South Africa Seems to Get It

Friday 1 April 2011 - Filed under Dumbassery + Law enforcement + LE

Now only if American police would get on board with the whole “demilitarization because American citizens are NOT fucking battelfield enemies of the police” thing. Via The Sunday Independent:

In papers filed at the court, the police say the need for discipline was the main reason for the change in rank structure.

However, the union says the change is unconstitutional: Section 199 of the constitution said “the defence force is the only lawful military force in the Republic”.

“While I accept there is a need for effective discipline in the SAPS, I deny that there is a rational connection between military ranks and effective discipline, such that the former is capable of promoting the latter,” Popcru secretary general Nkosinathi Theledi says in papers.

“During the apartheid era, the SA Police was a highly militarised institution. It was also profoundly corrupt, ill-disciplined and unaccountable.”

Referring to the 1995 ANC policy paper entitled “Policing the Transition: Transforming the Police”, Theledi says, “It was precisely in order to break with the ‘soldiers at war’ mindset and to build a police service that was democratic and accountable that demilitarisation of the police was such a crucial part of ANC policy”.

In his affidavit he also refers to a 103-page report by Washington-based think tank The Cato Institute, which warns against the militarisation of police.

The study, Overkill: The rise of paramilitary police raids in America, says the most obvious problem with the militarisation of civilian policing is that the police and military have two distinctly different tasks.

“The military’s job is to seek out, overpower and destroy the enemy. Though soldiers attempt to avoid them, collateral casualties are accepted as inevitable.

“Police, on the other hand, are charged with ‘keeping the peace’, or ‘to protect and serve’,” writes policy analyst and researcher Radley Balko.

“Given civilian police now tote military equipment, get military training and embrace military culture and values, it shouldn’t be surprising when officers begin to act like soldiers, treat civilians like combatants, and tread on private property as if it were part of a battlefield,” Balko says.

Fucking innocent until proven guilty, how does it work again?

2011-04-01  »  madlibertarianguy