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DEFUND THE POLICE? HERE COME THE PRIVATE SECURITY PATROLS

As cities defund their police departments, they may turn to forces with even less accountability. Cities facing calls to cut police funding are doing so — and then hiring private security. Private security officers are often better trained than police officers, but have lower accountability to the public. Around 6 p.m. the day the George Floyd protests first hit Atlanta, Stephen Catus started getting deluged by phone calls. They didn't slow down until noon the next day. The owner of a private security firm that employs security agents across the state of Georgia. But these were calls from business owners worried that looters would smash store windows and steal their wares; wealthy residents of gated communities afraid that protesters would soon spill out into the suburbs; and local governments whose police forces were overwhelmed, including those of the city of Atlanta itself. In recent months, growing calls to defund the police have led to a widespread rethinking of the societal role of American police forces, which began as slave-catching patrols in the 18th-century South. Since May, at least 11 cities have started the process of cutting police budgets or disbanding police departments’ altogether. And it's not just coastal centers like New York City and Los Angeles but also hubs like Norman, Oklahoma, and Salt Lake City. The unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake only fuels the fire. Yet these moves are also leading to an uncomfortable question: What comes after? In many cases, the answer is privatization. Many of the people who make up these private security forces are retired police officers, looking to leave behind the poor pay, terrible hours and health risks. On the one hand, privatized security forces made up of residents protecting their own neighborhoods might be more accountable since those they "protect and serve" are their neighbors.
DEFUND THE POLICE? HERE COME THE PRIVATE SECURITY PATROLS As cities defund their police departments, they may turn to forces with even less accountability. Cities facing calls to cut police funding are doing so — and then hiring private security. Private security officers are often better trained than police officers, but have lower accountability to the public. Around 6 p.m. the day the George Floyd protests first hit Atlanta, Stephen Catus started getting deluged by phone calls. They didn't slow down until noon the next day. The owner of a private security firm that employs security agents across the state of Georgia. But these were calls from business owners worried that looters would smash store windows and steal their wares; wealthy residents of gated communities afraid that protesters would soon spill out into the suburbs; and local governments whose police forces were overwhelmed, including those of the city of Atlanta itself. In recent months, growing calls to defund the police have led to a widespread rethinking of the societal role of American police forces, which began as slave-catching patrols in the 18th-century South. Since May, at least 11 cities have started the process of cutting police budgets or disbanding police departments’ altogether. And it's not just coastal centers like New York City and Los Angeles but also hubs like Norman, Oklahoma, and Salt Lake City. The unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake only fuels the fire. Yet these moves are also leading to an uncomfortable question: What comes after? In many cases, the answer is privatization. Many of the people who make up these private security forces are retired police officers, looking to leave behind the poor pay, terrible hours and health risks. On the one hand, privatized security forces made up of residents protecting their own neighborhoods might be more accountable since those they "protect and serve" are their neighbors. read more read less

3 years ago #105.5, #alabama, #birmingham, #brosnan, #defund, #leah, #morning, #news, #patrick, #police, #radio, #werc