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.

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Are there [other] examples of Chinese police directly arresting opposition figures abroad?

According to Safeguard Defenders (NGO): Last month [May 2023], Chinese police descended on the home of historian and activist Lhamjab Borjigin and arrested him. Such arrests are commonplace in the ...
Fizz's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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What was this crackdown about in Moscow, Russia?

You Won't Believe Who's Funding Quran Burning Stunts In the above YouTube video at 03:49, some Russian heavily armed Russian policemen are seen raiding a mosque in Moscow. They are rounding up the ...
user366312's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
2k views

How and why has the UK been arresting anti-monarchy protestors?

The UK police have been arresting protesters for being anti-monarchy in public. What I want to know is: HOW: Can the UK justify these arrests within their own laws? Have they tried to? WHY: Has there ...
Anti Elon Guy's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
271 views

How does the logic work for no prosecution exceptions to the right to not self incriminate in the presence of different jurisdictions?

In many democratic countries there is some sort of a right for an accused to not have to answer police questions to prevent people being forced to incriminate themselves. In the USA this is in the ...
User65535's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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What are famous studies that ended up deeply changing how the police operate?

In the book “Talking to Strangers” Malcolm Gladwell talks about how novel scientific approaches to policing ended up finding out that stop and frisk of motor vehicles could drastically reduce crime, ...
David 天宇 Wong's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
824 views

How does France compare to other countries with respect to police brutality?

Recently France has seen some massive protests against Macron’s pension law. Most of these protests are peaceful, but unavoidably there was some violence, especially since Macron decided to bypass ...
Erwan's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why would one argue that Interpol’s Executive Committee is "currently dominated by autocracies and Interpol abusers"? (Political abuse?)

The Politico's January 24, 2023 Foreign Affairs Opinion piece by Ben Keith and Ted R. Bromund1 Opinion | Interpol Is Doing Russia’s Dirty Work includes the following: That’s technically true; the ...
uhoh's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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What are the main concerns regarding the new powers recently given to the police to curtail protests?

In the wake of the arrest of a man in Edinburgh for apparently heckling Prince Andrew, a woman called Mariángela also being arrested in Edinburgh for holding a sign that said “**** imperialism, ...
John Strachan's user avatar
-13 votes
1 answer
314 views

Why can't police beat citizens to enforce Covid lockdown? [closed]

Corporal punishment by Indian police in India was heavily criticized in the Western press - Teargas, beatings, and bleach: the most extreme Covid-19 lockdown controls around the world Why is it ...
user366312's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
184 views

Does the Met Police Commissioner have the authority to "clean house"?

The news are reporting Cressida Dick's forced resignation as the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (meaning London, UK) following her preceived failure to adequately tackle racism and misogyny ...
Arno's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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What does the police to civilian ratio depend on?

Here is a list in Wikipedia that tells us the ratios of police vs civilians in various countries around the world. I failed to think of any rationale about how those countries determine the number of ...
user366312's user avatar
22 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why does New York City spend 3 times as much per year per inmate than the runner up King County (Seattle)?

New York City spends nearly 450k per prisoner per year, which is almost 3 times higher than second place King County (which contains Seattle). Why is New York such an outlier? Source: Vera Institute ...
EveryoneElse's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
299 views

Did congress increase the U.S. Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion?

I've seen a discussion that implies there was a vote to increase the Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion, while the DC metropolitan police budget has been cut. It is also being suggested that the ...
Burt_Harris's user avatar
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-8 votes
1 answer
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How to differ "angry mobs" from "fighters for freedom"? [closed]

I'm looking at those images and cannot understand how western correspondents (for example), differ "lawful use of force" from "unlawful use of force" (on the last image). 2020, US: ...
user2501323's user avatar
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-8 votes
2 answers
242 views

Is there any international reaction on police violence in France?

On those holidays another round of anti-Covid protests took place in France: Protests were suppressed rudely, with police violence and water cannons. Is there any reaction from international ...
user2501323's user avatar
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44 votes
3 answers
7k views

Why is the Capitol Police expanding nationally, when we already have the FBI?

Capitol Police is setting up field offices in California and Florida, with more states likely to follow. I don't understand why though. The official reason given is to "track threats", but ...
Ryan_L's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Is there any data about partisanship inside US police departments or armed forces?

Is there any open data about the extent of partisan division among the police or armed forces in the United States? If such data does not exist, why might that be? For example, is there some law which ...
user2501323's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
315 views

Is the Israeli police and justice system discriminatory?

This article in The Intercept says that the police response to the recent surge of violence in Israel has been "almost exclusively" against Palestinians (Israeli Arabs), even though "...
Erwan's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
111 views

What options do state governments have when the local DA declines to prosecute a case?

Hypothetically, a resident of a large city in state X is accused of committing a crime of small to moderate severity. The local district attorney decides, for whatever reason, to not prosecute, and ...
EveryoneElse's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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How can I compare levels of police violence in different states of the world?

Some states in the world are perceived as having very violent policing; while others are considered repressive generally, but not necessarily via the police being violent . I was wondering if there is ...
einpoklum's user avatar
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9 votes
2 answers
671 views

Are female police officers one-sixth as likely to kill as their male colleagues?

The incidence of people dying due to use of force by the police is a high profile issue at the moment. Figures about the distribution of these deaths, such as found in this paper, can be compared to ...
Dave's user avatar
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34 votes
6 answers
10k 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 ...
Betterthan Kwora's user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
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 ...
komodosp's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
566 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?
TheReal_Skywalker's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
2k 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 ...
dsollen's user avatar
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3 votes
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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 ...
Cottonmouth87's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
133 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 ...
J.Todd's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
276 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. ...
Hamish Gibson's user avatar
13 votes
5 answers
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, ...
Mawg says reinstate Monica's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
602 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 ...
Fizz's user avatar
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12 votes
1 answer
1k 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 ...
Dan Scally's user avatar
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-8 votes
2 answers
276 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 ...
user2501323's user avatar
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49 votes
7 answers
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 ...
lazarusL's user avatar
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18 votes
9 answers
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 ...
Spencer's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
487 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 ...
robbieperry22's user avatar
18 votes
5 answers
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 ...
Fizz's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
164 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 ...
Cardi DeMonaco Jr's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
537 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 ...
Rodrigo de Azevedo's user avatar
39 votes
7 answers
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 ...
Paul Johnson's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
80 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://...
davidjhp's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
60 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 ...
Keshav Srinivasan's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
287 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 ...
Nico Damascus's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
184 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 &...
Burt_Harris's user avatar
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13 votes
4 answers
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 ...
Burt_Harris's user avatar
  • 7,967
-1 votes
1 answer
197 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 ...
Artimis Fowl's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
206 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 ...
yolo's user avatar
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12 votes
3 answers
760 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 ...
minsalty's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
540 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 ...
Mash's user avatar
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9 votes
4 answers
1k 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 ...
Vincent's user avatar
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-7 votes
1 answer
154 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 ...
Mr. Anderson's user avatar