Violence against police is up in 2015 vs 2013. That's bad, right?
Well, yeah. Violence against anyone is bad, and police are a critical part of our social fabric. Assaults on and killings of police are a bad thing, both socially and on an individual, moral basis.
But …
… 2013 was an anomaly. Violence against police has been trending downward since the mid-70s (just as violent crime has in general). 2013 was the safest year for police in over a century. 2015 is higher (not good) — but looks like it will be the second safest (which is good).
Violent attacks and homicides against cops are not a new phenomenon on the rise, signalling some sort of internal revolt against American values. There is no violence-based "War on Cops."
What's happened over the last year or two hasn't been gang war against the police, but a sharp drop in the reputation of the police. They've been under attack, not with bullets, but with mobile phone cameras and social media. Reports on police abuse of power, inappropriate use of force (including lethal force), and the justice system that supports them, are all way up and getting a lot more publicity.
Police are under social attack, largely for their own actions.
But mistaking that for an actual campaign of physical assault is highly dangerous. The danger of misunderstanding the statistics about police being in imminent danger is precisely an exacerbation of already-existing police/civilian tension. It feeds into the sense of fear from police trainers and paid witnesses that cops have to shoot first and ask questions later (http://goo.gl/86x53T, http://goo.gl/TUof5W):
When cops are constantly told that they’re under constant fire, or that every interaction with a citizen could be their last, or that they’re fortunate each time they come home from the job in one piece, it’s absolute poison for police-community relations. That kind of reminder on a regular basis would put anyone on edge. We’re putting police officers in a perpetually combative mindset that psychologically isolates them from the communities they serve. Incessantly telling cops that they’re under fire can condition them to see the people with whom they interact not as citizens with rights, but as potential threats. That not only means more animosity, anger and confrontation, it can also be a barrier to building relationships with people in the community — the sorts of relationships that help police officers solve crimes and keep communities safe.
It also just makes for a miserable work life. If you’ve been trained to think your job is getting progressively more dangerous, and that a significant percentage of the people you encounter on a daily basis want to do you harm, you’re going to be less tolerant of dissent. You’re going to constantly be on-guard, on-edge, and jumpy. That isn’t a state of mind that’s conducive to de-escalation, that opts for persuasion over brute force, or seeks out peaceful conflict resolution. It’s a state of mind ruled by the limbic system, not the frontal lobe. And yes, it’s a state of mind that makes an officer more likely to reach for his gun.
That's bad for cops, and it's bad for civilians. It's bad for a system of law and order, and it's bad for our country.
So why is there this misapprehension about what the actual numbers show? Because there is a sense of being under siege. Because the police, and the justice system, is under scrutiny for their actions — whether they are actions that "fear" make seem justifiable or not. Some of it's emotional, but a lot of it's political.
Which, I think, gets back to a real reason we see these statistics being misused: politics. Not just the CYA politics of police unions and DAs and the like, but broader politics. Headlines about cops under fire quite intentionally derail discussions about cops being too willing to fire on others. "They're being shot at all the time!" John Q. Public says. "Of course they have to shoot before they're shot!" Talk about #policelivesmatter makes appeals to #blacklivesmatter seem churlish or even threatening.
(A note on XLivesMatter: of course they do. All lives matter. The point of saying that "Black Lives Matter" is not that "Other Lives Don't," but that black lives seem to be particularly vulnerable and under-valued. It's just like saying "Defeat breast cancer" isn't implying that sufferers of other diseases aren't worth attention, or shouting, "Hey, my house is on fire" doesn't mean you don't care if someone else's house is on fire, too.)
The mythical "War on Cops" plays directly into a law-and-order, social status quo, largely conservative meme that says our society is under attack by people who hate freedom, hate America, hate cops and who, after the cops are killed off, will be coming for you. It's an argument to instill fear, not just in cops, but in everyone.
And we all know who Those People are who are waging war on our beloved public defenders: the very ones who have been whining about how the cops have been treating them. The radicals. The poor. The Uppity Folk who don't know their place.
It's a perfect theme to be running with moving into an election year. And it's dangerous as hell, for everyone.
Once again: There is no ‘war on cops.’ And those who claim otherwise are playing a dangerous game.
Telling cops their job is more dangerous than it is makes things more dangerous, for cops and for everyone else
Yes, but if I tell you a lie and you believe me and are frightened by that, I can help you direct that fear in a way I want. Or at least that’s the thought.
Just remember, Obama is personally shooting all those hundreds of cops being killed in the line of duty, every day. You need to vote for my guy instead. He’s white so fewer cops will be killed by angry dark Politicians.