The most significant development in modern Western society is the development of the police state. Though this development has been slow, it started with the segregation and the abuse of African Americans. It was further reinforced in the 1950s with the rise of McCarthyism and the public purging of anyone that was rumored to be a communist sympathizer. However, there was public backlash and there were protests, sit-ins, and the civil rights movement began to take shape and soon, the retreat of the police state began- or so it seemed.
Beginning in the 1980s with the intensification of the war on terror and the subsequent introduction and expansion of antiterrorism legislation, the police state began making a quiet, yet steady come back. Instead of public purges, mass surveillance and interrogation have become the norm. Online monitoring, mass data collection, and video camera presence have become a part of our daily lives. However, this time there is no public outcry, no protests, no backlash. Instead, now we do not even flinch or give a second thought when we hear of the latest police shooting of a civilian. The police have become the judge, jury, and executioner.
This however, cannot be blamed on the individual police officers. They are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, and aunts just like the rest of us. It is policing that is broken and is in dire need of reform. Police forces have evolved into paramilitaries. When shootings are occurring as consistently as they do, the debate is no longer about the few bad apples, its about the barrel as a whole.
“Oakland 2010” by Thomas Hawk/CC BY-NC 2.0
So how do we go about reforming policing? To begin, we must tackle the culture of fear that has embedded itself within our societies. Citizens are being controlled today by fear- fear of terrorism, fear of extremism, fear of each other – by the governments that know exactly which buttons to push to get the people to follow what they want. However, the police are also indoctrinated in this culture of fear. A police officer is taught that the most important thing for him or her is to get back to their home at the end of the day unharmed. They are taught to be alert, vigilant, and attentive because they are always in danger. This shift from public defender to self-defender has caused and aggravated the rupture between the police and the people. The police no longer act as mediators and peacemakers in high-stress situations. Time and time again we see weapons used as a first resort instead of a last one, contributing to the growing list of avoidable civilian deaths and an increase in over-criminalization. When self-defence becomes the first instinct for law enforcement, suspicion, and mistrust rise and begin to chip away at any semblance of a cohesive and safe society.
The result, thus, is public mistrust of law enforcement. People do not welcome them into their neighbourhoods, or as mediators of conflict. Instead, they are seen as enemies, more likely to aggravate or induce violence than they are to resolve it. This cycle of mistrust and hostility continues; each side feeds off of the fear of “the other” creating a polarized society that is constantly on the edge of unraveling. This polarization should not be permitted and the issue of police aggression should not be so politicized that criticism of law enforcement is seen as an attack on the state and its institutions. We cannot be tricked into living in a reality where freedom is secondary to security and the rights of the citizens are second to the power of the government. There cannot be any true justice when people are being gunned down without having the chance to defend themselves. Everyone deserves due process, be it cop or citizen. The longer the police state is allowed to exists, the deeper the divisions will become, and the harder it will be to patch things up. Things must change, and soon.
By Hussein El-Khechen
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