3. Privatize the police
A third step that most likely will not be taken but could reduce police brutality to almost zero is to privatize the police. Why are there so many complaints about cops who clearly used excessive force yet were either found not guilty or were given paid leave instead of a prison sentence? Quite simply, it’s due to the nature of the police. For the police to exist as a government institution, there has to be greater protection for the actions of the police. Ordinary citizens are only legally capable of defending themselves or others from violence and notifying the police of a law being broken. Police are given a great deal of leeway in their use of violence due to their role in enforcing the laws, including using physical and sometimes lethal force. They can use at their discretion tear gas, stun grenades, protective body armor, armored vehicles, trained animals, and specialized tactics that ordinary citizens cannot use. Since they are given much greater allowance in the equipment and tactics they can use, they must also necessarily have greater legal protection than the average person. They are also part of a monopoly of violence, and as such face no competition for their services. Their special protections and lack of competition mean they can get away with things that no private service ever could. Nobody would expect McDonald’s to properly investigate its food for health risks or be honest about the findings of a problem. Yet this is effectively the case with the police being investigated and reprimanded by the very government of which they are a part. McDonald’s can lose competition though to other fast food restaurants if a problem is found. For the police to truly be accountable to the people, for the majority of the abuses to stop, and for violence in this country to decline, police privatization is something to be considered. But even if it is ignored, repeal of laws that create victimless crimes and different training for police will certainly help create a much more peaceful and free society.
