How do you feel about law enforcement officers at different levels?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Please don't move this to the land of the lost (IP board).  Thanks.

[KCDem]

All horrible.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I expect locals will do well and the state and feds tank......as they should

[Person Man]

I didn't think it breaks down that way. The Feds really depend on whose president. The state and local police really depend on where you live. The bluer and more racially harmonious (or homogenous, so then it doesn't matter) a place is, the more likely the cops will be really nice. Places like Boulder, Vermont and other kinds of places like that probably have very professional police departments where almost all the police are very passionate about their jobs and their communities. On the other hand, places like Florida and other southern urban and suburban areas probably have many police who secretly or not so secretly hate the people they have sworn to protect.

[MaxQue]

Here, we only have federal and provincial, since small local polices were dissolved in the early 2000's, except in areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants. Not a lost, Val-d'Or police force was a very incompetent police force still costing money to the city and causing some murderers to be free.

In the 80's, there was an atrocious rape-murder here. There was a trial, they were condemned, but it was discovered than police deleted, suppressed and hided any proof exactly fitting in their version to courts and defense lawyers. They were obviously freed for procedural irregularity and they now sue the city for a couple of millions due to the incompetence of its former police force. Most analysts than transmitting all proof at the beginning wouldn't have had an effect on the verdict, but, the courts decided to do an example with the police force. If police would have done the right thing first, they would still be jail and city would save money.

Federal, I don't really know. RCMP is not very present at all in Quebec, they have a few offices and a few policemen. They leave the work to the provincial police, which is so-so. Better than most local police forces, I would say.

The lesson of that, and it applies to USA too: Local police forces should be only in big cities and be subject to intense oversight.

[dmmidmi]

Other than a good family friend who's a county sheriff, I've had far better experiences with state police than county cops and municipal/township police. The East Lansing Police Department doesn't do themselves any favors to build goodwill with the locals.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Pigs are pigs, no matter where they are. Of the three, locals are probably the least porkish.

[The_Doctor]

I've not had many bad experiences with cops in general. I'm supportive, in general, of law enforcement agencies across the board that patrol the streets.

[DemPGH]

Local and county around here let people alone, and you don't hear much, but my father had an encounter with a local punk cop, got a ticket, and ended up beating it at the magistrate's. Only time I have ever heard of someone beating a ticket (I think they like the cops to let people alone and not harass them, which is good). It's a story, but the ticket was totally ridiculous. I never had a bad encounter with the local cops, and that's the only one I know of. If it weren't for my dad's experience I would vote FF.

State cops here are pretty uniformly regarded as major jerks with badges, so HP.

Fed are corrupt, so HP.

[TNF]

All cops are bastards.

[The Dowager Mod]

All cops are bastards.

This is a pretty stupid Generalization, 4 of my uncles were/are cops in new york, guess what? not one has ever choked or shot anyone.

[TNF]

All cops are bastards.

This is a pretty stupid Generalization, 4 of my uncles were/are cops in new york, guess what? not one has ever choked or shot anyone.

Good for your uncles. Doesn't change the fact that the average cop is garbage.

[IceSpear]

All cops are bastards.

This is a pretty stupid Generalization, 4 of my uncles were/are cops in new york, guess what? not one has ever choked or shot anyone.

Good for your uncles. Doesn't change the fact that the average cop is garbage.

Even if you assume that's true, "the average" does not equal "all".

[Rooney]

Individual cops can be decent people. As a whole all forms of law enforcement are terrible. Those who are usually attracted to "law enforcement" are generally bullies (like cops), arrogant and power hungry (like prosecutors) or creepy (like FBI/CIA/NSA agents).

[All Along The Watchtower]

I didn't think it breaks down that way. The Feds really depend on whose president. The state and local police really depend on where you live. The bluer and more racially harmonious (or homogenous, so then it doesn't matter) a place is, the more likely the cops will be really nice. Places like Boulder, Vermont and other kinds of places like that probably have very professional police departments where almost all the police are very passionate about their jobs and their communities. On the other hand, places like Florida and other southern urban and suburban areas probably have many police who secretly or not so secretly hate the people they have sworn to protect.

Yeah,cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have never had problems with racism and/or police brutality.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

I've not had many bad experiences with cops in general. I'm supportive, in general, of law enforcement agencies across the board that patrol the streets.

[Boston Bread]

I've never had a bad experience with Canadian law enforcement and I've lived in both homogenous and diverse neighbourhoods, urban and suburban, ranging from strongly liberal to conservative. Rarely ever seen them in action.

[Murica!]

I like State but they're cops so it isn't saying much.

[Mordecai]

I'm sure they're nice people to their families but I'm going to go on not trusting them and being thankful that I'm not dark-skinned.

[Ebowed]

I'm sure they're nice people to their families but I'm going to go on not trusting them and being thankful that I'm not dark-skinned.

Yeah, pretty much.

I expect locals will do well and the state and feds tank......as they should

Well, I don't trust any level of US law enforcement, in the sense that if you are a law-abiding citizen or business owner in a state with medicinal cannabis, you might get shot by federal agents, so yes, I voted that the feds are HPs, but to be honest, Grumps, the locals are the ones I trust the least, because in my experience, they tend to act like they aren't being watched.  Sure, this stuff is getting really pervasive in the media at the moment, but most people don't have the means and/or ability to publicize their mistreatment.  There are countless injustices on the local level to the extent that many people will trust just about anybody more than a low-level police officer.  Who could blame them?

[AggregateDemand]

Cops do what they're told. We've all met some bad ones, but by and large, the are a reflection of the laws we write.

[Mordecai]

I'm sure they're nice people to their families but I'm going to go on not trusting them and being thankful that I'm not dark-skinned.

Yeah, pretty much.

I expect locals will do well and the state and feds tank......as they should

Well, I don't trust any level of US law enforcement, in the sense that if you are a law-abiding citizen or business owner in a state with medicinal cannabis, you might get shot by federal agents, so yes, I voted that the feds are HPs, but to be honest, Grumps, the locals are the ones I trust the least, because in my experience, they tend to act like they aren't being watched.  Sure, this stuff is getting really pervasive in the media at the moment, but most people don't have the means and/or ability to publicize their mistreatment.  There are countless injustices on the local level to the extent that many people will trust just about anybody more than a low-level police officer.  Who could blame them?

Especially in the South...

[BaconBacon96]

America has way too many law enforcement agencies.

[Citizen Hats]

Too much variation to really make a generalization.  My experience with small-town cops is that they are either sleepy and not really up to much or they are fairly abusive.  Local policing suffers from a definite dearth of public oversight. Larger city departments tend to be a bit more professional, and depending on the locations can be somewhat more thoughtfully managed. I haven't had terribly many interactions with state authorities. 

Federal law enforcement are often the only entities holding the unwatched corruptions of local authorities in check.  They deserve something for that.  My only personal interaction with federal law enforcement in the US was a chat with a rather jovial secret service agent in Denver. The man was pretty much the anti-stereotype of the Secret Service - casually dressed, no ear piece, no sunglasses, portly, short, balding, and eminently friendly. He made sure to gently remind the coloradans present that they should leave their marijuana in their cars. 

Up north, I have a large amount of respect for the Vancouver Police Department, who have become a very thoughtful department in the last six years or so, and have put a lot more effort in to professional, harm-reduction oriented policing. 

I have much less respect for local cops in smaller towns, who suffer similar aliments as in the US's small towns. 

In British Columbia, the is no general provincial police. Such policing is handled under contract by the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or 'mounties'.  Many BC municipalities contract the RCMP to fill local policing rolls as well. The RCMP is structured as something of a gendarmery, with 'postings' made to 'enlisted' officers across the country. RCMP officers are much less well paid, and have a reputation for being much more uptight and arbitrary, and not terribly well routed in the community. I have only lived under their local jurisdiction when I lived at the University of British Columbia, where they had a reputation for being somewhat puritanical and arbitrary.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Pigs are pigs, no matter where they are. Of the three, locals are probably the least porkish.

Seriously, what the hell happened to you? I expect it from TNF, but you should know that it's not "cool" to so transparently "stick it to the man." If your shtick is to be ridiculously progressive, try not to make a rush judgement about every member of a group based on the actions of a few. It doesn't look good and really undermines what you try to say elsewhere.

Anyway, I tend to respect the individuals who put their lives on the line to keep our streets safe, thanks.