[liability]

Why not have the government hire people to do that for me? Call it "socialized defense" or something.

[deathgrips]

American police departments have no duty to protect you. They are law enforcement officers who choose at their own discretion to arrive at your home seven minutes after you dial 911.

[zaarn]

Make it their duty to protect you.

[staticassertion]

What do you do with all of the people, and the entire system, that's been built and trained for a century to not do that?

I doubt many people are against the idea of a specialized government role that provides protection services.

What they are against is:

* Thinking we can get that role by reforming existing police systems, given how opposed police systems are to such reform

* That these systems need the absurd budgets of police departments

* That the role requires absurd levels of protection for violent actions

* That the role requires armaments in the majority of cases

Going form police to a role that fits those criteria is going to start with not having police.

[zaarn]

You fire them all and rehire the ones that are capable of being proper police officers.

[monocasa]

It's federal case law that the profession of policing doesn't require what you're asking.

[zaarn]

Then you make it law that it becomes required.

[staticassertion]

I don't think they'd be qualified for the job.

[zaarn]

Then they don't get hired.

[throwaway894345]

It's really strange how people in this thread refuse to believe that the "reform the police" option even exists. As though we must either have a subpar police system or no police system at all. It's also strange how many people think that getting rid of the police will just work itself out.

1. Abolish police.

2. << A miracle happens. >>

3. Prosper.

[standardUser]

"Reform" is a well known word in the US that translates to "do the very minimum necessary to shut most people up for a while". The fact that proponents of radical changes to policing have not come up with terms you like more should not be an indictment of their perspectives.

[zaarn]

Many other countries have a police system that works much better than the US but obviously the only possible solutions in the search space are "Americanism" or "Nothing".

[deathgrips]

If reform worked it would have already worked.

[deathgrips]

Right, because police rarely break the law?

[zaarn]

Hence you ought to rebuild it from the ground up and if the police breaks the law they'll be punished for it.

Why is it so hard for americans to imagine that it's possible to have atleast a semifunctional police apparatus?

[jessaustin]

Your experiences with this may have gone better for you than those of many of your neighbors went for them?