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Originally Posted by niwell
^^These are some good points, and I have been thinking of them as well.
Some other outcomes from this were a collective effort to ensure people who felt uncomfortable walking home had escorts, and the pressure on the police from a large group of people so they could no longer ignore it. I'm generally in favour of a community based response, and in normal times it would likely have been healthier. Things are just a bit crazy right now and some of what was being floated came across more as revenge bloodlust than any sort of actual community safety initiative. I don't think there was really a political angle here, but FWIW I'd say most involved were pretty far on the left end of the spectrum.
It was fairly common where I was living in South Africa to have whatsapp groups for the block/local area where people generally looked out for one another and tried to be aware of things beyond just their own property. This has come about due to necessity (and includes an unfortunate private security component) but the basic concept isn't a bad one.
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While they are not perfect, there is a reason why I prefer police by far: much more accountability for starters. The potential for profiling and other more tragic outcomes is far greater with private security and even worse with vigilantes.
Just look at that George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin story in Florida.
"Other people", be they paid or volunteers, shouldn't be doing the job of the police. It's not hard to imagine "community security groups" in any neighbourhood including yours or mine, focusing a bit more strictly on minorities or people who dress a certain way. Not saying police don't sometimes do this too, but at least there is some oversight for their actions.
Now, the optimal set-up is of course an effective police that isn't corrupt or prejudiced. Not always easy to achieve.
But I can tell you one thing: an emasculated police that gets replaced by pseudo-cops in certain parts of your city, won't actually lead to a happier place for minorities.