osan

Originally Posted by osan

What I intend here is not really philosophy, but more a philosophically-based architectural plan regarding separation of police power.

I had a brain fart months ago and have now decided to allow the little <fup> to escape my mental anus for your aromatic pleasure and consideration.

We largely agree on these forums that police pose a very serious problem in the United States. As crazy-$#@!ty as Europe is, the police there are generally far more under control in terms of how they discharge their duties. In addition, the definition of their duties appears to differ fundamentally in certain respects from those of cops in America.

I would propose that all police forces have their wings clipped such that there would no longer be police departments as we have come to know and love them, but would rather be re-tasked as Departments of Criminal Investigations. As such, their ONLY function would be to investigate crimes that have already been committed. There would be no issues of "probable cause", proactive enforcement, and all the rest of the great gems of contemporary law enforcement. That function would rightly fall upon the shoulders of the common man.

Investigators would be debarred the possession of arms while on duty so as not to be lead into the apparently irresistible temptation to usurp and violate. Investigators would possess NO POWER TO ARREST unless they were witnessing an actual felonious act in progress, the same as any other individual. They would investigate allegations, gather evidence, write their reports, and file their reports with the Grand Jury. The GJ would then, decide whether to indict, in which case they draft an appropriate warrant, which would then pass to the sheriff for execution. In this world, the sheriff would be allowed ZERO full-time paid deputies, though he might have some administrative officers who would be utterly and sternly debarred from assisting in the execution of any warrant. The sheriff would be utterly dependent upon the good will of his constituent citizens to volunteer for posse duty pursuant to execution of the writ. Upon formation, the posse would be sworn-in with their oath to the uphold, defend, and abide by the Constitution. In addition, every criminal investigator and posse member would be required to reaffirm his oath daily before going on duty such that he would be literally prevented from assuming any position until such time as he swore his oath that day.

This would separate the functions, the powers of investigations and enforcement, which I believe we as a nation sorely need. This has the effect of compartmentalizing knowledge, function, and mental investment, thereby greatly circumscribing not only the actual authority, but the sense of authority such that they do not come to assume powers greater than intended. One-time "cops" are stripped of the powers which they now so habitually and deeply abuse. There would be no career sheriff's deputies, but only sworn volunteers whose prerogatives as such would be sternly limited to the narrowly defined parameters of the role.

It is my belief that this would effectively de-ball the respective institutions to the extent that the currently rampant and wild abuses we experience daily would be almost completely curtailed without diminishing the intended capacities of the respective offices. It would remove any vested mental and emotional interests from the chain of procedure. If an investigator puts much investment in a case, allowing him to serve on the enforcement side runs the risk of his acting out due to that investment. But if he hands his report to the separate GJ, they are able to approach the case in question with greater detachment. The review the evidence and in the "go" cases, issue warrants which are handed over to the "naive" sheriff who convenes a posse and executes with no emotional investment, save perhaps some adrenalin. Mental compartmentalization leads to narrower function and a far greater ability to control behavior that is today completely out of control.

People would be allowed to volunteer for posse duty, say, no more than two non-consecutive months per year. Like investigarors, they would re-swear their oaths every time they are called to duty. I struggle a bit with the question of whether they ought to be paid for their service. Because they volunteer, I am inclined to say "no".


Thoughts?