Use-of-force debate misses the real issue

[A_Britishcolumbian]

in the communities i have lived in 'canada' and growing up in bc, i have seen the rcmp and other forces, respond to public and domestic disturbances, and domestic disputes, acting as mediators and peace keepers, most often with no charges being laid. i have always thought of the police as the last resort social 'authority'. i do not support the idea of calling the police in domestic scenarios myself.

the rcmp provide humanitarian aid in foreign lands, so why cannot they present a local humanitarian presence these days? or more accurately, why must there ever be examples of police dehumanizing individuals.

if it is the call of society to have the police transport disturbed and disturbing individuals to the appropriate care facilities or authorities, then that is what they should do, with the utmost respect for all parties involved.

making the decision to bring the police into any situation is our call as individuals and as a society, having the facilities to care for the afflicted is the role of the government.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/po-mp/index-eng.htm

[BelieveNothing]

I do not perceive what I have read here to be cop bashing, I hear very real concerns about the choices and actions of the single authority charged with enforcing the law.

IF those that are meant to enforce the law continually break, bend and ignore the law, then this IS undermining the existence of trust and security within our communities and individual psyches, and that IS a problem.

If a parent abuses their power with their children by being uninformed, physically harmful and violent, threatening their life, neglectful when they need help and protection, then we would call these parents unfit and abusive, they could possibly even be arrested.

The children would rightfully no longer trust or feel secure with the parent, as a matter of instinct and wisdom.

It would seem not so with the majority of the population of British Columbia... for some reason British Columbians go on trusting and supporting those that abuse human beings, similar to Stockholm syndrome.

To complain that the RCMP should not have to be mental health professionals is a bit of an ignorant statement I think and one that only perpetuates the problems already present.

The RCMP enforce the laws of the system, the system is compartmentalized to the detriment of the human being but could however with some effort, be holistic in nature and actually serve the people. (as the people require)

The fact that the government and the RCMP have not already bridged the gap between criminality and mental disturbance and illness, knowing full well that the two go hand in hand, tells me who they actually serve - not the human being.

Human beings are holistic beings, meaning that all behavior, including criminal behavior results from the individual belief system.

It is not some criminals who have mental disturbance or illness, it is most.

IF the RCMP do not currently have a mandate to have the knowledge and the understanding of mental disturbance and illness, the root of criminality, then why the heck are they allowed to have authority over any human being? this makes the least amount of sense to me.

It is my opinion that it should be mandatory that any police officer, RCMP officer or authority figure with the charge to enforce the law over individual human beings be required to understand criminality and mental health/illness before they have the right to take power over another human life.

Not being educated in these realities is ignorant and negligent.

Trust and Authority are earned.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

game on :)

stunningly well stated.

i am in awe :)

[KL3-Something]

I do not perceive what I have read here to be cop bashing, I hear very real concerns about the choices and actions of the single authority charged with enforcing the law.

IF those that are meant to enforce the law continually break, bend and ignore the law, then this IS undermining the existence of trust and security within our communities and individual psyches, and that IS a problem.

If a parent abuses their power with their children by being uninformed, physically harmful and violent, threatening their life, neglectful when they need help and protection, then we would call these parents unfit and abusive, they could possibly even be arrested.

The children would rightfully no longer trust or feel secure with the parent, as a matter of instinct and wisdom.

It would seem not so with the majority of the population of British Columbia... for some reason British Columbians go on trusting and supporting those that abuse human beings, similar to Stockholm syndrome.

To complain that the RCMP should not have to be mental health professionals is a bit of an ignorant statement I think and one that only perpetuates the problems already present.

The RCMP enforce the laws of the system, the system is compartmentalized to the detriment of the human being but could however with some effort, be holistic in nature and actually serve the people. (as the people require)

The fact that the government and the RCMP have not already bridged the gap between criminality and mental disturbance and illness, knowing full well that the two go hand in hand, tells me who they actually serve - not the human being.

Human beings are holistic beings, meaning that all behavior, including criminal behavior results from the individual belief system.

It is not some criminals who have mental disturbance or illness, it is most.

IF the RCMP do not currently have a mandate to have the knowledge and the understanding of mental disturbance and illness, the root of criminality, then why the heck are they allowed to have authority over any human being? this makes the least amount of sense to me.

It is my opinion that it should be mandatory that any police officer, RCMP officer or authority figure with the charge to enforce the law over individual human beings be required to understand criminality and mental health/illness before they have the right to take power over another human life.

Not being educated in these realities is ignorant and negligent.

Trust and Authority are earned.

You do realize that this was not an RCMP incident, don't you?

[steven lloyd]

You do realize that this was not an RCMP incident, don't you?

Like ABC, BelieveNothing has also missed the point in the OP that the use of force debate has missed the real issue in this particular discussion. Oh well, I suppose when a person is obsessed with police bashing many of the bigger issues will sometimes (maybe even often) go unrecognized. Game lost.

[BelieveNothing]

I realize.

[BelieveNothing]

I am not missing anything from the OP.

I am not playing a game.