Their Job is to Protect and Serve but How Many Trust Them?

    We were all taught as kids to trust the police.  We were told that if you are in trouble, to find an officer.  The police in our city has the words, "to protect and serve"  on the doors of their cars.  So far no problem.

     When men are trained to become a police officer, they are taught right away that the first thing they are to do when they begin any call, is to start collecting evidence from the first second they arrive.  Start collecting evidence for what?  For the case they are building, from the very second they come into contact with you.

     Does this not seem to be in conflict with what is written on the door of their vehicle?  How are you supposed to trust  a policeman who is collecting evidence from the first words out of your mouth? 

   To protect and serve.  Can anybody explain to me how they can protect you and at the same time collect evidence for a case they are building against you at the same time?

     Why are they collecting evidence to build a case against you from the start?  The obvious answer would be so that they can put you in jail.  The next question to me is why are the police so hard pressed to put a person in jail that they are collecting evidence from the start?  Again, the obvious answer would be money. 

   Every person that goes to jail, is a paycheck to the county in which he is jailed.  In my county, a paycheck of $108 for each person for every day spent in the jail here.  You can see how this can add up very nicely.  Also one might be able to see now why the officers are trained to collect evidence to build a case against each and every person they come into contact with throughout the course of their workday.

   In my opinion, this is a definate conflict of interest, for a person who's paycheck is payed by the everyday working taxpayer, who is supposed to be protecting and serving us, cannot then be working for the office of the district attorney by collecting evidence and building cases. 

     This would make our men in blue, nothing more than what used to be called "revenuers" long ago.  Our city governments cannot have it both ways.  I believe that something must be done, for as it is, the men who are supposed to be protecting and serving us, taxpayers, are really doing the job that the people in the district attorney's office is supposed to be doing, or at least the job the detectives should be doing.  You cannot expect a man  to do both jobs.  It is confusing to him, for it is just to easy to bend the laws they are supposed to be upholding, to make their bosses happy.

     How has our police force changed?  Back in the day when we were told as kids to find a policeman, when a person was pulled over for whatever he was doing, whether it was speeding or weaving or just sitting on the side of the road, the officer would approach the vehicle and ask if their was a problem.  They were more inclined to offer help, if you were drinking actually give you a ride home, and boy was that a long time ago.  Now, when you get pulled over the officer wants you out of the car, sitting on the curb, and the next thing you hear is can I search your car.  If you do not give them permission, they find a reason or just do so anyway.  From the start they will be using what you say against you.  How can  you trust this person with your problem?

     How can we tell our children to implicitly trust these people.  To do so without warning them of the possible implications would be stupid.  Now days we have to tell our kids to find an officer, but at the same time, know your rights for once you find that officer he  may put you in jail,  but if know your  rights  he may help you.  What is wrong with this picture.

     Do not misunderstand me, I am not a cop hater, and on the contrary I think that we need more than ever a police force that we can call when we are in trouble.  Many people do not call the police when one should be called for fear of going to jail themselves.  This has put a terrible strain on our communities, and has actually made crime soar.  Society on the whole has become hesitant and afraid to call upon law enforcement for these very reasons.  My own mother, who used to tell me to trust the police, now tell all of us not to call them, and she is 70 yrs old.

     We need to get these problems fixed, and the way officers handle the public changed, for we need to be able to tell our kids that they will help them again.  To do this we need to go to our politicians who write these laws, and who cause these things to happen as they do-- that we are unhappy, and that we won't stand for it anymore.  I cannot be the only person to feel this way.  Be a leader not a follower.  Speak your mind and let's get the things that are broken in our society  repaired, for the sake of our children's safety.