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Home Front: Politix
Want a lawless police force? Federalize it
2015-05-04
In the wake of the Baltimore riots, Al Sharpton is calling for the federal takeover of local police. Like most ideas from the loathsome Rev. Sharpton, this is a lousy one. But since federalizing local police is actually an Obama administration idea, it's worth paying a bit more attention.

The idea behind federal supervision of local police forces is that it will make them more accountable. Instead of a bunch of presumptively racist, violent hicks running things on a local level, we'll see the cool professionalism of the national government in charge.

There are (at least) two problems with this approach. The first is that federal law enforcement, especially in recent years, hasn't exactly been a haven of cool professionalism. The second is that no law enforcement agency is very good at policing itself, meaning that a national police force is likely to be less accountable, not more. And there's a third problem, too, but we'll get to that in a minute.
Posted by:g(r)omgoru

#5  Actually Sharpless wants a national Gestapo to peer in every window and listen to every phone call and destroy the loyal opposition.

First and last step to police state. If Sharpless was a true civil libertarian, he would never say this. He is a Marxist/Stalinist using race baiting to further a leftist totalitarian agenda.

Oh by the way, you guys at the IRS who seem to know what I am saying on the internet, go ahead and audit me again.
Posted by: Bill Clinton   2015-05-04 21:32  

#4  In most states, you can refer problems with the city police to the local sheriff and/or the state police. Once the police get federalized, there's no one to appeal to.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2015-05-04 19:33  

#3  Do you want the police to be even more unaccountable? Federalize it. At least now they are accountable at the local level. Federalize them and there will be no accountability.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2015-05-04 17:29  

#2  Federalize speelin korecktead
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2015-05-04 17:23  

#1  Federalizing the police force? If Sharpton is for it, I'm against it. It's a bad idea. What wrong with a decentralized police force answerable to the local citizens (taxpayers). Screw the idea of federalizing the police force. I haven't seen anything federalized that works.
Posted by: JohnQC   2015-05-04 14:49  

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