The problem of police and the policed

The recent police killings of black men—Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Akai Gurley—accidental or not, justified or not, remind us of the difficulty at the heart of government in a fallen world.

James Madison gave the clearest statement of “the political problem” in Federalist Papers No. 51:

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Political authority takes different forms and so too does the problem: self-serving political leaders and bureaucracies, abusive police forces, armies that pillage instead of defend.

We need the police because there are dangerous people among us. If the police were simply a force for evil, we could just remove them. No problem. But if the police withdrew for the sake of peace, there would be mayhem. Despite abuses, every police force provides an essential service. Police officers deserve gratitude, no matter how mixed it may be, from the communities they serve.

A police force, though necessary, is dangerous. Police work attracts a particular kind of person: virile, combative, eager to face a challenge. The job demands this. But to keep those qualities serving the public good, we train officers in self-control and professional conduct, and we constrain them with policies that help everyone involved.

Some neighborhoods are more crime-infested than others. Some criminal behavior is more personally taxing to subdue than others. A traffic violation should not present a challenge to an officer’s calm demeanor, but a riot with hateful shouting and bottle throwing can push even well-trained professionals to excess.

Police officers tend to come from outside the communities they serve. Otherwise, there is a temptation to corruption and the uneven enforcement of the law among neighbors and friends. It is also dangerous to live in the same community as the people you arrest and confront. But that can lead to the police having less sympathy toward residents in ethnically distinct communities.

When they don’t live in a neighborhood and only deal constantly with the bad guys, police officers can become calloused. They can become brutalized and then brutalize in turn. Even those who want to “serve and protect” faithfully are subject to human weakness. If police can’t be hired from the local community, it may be helpful to include among their duties merciful service to the community, like physical improvements or care for the poor and elderly.

For the community’s part, rage is never constructive. “Love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1, ESV). God solved the basic human problem through his love for us on the cross. Loving one’s enemy, whether real or perceived, is far from easy. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20, ESV). Honest, humble, empathetic listening between residents and police, taking seriously each other’s concerns, would at least be a step forward.