There's lots of chatter up in Minneapolis this week, about abolishing the police. The state Attorney General is all fired up and positive about the idea (more of an experiment than anything else). So I sat and pondered over this.
First, what they aren't very clear on or admitting.....they mean JUST the police. The state constitution is like most, and mandates that a county must have a sheriff and deputies. So while Minneapolis is suggesting an end to its police department....the sheriff of Hennapin County (where Minneapolis lays) would still be there, as would his jail-house.
As you would proceed to this first step, the public would then discover that there is still law enforcement around....just a lot less of it, and all of it connected to the county....NOT the city.
This means that the city council and mayor.....would have no authority over the county commission, the county DA, or the Sheriff. All of these special favors, or special rules for various groups in the city....would disappear quickly. Arguments by the city council would erupt when the Sheriff failed to obey their wishes.
Second, the police union would be null and void. This might be an interesting moment.
Third, the tax money used to support the police unit in Minneapolis? If it's defunded, the money should be handed back to the tax-payers. The people chatting up this entire idea....haven't exactly said that the money would return to the people.
Fourth, guns would readily be a part of the city population from that day on. Everyone would tote a pistol....day and night.
Fifth, the various businesses that were burned out....probably would evaluate their situation, and not rebuild within the city or county. They saw how protection got you nothing, and would figure that no-protection would get you double of nothing.
Sixth, the Sheriff would be told that he needs to cover more territory and have more deputies. He'll say fine and assess the cost (probably triple his current budget). The question is.....will the tax money in the hands of Minneapolis be used to fund this new enlargement, or will they try to suggest another property tax increase on everyone within the county?
Add to this issue....will the deputies become the new bad-boys?
Seventh, just me suggesting this, but drug use and sales would ramp up....with petty crime increasing (to include a lot of theft going on within stores of the community). Yes, it probably would cause some stores to add armed guards, and others to just make the decision to shut down.
Eighth, anger within the general black community that they aren't 'protected'? I'm guessing it'll take less than 90 days without police for public statements to start up, and at the two-year point....public anger at a maximum.
Ninth, drug dealers might be real happy, and not worry about arrests anymore.
Tenth, all of this effort would trigger residents of the town and region....to consider the long-term implications about staying. Those up near retirement would probably make the bold move to resettle in Arizona or Florida, without much argument. Others would evaluate job offers in other states more easily. I might suggest a 5-percent loss in the population of Minneapolis by the end of 2021.
Eleventh, what happens to speed-traps and ticket-revenue? I have no idea what the city makes off police tickets in the city, but would assume that a minimum of $150,000 a month probably rolls in. Would they just give up on that? No. I would imagine that some unit will be created....probably out of the 'Parks' department, and tickets would still be issued. People would probably challenge this and suggest that it's 'police', and some case would be created to challenge the fakeness of this.
So I end this with a view of 'good-cop' versus 'bad-cop', and the odds that some good could come out of this. All of this leads back to poor management of 'bad-cops' and the inability to get around union challenges. If they had done their job correctly.....we wouldn't be at this current situation.
No comments:
Post a Comment