Rand Paul Quotes

Police do not belong in war zones.

There is a necessity for police offers to control themselves as well as the people in the streets... Our police are there to help people, not to hurt people.

At a policy level, we can support protecting and serving as opposed to militarization or disproportionate response. Step one is making sure we don't militarize and actually call for a review of military equipment in New York police forces.

There's a big difference between keeping the peace, which is something folks do pretty well themselves, and enforcing the law, which is another thing altogether.

Law enforcement officials have been candid in identifying ways officers could have handled the situation in Ferguson better, and I trust those recommendations will be helpful as we continue to count on them to protect us.

I mean that the function of the police is to solve problems that have law-enforcement consequences in a way that is based on a genuine partnership with the neighborhood in both the venting of the problem and the discussion of the solution.

What police do is not really about force. Police preserve peace and order principally by educating, leading, persuading people to cooperate in a peaceful community. Any veteran officer will tell you that the essential police skill is talking to people. That is especially true for dealing with young people, who ... no one else really talks to at all.

Counter-terrorism is not solely a military matter.

What we need in our countries is a good police force with a civilian mentality and some cheap light arms, not an army that needs to maintain its power with sophisticated weapons

In the United States we have always drawn this form line between the military and the police. There is a good reason for that. The military’s job is to annihilate a foreign enemy. The job of the police is to protect our rights and keep the peace.

We can define the rules of police-citizen engagement, but everyday decisions will always be made by men and women in uniform, on the street, in the community, under extreme pressure, in a dangerous world where guns easily fall into the wrong hands.

It's not about the stuff. The issue is how we use that stuff and how do we train people to use that stuff. Do we use that stuff to confront people who are protesting in a community? Do we use a sniper rifle to see closer in a crowd? That's where it breaks down.

We can't pick out certain incidentals that don't go our way and act like the cops are all bad... Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn't for the cops?

While we must condemn any misuse of their authority, let's not forget that, by far, police are fulfilling their duty to protect and serve.

What cops are hired to do is to control people who will not abide by the social contract.

Our police officers are on the front line of a battle to maintain control of our streets.

Law enforcement must be guardians in our communities, not warriors against our own people.

Not every officer is a bad police. I work with police officers. I know first responders.

Cops should not be separate from the black community or any community. Their salaries are paid for by the communities they police. They should be working for the communities they police. But as we saw in Ferguson, Missouri, they are not always doing that.

We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there's an occupying force, as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them.

At a time when we must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community, I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message.

Every cop will tell you that their real job is being a social worker. That's what they do all day. The large majority of police officers in this country never even draw their gun, let alone fire it. They do conflict resolution, right? And if that's their job, why do they need to look like they're an occupying force?

Law enforcement in America is a force for good.

I considered the prevention of war as the test of our security policy; in addition to being able to rapidly and forcefully end any war forced upon us.