There was once a time when the small town police force was the norm. The local fathers (there were no local mothers back then, as they were home baking cherry pies) believed that they were every bit as entitled to control their own destiny as any big city, and part of that control was to make sure that life in their bucolic burg stayed just the way it had always been.
But times change. And cops cost money. Relative to other local concerns, cops cost quite a bit of money, as they carry quite a bit of baggage with them, like cars, guns, uniforms, new comfy shoes, black leather belts and communications equipment. Even the occasional taser on their shiny black leather belts. Someone has to pay for all this.
For those of a certain age, the memory of Andy Griffith and his aide-de-camp, Barney Fife, reflect both the best and worst of small town police. On the one hand, they weren’t exactly the paradigm of professionalism, the mere sight of a gun on Barney’s hip being enough to make one wince. This was not a person who should be allowed within a mile of a weapon, for his own sake if not the rest of us.
On the other hand, the small town police force had the enormous virtue of personal responsibility. The disconnect between police officer and the community she serves didn’t exist. Cops were our neighbors and friends. We talked to them over the barbecue on a warm summer night, just like they were real people. Because they are, once the uniform comes off and they have a beer in their hand.
It’s far harder to shoot a taser at the 14 year old daughter of the fellow you shared a burger with the day before. Everyone in town is a person. You know them. They know you. The anonymity that allows a police officer to dehumanize his perp so that he feels neither concern nor remorse for his conduct, whether it’s a show of force or just a lousy attitude, is almost non-existent in the small town police force. Do something to someone and everyone knows it. And they will remember it for a long, long time.
This didn’t help the transient passing through a small town, who suffered the twin maladies of being suspect by cop and local alike, and having no humanizing connection to prevent the police from seizing the opportunity to enjoy his authority unconstrained by either humanizing connection or adequate training and oversight. The tourist passing through might as well have a bulls-eye painted on his back, and did well to mosey along quietly, attracting as little interest as possible.
The small town police force was an important piece of Americana, and will be missed in many ways as they fade into oblivion. Whether their demise means that we’ve finally come to grips with economies of scale, or the “new professionalism” that Nino keeps dreaming about, I don’t know. But many will miss the fact that they know they names of their local cops. And more importantly, that the cops know their names and the names of their children as well.
To the new kids in town, we’re all going to be tourists.
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C’mon down. In my County there are 6 town police forces, 1 city police force, the Sheriff, railroad police, conservation officers, and State Troopers.
Ever notice these cuts really never happen. They just get mentioned, for a while.
I don’t know about that, having seen a number of village police departments disappear. Cost is one reason, but a second is that inability to manage/oversee police by small town government. Many local mayors and boards come to the realization that as much fun as it may be to have a police department these days, they carry a great many problems and much liability if not well managed, and these small towns have no one capable of providing accountability. The cops are left to their own devices, entirely under the control of the police chief, who may or may not be a competent manager and who may or may not be trustworthy.
Of course, the only cuts around you are to the length of the shorts worn by South Beach officers. And I have no doubt they get mentioned with regularity.
I think it has more to do with the times than with the size of the town. These days I think the small village police departments are the worst. A lot of them are repositories for would-be officers larger departments won’t hire, or have in fact fired. The psychology of a police officer today is a lot different than Andy and Barney.
And civilian oversight is a real problem, as Scott notes. You’ve got a part time village board, a part time mayor, and even if they’re not in bed with their cops they’re probably afraid of them, because their local careers and reputations are basically at their mercy.
I know some little village police departments around here that are insanely corrupt, and have been for years. Effectively, they’re just a group of armed young men with not enough legitimate work to do, so they make trouble when they think they can get away with it. And they can get away with just about anything, because it costs too much to take them on.
Like Ken says, in a rural county you’ve got the State Police, the Sheriff, campus police, conservation officers. That’s enough.
The small town charm of local law enforcement officers is a distant memory.
A village chief of police near me used to smile and wave every time we drove by each other. The last few years it’s a ferocious scowl. What gives? Who knows. I ignore him.
The practice to justify costs by the funds the village gets from the volume of fines from traffic tickets and it works I guess.
Ahhhhhh, yes. I remember when Police were are friends; they were there for us to protect and serve. Not today. I fear the Police. They have too much personal ‘baggage’ and too much unchecked authority. They say ‘jump’, I ask ‘how high’. They are abusive authoritarians and no one knows if they are on the verge of exploding their rather or bias on you.
Today, there are too many LAWS for big brother to tax, fine and send us to programs at our expense and when we can’t pay, we go to jail. These same laws do not apply to the law makers and law enforcers.
Free society? who are they kidding.