We are a violent nation. How can anyone deny it? Violence stemmed from the early humans. You had to be the strongest to survive, you had to be the strongest to eat, mate, live, etc. But our social instincts kicked in to create groups, and in these groups came the rules. These codes of behaviour revolved around the religious sector. We had to be in control, because murder and violence are unsocial, unaccepted behaviour. Our social behaviours became our responsibility, thus creating the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would do unto yourself. However, society recognized the need for violence in some forms, and created classes of people who can stretch these limits on violence, under certain rules. This lead to the development of the military – to protect society from external threats – and the police force – to protect society from internal threats. Nowadays the Government resides over the codes of behaviour, what is legal and illegal, and runs these two forces for the betterment of society. Violence continues to exist in our world today. We see small crimes, murders, terrorism. Is this because our human instinct is still the survival of the fittest? Or is it something different? Police and military are there to protect society, from both internal and external threats. Protect us they shall. That is what I will hope to achieve with this blog, report on crimes, and show the relations between the protectors and the protected.
How do Police and people relate to one another? Can they react without conflict? Should people care? Do we feel safe? As a daughter of two police officers with military backgrounds, I have been raised in an environment of over protectiveness and knowledge of the evil of the world, conflicting ideas if you ask me. I have always been interested in the subject of Police and people relations, because it is what I go through every day. I know the Police world and I know the people world. Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, an author of two books that deal with psychology of killing and war, wrote an essay titled On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs. (Link below) Although I could argue against some of his points, his message is clear: Police, soldiers, warriors are a necessity of life. Essentially, most of society can be referred to as sheep – peaceful, harmless people that go about their not unlike a field full of grazing sheep. The only enemy of the sheep is the wolf, an analogy to the violent criminal element in our society. The sheepdog, the protector of the flock from the wolves resembles those in our society like the police, and in some war-torn societies, the soldiers. Much of the flock of sheep pay no attention to the sheepdog and take comfort that they are somewhat protected. Some sheep look at the sheepdog and resent its control over their freedoms as it tries to keep the flock together and protected. And some sheep look at the sheepdog and see a resemblance to the wolf, with its sharp teeth and propensity to violence and have no trust whatsoever. This subject can be touchy to some people and very opinionated by others, however it holds a huge significance to everyone. No matter how small the significance is to us, some day we will call on the police for help, and they will help. I want to look at the specific controversies and problems surrounding the relations between people and police officers. This can cover anything from Tasers to gun laws and gun control to the leniency of the law. In this blog, I plan to include interviews with people and police officers, some video clips of important information, and Every Saturday I will include Case Studies to analyse and report on. I plan to Follow bother the Toronto Police Service www.torontopolice.on.ca and the Brantford Police Service websites. www.police.brantford.on.ca/index.html
