"PAS" wrote:

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote
Per John Doe:

I would bet that the percentage of bad cops roughly parallels
the percentage of bad people.

I would agree - with emphasis on "roughly".

I'm guessing police work attracts a certain percentage of
unsuitable people just as fire fighting attracts pyromaniacs
and child care attracts pedophiles.

I tend to be a little suspicious when I hear about a guy who
"always wanted to be a cop".

Possibly an overreaction, but it's been in my mind ever since I
read about a NYC cop who became Policeman Of The Year or
somesuch. The question was "Why did you become a police
officer?" and the answer was "I was out of work and they were
hiring."

OTOH, there's Serpico who, by all accounts, always wanted to be
cop and turned out to be an exceptional one.

My son will be entering the NYPD Academy next month. He didn't
alwyas want to be a cop but looked into it and decided that it
interested him as a good career. I honestly wonder how he will
fare as he is not one to put up with police abuse of citizens
rights and Lord knows what happens to cops who expose the
wrongdoing of other cops.

Who says your son knows what's right and wrong? You're talking
about extremely subjective judgments.

All he has to do is believe that cops should get involved in every
little part of everybody's lives. Because in fact that's where our
country is headed. Government knows best what's good for everybody
even in their most private relationships. For example... If your
son feels good about stopping a father from disciplining its
child, and instead he wants to exercise his own judgment about
what's right for the child, he will fit in to the upcoming police
force perfectly.

Most police officers know better than to get involved in other
people's family matters. That's why family bashing politicians
have enacted laws that force police officers to arrest somebody in
every domestic violence call. Most police officers don't feel good
about doing that. If your son does, he'll do great, that's exactly
what they're looking for. And I see no end in sight to that trend.