First, let me say that I am no expert in Law Enforcement. I am not a historian, I am not even a member of law enforcement. I wish that I could write this diary with the knowledge of an expert on the subject, but I don’t have that knowledge. So if I make a statement that is substantially or factually wrong, please feel free to correct me. But this is how I see it.
My understanding on how law enforcement originally came into existence is as follows. Originally in this nation there were two branches of law enforcement. Locally you had the Sheriff. Sheriffs were in charge of maintaining law and order of their locality, they were originally appointed or elected by the town’s people and were basically there to keep the towns safe. Think of all the old west movies that are out there and you get the idea. They were responsible for keeping the peace, arresting cattle rustlers, bank robbers, and murderers. They ran the jail, and they maintained the laws of the locality so that people could live together in harmony. They maintained the rule of law by applying it equally to everyone in most cases, but were always weary of outsiders. Then you had your US Marshals. They were the guys that hunted down the bad guys that broke the laws in multiple states, were some of the worst, and they enforced the laws of the US Government. They transported criminals to federal courts and holding facilities, and were good at tracking down people and doing extensive interviewing and detecting work. They had more training in the law than your average sheriff, and were held to a higher standard. A Marshall had more authority than a Sheriff and were respected anywhere they went. Whereas a sheriff only had authority in the locality where they were elected or appointed and were bound by boarders.
Eventually, during the time of slavery. There became a need for people to hunt down runaway slaves and return them to their masters. These people were granted certain rights and privileges that were different than those of either a Sheriff or a Marshall and were not really doing the job of law enforcement with respect to keeping law and order, but were tasked with hunting, catching and returning runaway slaves. These people were the ones that were cruel, loved to dole out punishment, were racist thru and thru.
As history progressed and slavery was abolished. These people were then transformed into our modern police forces, used to police the prior slaves and keep them “in-line”. Many people don’t know that immediately after slavery was abolished the “States Rights” groups started making new laws targeted at the black folks as to limit what they could and couldn’t do, and the police forces were there to assure that the black folks did as they were told, or were arrested and put back to work on a chain gang or other forced labor project. This of course was truer in the south than anywhere else. It’s this origin of the police forces that makes the difference, and permeates our police culture even to this day. Racism in our police departments is being called out every single day. We see examples of it all over the country. It seems that the older the department the more likely it is to be tainted by racism.
The current calls to de-fund the police is not to eliminate them but to remove the need for them in every day interactions or things that they are not needed for. People in distress and suffering from mental illness need psychological help, not law enforcement. People suffering drug addiction, or inability to properly care for a child need the services from our social services departments to help them get the help they need. People in crisis don’t need a ball buster they need people with a calm offer of support. The job of Police in enforcing our laws has diversified to the point that law enforcement is insufficient. We need additional skilled professionals to handle these situations where police are not qualified to handle them. Thus the need to de-fund the police, or a better way of saying it is to fund the care programs that are needed and that are currently being dealt with by the unqualified police forces.
The calls for de-funding the FBI on the other hand are purely a distraction. It seems that the FBI is an offshoot from the Federal services that the US Marshall's used to handle but became too involved and therefore the investigating and arresting portion of their jobs. An FBI agent is carefully screened with background checks, mental health screens, bias screening, their references are carefully checked. They are scrutinized way beyond the level of any police department entry examinations, and the screenings are not just at the time of entry, they are ongoing. Are there racists in the FBI? I imagine that there are a few. I am sure that some hold racist opinions, but they know to keep them to themselves and are aware that they can and will be held accountable for their actions. Whereas in police forces they are aware that in most cases, their department and union will defend them no matter what they do, as long as it does not make national headlines and put the whole department in a serious bind. Up until very recently police almost always were able to go unpunished for their bad behavior. Things are starting to change for the better, but the change is happening too slowly for many.
I put it out there that the only reason we are hearing calls from some in congress to de-fund the FBI is because they did their job. They did it with integrity and the ones calling for their de-funding are the ones that are pissed that they had the audacity to go after a racist leader who to this day still condemns the central park five. While I am no cheer leader for law enforcement, I do respect the FBI. I think that if any law enforcement agency can withstand the scrutiny that they deserve it would be the FBI. So any call to de-fund them is a call for anarchy, to open the doors for fascism, and put an end to holding those who break our most serious laws accountable so that they can get away with it. Remember that, and every time you hear a politician say de-fund the FBI, consider the source, as they must be culpable in some crime that they do not want us to know about. They are most likely corrupt as can be and should probably be investigated themselves, and quite possibly are already under investigation. I am pretty sure that Matt Gaetz, would love to see the FBI de-funded.
To sum it up, it’s all about the origins. Racism in police departments has been around since their inception and calls to de-fund them is so that they are not injected into every single situation where they are not the ones needed. Calls to de-fund the FBI are a just Republicans trying to commandeer a legitimate effort and distort it for their own purposes, and desires to not be held accountable for their illegal actions. IMHO