualified ...
11
votes
1answer
661 views
Is there any reason to believe that face masks increase the risk of racial profiling?
As established at Skeptics, Lincoln County, Oregon, legally requires everyone to wear facemasks to prevent the spread of covid...unless they are a person of color. In other words, only white people ...
77
votes
8answers
13k views
Why do US police use handcuffs in otherwise calm, non-violent circumstances?
When the Atlanta police recently discovered that a driver, who was otherwise calm and cooperative was "over the alcohol limit" after a long and largely fruitless conversation (during which ...
41
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7answers
7k views
What is the origin of the fears of racism associated with facial recognition technology?
If one pays attention to technology-based news all the big players in facial recognition technology are now refusing to provide this technology to the US government and/or police. When news reports ...
11
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2answers
2k views
Is the death rate due to police violence between men and women proportional?
According to https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/a/47814/25402 1 in 2000 men's cause of death is police violence while the corresponding number for women is 1 in 33 000.
Risk is highest for black ...
1
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0answers
54 views
What are the pros and cons of unionized vs non-unionized police force [duplicate]
My question is what are the advantages and disadvantages of unionized vs non-unionized police force.
This was one of the demands which was put forward by the Black Lives Movement. Below is an article ...
3
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1answer
849 views
What are the pros and cons of having police unions?
This is a follow up question which I asked here. There were a lot of great answers, the consensus seems to be that police unions could be outright dissolved or a new version of unions could form where ...
0
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2answers
197 views
Can the US President implement restrictions on police unionization
One potential for helping solve the problem of police brutality, as discussed in this question is to curb the power that police unions currently hold.
As it stands, disciplinary measures are subject ...
23
votes
5answers
5k views
Can the police unions be dissolved?
One of the demands of Black Lives Matter (BLM) is to de-fund the police. At the center of it are the police unions, since the contracts are negotiated through the police unions. My question is as ...
37
votes
4answers
8k views
Can the so-called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” in Seattle be treated as an insurrection against the Federal Government?
According to latest news from Seattle, protesters now are controlling some parts of the city, preventing police from entering.
Can it be treated as insurrection against Federal Government, according ...
18
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2answers
1k views
Why do police unions support police officers that have committed gross misconduct, given that they tarnish the reputation of all officers?
In many fields, professional bodies will vocally condemn members who commit misconduct. For example, medical associations, learned societies or unions will seek to end the careers of members who ...
3
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0answers
104 views
Is there a pattern in the US of “abusive” police officers moving around to escape accountability?
This recent PBS story gobsmacked me:
San Francisco may stop hiring cops with records of misconduct
The demand to reform police departments is causing some local governments to look at new regulations ...
4
votes
1answer
235 views
How would a police-free city or state work? [duplicate]
With the recent news around the abolishing of the Minneapolis police department, I wonder what the alternatives are and how they work? Is there any example anywhere on earth currently? I didn't find ...
3
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0answers
128 views
Did the US Floyd protests actually result in charges against the police officers involved
As of late, I have seen many arguing that the protests and riots in the US about the killing of George Floyd have been directly responsible for the increased charges against Derek Chauvin, and the new ...
81
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7answers
11k views
Why is there a broad pattern of excessive force by police towards protestors in spite of international focus on this use of force?
Right now (June 2020), sparked by the murder of George Floyd, there have been a wave of protests against police brutality towards black Americans. In these very protests, there has also been a massive ...
13
votes
1answer
767 views
What proposals exist for a large city disbanding and reconstituting its police force?
Minneapolis has voted to disband its police
The Minneapolis city council has pledged to disband the city’s police department and replace it with a new system of public safety, a historic move that ...
4
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1answer
484 views
To what extent do police departments in the US reflect in numerical terms the proportions of each race in the communities they serve?
In recent years Londoners have got used to the arrival of larger numbers of black and ethnic police men and women. It has involved a change in uniform for some, such as the now many Sikh officers in ...
