"I just checked and you haven't paid your police bill. Maybe try asking he man outside your window with a knife to kindly leave?"

We saw how the "pay for fire service" idea worked in TN. They watch while your house burns down.

benefit from it.

Someone once said many Americans who aren't yet rich consider themselves 'temporarily embarrassed millionaires'.

So, yes, that includes the police. Private police forces can be more brutal. A police force inside a gated community, will have the power to stop anyone moving around on that private property; and if you try to elude them ... I don't think there's too much doubt they will immediately shoot to kill; and if there are "stand your ground" laws in place, shooting trespassers will be no big deal.

Most of the people who help bring this privatization about will regret it if it ever comes to pass. Five minutes thought on the part of most of these people should make that clear. I don't have much hope that they will spend that five minutes.

You said "five minutes thought" - thinking is what most reich wingnuts want to avoid.

I find it amazing how the party of hyperbolic patriotism shows its colors as being almost treasonous when it comes to actual civic participation.

starts getting tickets for things he didnt do. tickets for running stop signs he didnt run, tickets for running red lights he didnt run. when police depts are now for profit giving out tickets is how they make profits.

Because I can sense a major business opportunity here for someone not above planting a few drugs on someone's expensive property.

The laws of the people or the laws their employers set out to be enforced?

I mean, presumably he leaves his property.

What if something happens to him while he's out? How will the police know whether he's paid or not?
What happens if there's a major disaster and it isn't profitable to get involved or worth it to pursue the perpetrator(s)?
What if they decide his neighborhood isn't making enough money -- regardless of whether he's paying, and pull out -- giving him no chance to get police protection even if he wants it?

Oh wait, bad example.

ensure that all private companies are always very efficient. Private companies are NEVER incompetent, and never have bad customer service.

But due to a clerical error, the police computers show that he has not made his annual payment. So they ignore his call.

Right up until the time they get sued for brutality or wrongful death or for just not showing up in a timely fashion.

This would appear to be an inevitable consequence of increased social and economic inequality.

For the rich, the poor don't merit protection, they are the people against whom protection is needed.

So we have this young cop, say 22 years old. First day on the job he crashes the patrol cruiser and is disabled. He's going to fight for social security for a few years and without a pension? No one will or can put their life on the line without a pension. Cops and their families know it will be there if the worst thing happens.

I'm sure you're wingnut relative hasn't thought about that but you won't get the right people without the pension.

Getting out from under "the burden" of paying decent pensions will be a major impetus for the growth of private policing, where recruitment and operational standards will be much lower than at present.

As for the 22 year-old you cite in your example, there will be plenty of desperate 22 year-olds in the future with no expectations of a proper pension.

and as soon as they get trained they will apply to another agency. You will never have a seasoned law enforcement officer because as you get older morality thoughts come to the surface. The FOP is aware of this issue and they will fight it with all their amass of funds.

So as long as you don't mind untrained cops , and never really need trained cops then I guess it could work. I hope you never need any detectives who have 18 years experience because they won't exist.

Instead, they'll sell us our rights.

Seriously?

I always thought that would be the most likely path our future would take.

as if that mattered.

Can't wait for our Robocop future to get here.

As far as I'm concerned, hired mercs aren't real cops. I have zero respect for them that they don't inflict on me with violent force.

I mean, most of us are already paying for our local police department via our property and/or sales taxes. If we privatize our emergency services departments, then EVERYONE will be paying both taxes and the police/fire department fee. Anyone who thinks a city will CUT taxes even if these services are off-loaded to private industry is either insane or hasn't been paying attention.

this years payment in our computers, if you can fax over a copy of the canceled check to verify the payment, I will dispatch a Polcorp unit out to your home."
Lou

Black water comes to mind, private police to match the private for profit prisons, seems like a expected next step, not that I agree with it, but who cares what I think? LOL