We use “Law Enforcement” interchangeably with police, FBI, DEA and ATF officers.    They are all authority figures who are charged with enforcing laws within our communities.   However, in the case of police, they often have “protect and serve” emblazoned on the side of police cruisers.   Less often, we refer to these public servants as “Peace Officers”, which seems in keeping with protect and serve as the mission.

I could spend time making the case that our police are too focused on enforcing laws and not enough on creating peace in our communities.    But its really self-evident.   Just look at the data.  The US population is the most heavily incarcerated population in the world!

We’ve created a prison industrial complex that lobbies for more prisons, more “shelf-space” and, therefore, a demand for more “product”.   But increasing prison beds and putting human beings in them is an inhumane business objective.   We are literally destroying the fabric of our society.

Yet, we frequently experience police presence in our community as individuals seeking to enforce the laws.     If a young person is found intoxicated, haul ’em off to the station and charge them with underage drinking.   Wouldn’t it be better to try to contact the parents and work out a solution that doesn’t leave the child with a record?

If you consider that the child’s new criminal record is part of a feeder system for the prison industry, then you see why the system is biased to make the arrest.

Until we start a serious conversation with our local district attorneys, prosecutors and police forces, the suffering will continue.  And we’ll continue to see confrontations that don’t make sense at the basic human level.