In millions of encounters each year between the police and the public, it may be too much to expect that every officer will always get it right. But it is not too much to expect that we can put the right safeguards in place to hold officers accountable when they get it wrong.
Without a beat officer system, there can be no crime prevention or supportive investigation. This is the very foundation of sound policing. It is the beat officer who connects with the common man on a daily basis and is the five senses of his area.
The police feel that most of the public are against them and that there is a lot of bad feeling.
I only knew one thing about policemen: they were inhuman beasts. The problem was how to turn them into likable, sympathetic human beings. The answer was simple. Give them head colds. And first names. And keep their dialogue homey and conversational.
In Rio de Janeiro, every cop has to make a choice. He either turns dirty, keeps his mouth shut, or goes to war.
When the trust between the police and the communities they serve breaks down, everyone is at risk.
Quite rightly, the public expects to see forces serving their communities, not chasing arbitrary targets.
The world for our law enforcement community has changed dramatically: everything from filling out paperwork to relationships with the community and how they think the narrative is in the media.
