Police are the government employees charged with preserving public order and investigating and prosecuting criminals. They are an integral part of any modern society. Police force’s core functions can be grouped into four categories: Law enforcement: investigation, arrest and prosecution; traffic control: maintaining order on public roads and highways; and prevention: educating citizens about crime and burglary reduction techniques.
Police have become society’s de facto responders to a host of social problems, from homelessness and substance misuse to mental health crises. They have also been accused of racially targeting and criminalizing communities of color. This is a waste of their limited resources, and the public’s trust. It can be improved by establishing clear legal standards and requiring departments to regularly report data.
When used in a comprehensive sense, police refers to the whole system of internal state regulation, by which “it seeks not only to preserve the peace and to prevent offenses against the state but also to establish for the intercourse of citizens those rules of conduct calculated to secure to each the uninterrupted enjoyment of his rights aud to insure to all the protection of the law.”
This means that, while policing is a necessity for any modern society, it’s important to keep it at the appropriate scale and within the limits of what can be achieved. The best way to do that is to shrink outsized and misused police powers and responsibilities, while strengthening their accountability measures.
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