[dragonwriter]

> Well, for starters, they don't actually think their junk science is junk science.

For starters, they don't actually care. If it will provide an excuse which can arbitrarily and selectively be cited to justify action, they will embrace it and train their officers on it; if public belief in it is likely to lead to more deference to law enforcement and fear of crime, they will also blast it in their PR (see magic fentanyl). If it will provide an excuse for actions that woild otherwise seem to violate civil rights, they’ll also invest heavily in it.

Truth isn’t relevant to many od the things police agencies pay to train officers on; power is. And the people—often former law enforcement themselves—crafting and selling these ideas know the market they are targeting.