Law Enforcement Accountablilty
Purpose:
The Objective of the Law Enforcement Accountability efforts in LibertyLion is to organize encourage efforts to stem the tide of abuse and brutality by some law enforcement officers and agency leaders by drawing attention to the problem and get our elected representatives at all levels of government to hold those who enforce the laws accountable to the law.
The people need to get our elected officials at all levels to reign in these abusive practices by requiring all law enforcement personal to be subject to the same laws that ordinary citizens are subject to. Those who wear a badge have no more right to break into homes and use excessive force, terrorizing citizens, than gang members do in Mexico or the Gestapo did in Germany under Hitler. They must be held accountable. When they break the law, they need to go to jail for at least as long as civilians would.
Problem:
Law enforcement agencies have a difficult job, and most law enforcement officers are good family people that treat people kindly whenever possible. In the past most people felt secure when they saw the police, but feeling is giving way to fear by law abiding citizens because an apparently escalating incidence of abusive use of power by some law enforcement personnel for what appears to be no more reason than the desire to bully and intimidate. Reviewing these incidences one is struck by their incredible number and seemingly senseless brutality. What kind of people are our law enforcement agencies attracting and hiring these days and why?
The problem appears to involve all levels of law enforcement and may not isolated to a few rough officers. Gestapo like tactics seem to be showing up throughout the country, involving local police, federal marshals, FBI, and even agencies you didn’t know have police-like forces.
Respect for the law is a requirement for those that enforce the law just as much if not more than it is for the people. But there appears to be a snowballing trend (or we are just finding out about more of what has been happening all along because of the Internet) of abuse by law enforcement personnel are not being held accountable for their actions.
The culture of some in law enforcement needs to be changed or they need to be replaced. It seems some agencies are attracting brutes with no common sense or civility. This needs to change. The current system of government monopoly police forces has led to a situation where some police seem to think they are the lords of the people rather than there servants. Consideration needs to be given to the possibility of replacing government police with private police hired by the communities they serve, making them accountable to the people they work with.