In Europe, it’s exactly because they want witnesses, cops’ words don’t carry more weight than yours by default, so if they ticket you, they want at least two testimonies on their side.
I think higher numbers would lead to reform on its own. When you’re scraping by at the bare minimum, a lot of stuff gets overlooked just to maintain numbers.
More cops would make it a lot easier to have better standards, and raise the average competency level.
That’s something I never got about cops in the US. Everywhere in Europe, there are always two cops per car, at least in the places I have been.
Fewer witnesses.
In Europe, it’s exactly because they want witnesses, cops’ words don’t carry more weight than yours by default, so if they ticket you, they want at least two testimonies on their side.
Okay, but in the US they don’t want to risk two cops messing up their witness testimony. Better to just have one, because a cop’s word is law anyway.
It’s to create the illusion that there’s more cops than there really are. Same reason behind take home cars.
My city of about 300k people has about 30 cops patrolling at any given time.
San Jose, California has some wild numbers perhaps like that.
Would you take more if you could? Assuming no reform, just more of the same.
I think higher numbers would lead to reform on its own. When you’re scraping by at the bare minimum, a lot of stuff gets overlooked just to maintain numbers.
More cops would make it a lot easier to have better standards, and raise the average competency level.
Easier to terrorize minorities if you spread out.