Unless I have misread or misinterpreted the intent of the article Mr. Wells has captured truly salient points of the significant problems associated with policing democratic freedoms in this complex age. Police have a mediational role in what has become a bivariate distribution on a wide variety of social issues normally charged with wel…
Unless I have misread or misinterpreted the intent of the article Mr. Wells has captured truly salient points of the significant problems associated with policing democratic freedoms in this complex age. Police have a mediational role in what has become a bivariate distribution on a wide variety of social issues normally charged with well entrenched beliefs. In addition, with regards to the police response, we wish to assign blame, where such issues intersect, dependent upon our perspective. Notwithstanding that obvious observation, and not being, to any extent, an expert on policing, it should be stated that failing selective enforcement of the law in the most conspicuous cases leads to escalation and emboldens those who escape prosecution. While not mentioned in the article the charge of political leanings influencing policing decisions is of increasing concern. It was, in Ipperwash, and is, a concern where Indigenous rights of self-government have yet to be decided and in any other situation where political gain or loss will result from police response. This uncertainty undermines police response and combines with leadership deficiencies to lead to either volatile or ineffective action. The police are simply left with decisions for which there will seldom be support from any level of government and thus tend ever towards no action at all.
Unless I have misread or misinterpreted the intent of the article Mr. Wells has captured truly salient points of the significant problems associated with policing democratic freedoms in this complex age. Police have a mediational role in what has become a bivariate distribution on a wide variety of social issues normally charged with well entrenched beliefs. In addition, with regards to the police response, we wish to assign blame, where such issues intersect, dependent upon our perspective. Notwithstanding that obvious observation, and not being, to any extent, an expert on policing, it should be stated that failing selective enforcement of the law in the most conspicuous cases leads to escalation and emboldens those who escape prosecution. While not mentioned in the article the charge of political leanings influencing policing decisions is of increasing concern. It was, in Ipperwash, and is, a concern where Indigenous rights of self-government have yet to be decided and in any other situation where political gain or loss will result from police response. This uncertainty undermines police response and combines with leadership deficiencies to lead to either volatile or ineffective action. The police are simply left with decisions for which there will seldom be support from any level of government and thus tend ever towards no action at all.