Comments

1
It reminds me of Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover. It's been a long time since I read it but I remember so clearly how he is dismayed and yet resigned to find that he has started to think of the inmates as animals, not humans.
2
In Chicago, there's a residency requirement: if you work for the city, you have to live in the city. It's one of the things that kept Chicago from quite going the way of Detroit or Cleveland. But what it really leads to is cops, firemen and other city workers living in the most remote suburb-like enclaves in the city, far northwest and southwest sides. Which results in the same Us v. Them attitude, despite the shared 606 zip codes. Instead of suburb v. city, it's "safe/white" remote neighborhoods v. "unsafe/minority" inner city.
3
It would be amazing if one of the following were true:

1. Everyone were trained in self-defense, and so we didn't need armed cops. They could become records clerks.

2. Each neighborhood had it's peace officers living nearby, enmeshed with the social fabric, so that a) the cops knew the neighbors, personally, and b) if they stepped out of line, the neighbors could socially shame them; reasserting some local checks & balances.

3. Cops weren't trained to first: escalate, but instead deescalate situations. If they were truly "peace officers" that actively sought to lower the level of aggravation. Perhaps if they didn't carry guns, and had extensive facilitation and psychological-health training.

Anonymity breeds disconnection, 'us vs. them' mentality, and contempt. Viz Dominic's recent experiences.
4
Abosolutely, if you work for the city, you should be required to live in the city. Like any job, the more potential personal connections you have with the actions you take, the better you'll (most likely) perform. I would trust the actions of a cop who lived in Fremont more than one who lived in Carnation, for example (at least there's the potential for shared life experiences).
5
@2 It's true, but those neighborhoods theoretically contribute to the whole of the city and keeps some middle class enclaves within the city. Also, I like Beverly and Jefferson Park.
6
I have a friend who works in the prison system. He considers it job that pays well and he tries to leave it behind when he's not working. He admits there are inmates that are friendly and want to know what's going on in the real world. They aren't there because of traffic infractions, except in the case of the one's that were "misrepresented by republican lawyers." This is not the south where if a black man looks at a white girl, or is suspected of looking at a white girl gets 20 years for probable rape, the lessons in racial discrimination get pretty vague. I'm sure there are many incarcerated persons that are innocent of the crimes they have not committed. Leave it to the republicans to "straighten every body out."
7
Act like a professional.
No the limits of your job, police officers are not there to sit in judgement. Courts do that.
Have a life outside of the job.
The city should make a strong effort to have affordable housing available to city workers like police and fire.

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