Causes of Crime

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Sounds great on its face, but this really doesn't differ from the laws and policies in the US (though not necessarily the practices).

In the first instance, the hitch in your generality is "innocent person." I know of no American law or policy that specifically allows shooting innocent people. If you're referring to Ferguson, knocking off a convenience store, assaulting its owner, assaulting a cop while going for his gun and then charging a cop don't exactly qualify as innocent in the eyes of the law.

As for your second point, the word "unreasonable" force is already implicit within our law (i.e., only "reasonable" force is allowed). The hitch is determining ,after the fact, (as in Staten Island) whether the force was reasonable or not. The cops actions on the video seemed excessive to me, FWIW.

In a violent, well-armed society such as ours, British policing practices are unfortunately impossible. If our society becomes less violent and less well-armed, perhaps the British model is viable.

You miss the point.

It does not turn on whether the law here or anywhere supports shooting innocents and using unreasonable force. Of course it doesn't, or shouldn't.

But the trainer's point was to attempt to define law officer in the trainees' minds. It's not the uniform you wear, it's what you do. If you do wrong, you are not a law officer.

The hope was that the trainees would get it, as they took on the identity of law officer, and would govern their behavior accordingly.