General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Starbucks thing... [View all]hunter
(38,373 posts)The only time I see cops at Target or Wal-Mart is when there's been a disturbance, usually someone shoving, hitting, and/or screaming at store security, or maybe some delusional homeless person taking a dump in a dressing room.
The police will also come out to pick up repeat shoplifters as verified by store security camera recordings and whatever working relationship the police have with store security. They don't routinely do the "scared straight" spiel for young teenage shoplifters, and they don't automatically respond with any urgency to other types of community service calls, including your version of "trespassing." At a gang shooting it seems like every cop in the city will show up within minutes. But if you catch some kid painting gang graffiti on your wall or someone throws a rock through your window, the police may or may not show up. If they don't they'll ask you to file a report on their web site or in person at the police station. That's so you can get a case number to show your insurance company. It has nothing to do with justice.
Perhaps I live in a different world than most posters here on DU are familiar with. The security guard in front of our local Costco wears a Kevlar vest. (That can't be comfortable in warm weather!) He's also expected to handle minor disturbances on his own, without turning them into major disturbances for which the police have to be called. People who rarely interact with the police, and people who live in places where the police don't have much to do, seem to have some strange ideas about the police, attributing to them almost magical powers of justice and authority. It's like people who think they have good health insurance even though they've never had a bad accident or illness that tested it.
I have a lot of respect for the work cops do, but individual cops have to earn my respect. I've had too many encounters with the police to believe their presence will always improve the outcome of any serious human conflict; not for the victim, not for the public at large, and not for anyone accused of wrong doing. I always think twice before I call the police, and I always describe the situation very, very carefully.
I think I learned a lot about the world as a science teacher in a rougher big city school. Teachers are expected to keep order without guns, physical intimidation, or threats of fines and imprisonment. For the most part they do. Teaching was the most difficult job I ever had. I think all cops, especially cops who carry guns, should have similar experience.