Loose Cannons?

It takes somewhere between 26 and 28 weeks to become a police officer in America.

You're then issued a badge, a police cruiser, and turned loose on the citizens of your town or city or state.  26 weeks.  Half a year.  I'm thinking that's not enough time to learn all one needs to learn to be able to arrest and charge someone.  Or even shoot someone...

And it turns out I was right.  As an old guy with time on his hands, I'm able to research the heck out of a topic I find interesting.  And I find this topic verrrry interesting.  And then I homogenize it down into one of my signature postings.  More than 1,500 so far.  And God willing, many more to come.

Let's look at what others countries do:

     Becoming a police officer in Germany (the Politzei) takes more than 3 years.  156 weeks.

     If you'd like to be a cop in Italy (Caribinieri), be ready to spend 2 years of your life.

     It takes 2 years to become a cop in France (Gendarmerei).

     Becoming a cop in China requires 4 years of your life.  And they've never "defunded their police."

     How about Israel?  Look to spend 2 years to get that badge.

     South Korea?  Three years.

     The country of Columbia requires you to spend a year of your life in training if you wish to become a cop there.

     North Korea makes you spend 6 years to become a cop.  And I emphasize the word "makes."  And that's two years shorter than the Army requires, and you must do one or the other so they have no shortage of police.

     Even that super nice country up north, Canada, makes its would-be police officers spend a year in intense training.  Another two years after that if you'd like to be a Mountie (RCMP). 

In fact, I couldn't find another country whose time and training was as little as ours.  We have some 900,000 sworn police, highway troopers, constables, sheriffs and their deputies, U. S. Marshals, and other various and sundry badge wearers roaming around out there, waiting to right us a ticket.  Or arrest us and stick us in a cell.  

And we equip them with handcuffs, batons, pepper spray, tasers and guns after only half a year of classroom study.  Most of which is on the legal aspects of speeding and DUI's.  Both big money generators.  For that's what they most often are; revenue creators. 

Think I exaggerate?  You'll often be caught in a DUI checkpoint.  Or a DL checkpoint.  Which our own Supreme Court has said is legal.  Have you ever been caught in a expired registration sticker checkpoint?  Where the penalty is an infraction?  And no fine?    

And not a day goes by that one of more of these cops are sued for violating a citizens' rights.  Which the taxpayers who hired him are forced to pay.  As most often these police are shielded by "qualified immunity."  In other words, if they thought they were doing the right thing, but weren't, then they're personally covered against financial responsibility.  But their cities aren't.  Many smart cities are doing away with such coverage.  And wouldn't you know it, most often those rights violations they're forced to cover, take a sharp drop after they do.

I suggest we invest a whole lot more time, effort and energy in the recruitment, selection and training of our sworn officers.  Because we can either pay it now, or pay much more later...