Do you trust your local police department? (poll)

[NineSpine]

The issue is not how often they do good things vs bad things. The issue is how often their bad conduct is not only forgiven but encouraged and defended.

If every once in awhile a firefighter just put a kid back in the burning building, and the fire department accepted and defended that, we wouldn't sit here going "But what about all the times they DON'T put the kid back in the burning building?!?!?!?"

[Nihilist74]

I don't really trust anyone too much but it would be much worse without the cops than with them. A community policing group would be much worse.

[Dezerte]

Generally speaking, yes. But I also live in a small Swedish town, as a white male.

[NineSpine]

I don't really trust anyone too much but it would be much worse without the cops than with them. A community policing group would be much worse.

That assumes police forces are binary, they either exist or don't exist. However, in reality, there are many forms a police force can take. Do we really need police forces that spend most of their time policing social problems like drug addiction and homelessness? Or should police be reserved for more serious situations only?