Why Do the Police Exist? (2020)(novaramedia.com)
novaramedia.com
Why Do the Police Exist? (2020)
https://novaramedia.com/2020/06/20/why-does-the-police-exist/
27 comments
davidguetta(1)
> It’s obvious because of the race of the people involved.
I think I know what you're saying. You're saying that non-white people are trouble, aren't you? I mean, why wouldn't such a thing be considered a fact and why wouldn't it be obvious? You said it, so it became a fact and also it became obvious.
I think I know what you're saying. You're saying that non-white people are trouble, aren't you? I mean, why wouldn't such a thing be considered a fact and why wouldn't it be obvious? You said it, so it became a fact and also it became obvious.
I know they’re drug dealers because they tried to sell me drugs.
The English countryside is over 95% white. It’s obvious when organised violent gangs consisting entirely of people of color from London take over and start selling drugs.
The police put a stop to it and we are all very grateful.
The English countryside is over 95% white. It’s obvious when organised violent gangs consisting entirely of people of color from London take over and start selling drugs.
The police put a stop to it and we are all very grateful.
You don't know they are drug dealers, because not all of them tried to sell you drugs, did they? That's a ridiculous statement. You know that some of them tried to do that. Even so, the fact that they were not white had little to do with it, so it was not obvious by any measure.
> when organised violent gangs consisting entirely of people of color from London take over
In what respect did they take over? And how can you tell that they were all selling drugs? Maybe some were there as tourists, maybe some were visiting family etc.
You make some racist assumptions without evidence that I believe should be called out because you're hell-bent on proving something that may not actually be supported by evidence. You, my dear colleague, are fabulating.
Not only that the National Police Chiefs' Council County Lines STRA (FY Apr 2024 to Mar 2025) reports that 63.6% of recorded individuals involved are White (with 22.9% Black, 11.6% Asian, 1.8% Other)[0], but "county lines" narrative is routinely racialised and can amplify stereotypes [1], like you appear to do with your comment.
[0] https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/pub...
[1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03063968231201325
> when organised violent gangs consisting entirely of people of color from London take over
In what respect did they take over? And how can you tell that they were all selling drugs? Maybe some were there as tourists, maybe some were visiting family etc.
You make some racist assumptions without evidence that I believe should be called out because you're hell-bent on proving something that may not actually be supported by evidence. You, my dear colleague, are fabulating.
Not only that the National Police Chiefs' Council County Lines STRA (FY Apr 2024 to Mar 2025) reports that 63.6% of recorded individuals involved are White (with 22.9% Black, 11.6% Asian, 1.8% Other)[0], but "county lines" narrative is routinely racialised and can amplify stereotypes [1], like you appear to do with your comment.
[0] https://www.npcc.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/pub...
[1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03063968231201325
I could see them operating from my home office window. There is a corner where two roads and a footpath cross. It’s a walkable neighbourhood so there is a lot of foot traffic. A daycare center is about 50 meters away.
Every afternoon one of the men would be standing at the corner selling drugs. People would walk up to the man to buy the drugs. They worked a rotation but there were about 4 regular dealers at my crossroads.
The first few times I walked past by myself they tried to sell me drugs. Then they knew I was not a customer and ignored me or greeted me politely.
One of them was very chatty and I had to explain to my daughter that we don’t trust him even though he is friendly because he makes bad choices. County lines gangs are involved in human trafficking as well as drug dealing.
Every dealer I saw on that corner was from an ethnic minority background. Usually county lines drug dealers live in London and commute out to where they sell their drugs. This is why the ethnicity of the gang does not match the local population.
I sincerely hope that you never experience anything like this.
Every afternoon one of the men would be standing at the corner selling drugs. People would walk up to the man to buy the drugs. They worked a rotation but there were about 4 regular dealers at my crossroads.
The first few times I walked past by myself they tried to sell me drugs. Then they knew I was not a customer and ignored me or greeted me politely.
One of them was very chatty and I had to explain to my daughter that we don’t trust him even though he is friendly because he makes bad choices. County lines gangs are involved in human trafficking as well as drug dealing.
Every dealer I saw on that corner was from an ethnic minority background. Usually county lines drug dealers live in London and commute out to where they sell their drugs. This is why the ethnicity of the gang does not match the local population.
I sincerely hope that you never experience anything like this.
What exactly makes you think they are "hell-bent on proving something that may not actually be supported by evidence.".
The only thing they've done is observe that the drug dealers outside their house weren't white.
The only thing they've done is observe that the drug dealers outside their house weren't white.
davidguetta(1)
The author of this article is so stupid it hurts just to read it.
When conservatives were busy freaking out about the slogan "defund the police", I thought a little bit about that slogan. Every interaction I, a white middle class Midwestern, have had with police has been either to my detriment (traffic tickets mostly) or had zero good effects. I've had bicycles and even a car stolen. The first thing out of the cop's mouth was "you're never going to see that again". What benefit do police (as an institution) supply? Witnessing traffic accidents so insurance companies can decide who pays seems to be the big one.
Here is an example of what happens when there are no police, Montreal police strike:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray-Hill_riot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray-Hill_riot
> What benefit do police (as an institution) supply
This is one of those bad topics to talk about but to me it seems obvious. If there were no laws to prevent people from stealing, killing each other, you wouldn't have society. Yes you have bicycles/car stolen but I would think it would be a lot worse. I don't agree with that ACAB saying but I think people who haven't lived in a bad place say that. But I also am aware of racism/stereotyping it's funny you mention being white as yeah it's worse for not being white.
This is one of those bad topics to talk about but to me it seems obvious. If there were no laws to prevent people from stealing, killing each other, you wouldn't have society. Yes you have bicycles/car stolen but I would think it would be a lot worse. I don't agree with that ACAB saying but I think people who haven't lived in a bad place say that. But I also am aware of racism/stereotyping it's funny you mention being white as yeah it's worse for not being white.
>If there were no laws to prevent people from stealing, killing each other, you wouldn't have society.
Laws are even less capable of preventing these things than police!
What actually prevents these things is social homogenization, equality, and shared community goals and experiences.
Laws are even less capable of preventing these things than police!
What actually prevents these things is social homogenization, equality, and shared community goals and experiences.
Indeed. Comes to mind an expression from one of my professors, "laws are to keep honest people honest, just like doors; should someone not care about those, they can easily break them - most of the time without consequences". Because most criminals are not caught or investigated.
Remember the 'CHOP/CHAZ' [1] fiasco during the 'Summer of Love' in 2020 [2]? That is where you end up if there is no police. Instead of a Kumbayah around the campfire you get some warlord-like individual who proclaims himself Lord of the Domain and anyone who crosses him gets to find out why 'abolishing the police' was a bad idea.
Does this mean that the police is always right? No, of course not, that is one of the many things wrong with the 'Die Partei hat immer recht' (German for The party is always right, part of the lyrics of the national anthem of the German 'Democratic' Republic [3]) philosophy. Nobody is always right and any power is there to be abused by those willing and able to do so. That's why there is oversight of those in power which - admittedly - isn't always as effective as it should be.
[1] https://www.historylink.org/File/22870
[2] https://reasonabletv.com/podcast/chop_s_deadly_legacy__5_yea...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_IbCMOg9YA&t=18
Does this mean that the police is always right? No, of course not, that is one of the many things wrong with the 'Die Partei hat immer recht' (German for The party is always right, part of the lyrics of the national anthem of the German 'Democratic' Republic [3]) philosophy. Nobody is always right and any power is there to be abused by those willing and able to do so. That's why there is oversight of those in power which - admittedly - isn't always as effective as it should be.
[1] https://www.historylink.org/File/22870
[2] https://reasonabletv.com/podcast/chop_s_deadly_legacy__5_yea...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_IbCMOg9YA&t=18
The price of your stolen bike is order of magnitude lower than the amount of time / money the police force would spend tracking it.
It's supposed to be here for more serious matters.
It's supposed to be here for more serious matters.
There's a valid argument that allowing petty crime to fester encourages people to grow into more serious crimes. I live in a small town and the police do have the resources to investigate stolen bikes, and stolen bikes happen, but it's rare enough that people often don't lock up their bikes when they're in the town center.
Granted, there's a rate of return issue here that the cities will struggle with, but for the small town forces, it's worth their time to keep petty crime down IMHO.
Granted, there's a rate of return issue here that the cities will struggle with, but for the small town forces, it's worth their time to keep petty crime down IMHO.
The parent said that the police has never helped him. You said that given the problems he has, the police should not help him, because it isn't worth money and effort. Notice that you are talking past him: he didn't say "they should have helped me", only "they didn't help me".
Great - then they should simply write him a check to reimburse him, right?
nobody said "police will prevent all crime"
in theory it's "some crime, starting with the most important"
in theory it's "some crime, starting with the most important"
It was still a crime, right? If price tag is what matters, then the cops are just there to serve and protect the oligarchs. Which has been my experience, which leads me to ask why I'm paying taxes to have a security force for the wealthy.
they have limited time and ressources. imagine youre a cop you come on the morning and you have the choice between investigating:
- a murder
- a organized crime situation
- a stolen bike (with basically 0 chance of finding them since they end up in africa in 24h anyway typically)
County lines drug dealing is where organised gangs in London send people out to deal drugs in small towns outside London. It’s obvious because of the race of the people involved.
2 years ago the police did a massive crackdown and the county lines drug dealers disappeared. County lines drug dealers haven’t come back and now there is no obvious public drug dealing in my neighbourhood.
The police do a difficult job and they are fantastic at it.
https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/over-1-800-arrested-wit...