CMV: The primary function of the police is not to fight crime.

Hi everyone. This is my first thread on this sub, and I'm excited to see how people will try to change my view on this topic. <br><br>A few years ago, I read a book on the history of the police. Unfortunately, I can't remember what book it was now, but it was basically an academic and well documented historical analysis of why the police force was established in the UK and the US. I think what stuck with me most was the number of references the book provided to back up its arguments. I then read other books and articles on the subject, and it only reinforced my theory.<br><br>According to said book, the first police force was set up in the UK in the 19th century to quell protests and fight the demand for better working conditions and better pay. <br><br>In the US, the history of the police force is even more shocking. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the police was initially made up of White volunteers and used to patrol plantations and fight slave resistance. In the South, the police was responsible for controlling runaway slaves. The 19th century also saw the birth of the "paddy wagons," which were used to arrest drunk Irishmen and force them to work in chain gangs. Needless to say, this is an extremely abhorrent practice that used to be legal in the US. <br><br>This, in my view, stands in stark contrast to the image the police has today, i.e. an institution that exists to fight crime and protect the public. If you think about it, the people who created the police force were mostly wealthy landowners and industrialists. The police force was created first and foremost to protect these two groups from the working class and the slaves. The police were instrumental in crushing the resistance of slaves in the US and of workers in the UK and other countries. <br><br>To back up this argument, one can point to the fact that the police is mostly made up of people with conservative and right-wing views. In my experience, police officers tend to be people who are openly pro-capitalist and anti-communist. The police force is an institution that has and continues to reflect the values of the ruling class. <br><br>Empirical evidence also supports this theory. Thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement, we are now more aware of police brutality and systemic racism than ever before. We also know that the police is more likely to pull over and even arrest people of color than Whites. <br><br>We also know that the police is more effective at arresting people for minor crimes than serious offenses. Thanks to the war on drugs, millions of people, mostly people of color, have been imprisoned for minor offenses like cannabis possession. As a result, the US has the largest prison population in the world. <br><br>On the other hand, the police has a hard time solving serious crimes like murder, rape, and assault. If you have watched enough true crime documentaries, you will know that the police is often very inefficient at solving crimes like these, and this is partly due to a lack of resources, even though the US has spent billions of dollars in "law and order" during the war on drugs. <br><br>I have also come to realize that whenever a crime occurs, the first thing you do is call the police, and then you sit back and wait for them to arrive even though they often take hours to arrive. I've read many accounts of people who were raped or assaulted while waiting for the police to arrive. <br><br>One can then ask, what would happen if the police ceased to exist? I don't think this is an eventuality that would happen any time soon, but in theory, if the police ceased to exist, who would protect us? The answer is obvious: we would have to protect ourselves. <br><br>However, in theory, I believe that the absence of the police would lead to the rise of neighborhood watches, community patrols, and other forms of community-based crime prevention. <br><br>In conclusion, I don't think that the police has a role to play in the prevention of crime or the protection of people. <br><br>**Edit 1:** I am pro abolishing the police. In my view, the police force is an institution that serves as a tool of oppression. The police have historically been used to crush the resistance of Indigenous people, slaves, workers, and people of color in general. If you think that the police can be reformed and improved through better police training and more oversight, that's fine, but in my view, it's impossible to reform an institution that has and continues to reflect the values of the ruling class. <br><br>**Edit 2:** I am not naive enough to think that we can live without the police. I am also not arguing that we should live in a society without laws and institutions. What I am arguing is that the police is not, has never been, nor will it ever be an institution that exists to fight crime and protect society. The police exists to protect the ruling class.