I can see how police diversity could be a problem in Minneapolis. Anyone who looks around can see that the average resident is more likely every day to be nonwhite. So, if our police force is gradually becoming MORE white, we're risking increasing fiction. Of course, I know some will ask why the cop and the citizen have to be the same color. But to me, that isn't the real problem. Increasingly, BESIDES being racially different, they don't even live in the same city. Since the state vetoed any attempt by Minneapolis (or any other city) to require residency, our city government is hiring more and more people from beyond its borders. And that tends to mean more and more white people since the city and suburbs are racially different to a meaningful degree. And it is THAT experiential difference that matters. When I speak to my neighbors, we share a big community of experience. We can bridge our misunderstandings.
Contrast that with a cop's work where crucial decisions must be made in a very short time. When the cop DOESNT share much with the civilian population, he has to GUESS about significant facts. When he guesses wrong, the resulting actions can increase suspicion and rancor between the citizen and the police force. Plus, I wouldn't doubt that police who choose to live elsewhere approach their jobs at a higher level of stress than those who feel right at home where they patrol. So, the chance of damaging accidents increases. I think it might be said that RESIDENCY is more important than race. But the city has no control over either. And when it tries to hire "the most qualified candidate", it faces the additonal problem that culture is never even CONSIDERED as a factor in qualification. I doubt police departments would even know HOW to apply culture when considering applicants. So, law and settlement patterns create a great deal of difficulty in staffing the police force with people who can go out among a populaton that is diverse and provide protection and justice. ************* And on the subject of policing, I was mentioning before that we tend to be too limiting in how we imagine policing being done. We consider the best policing to be when we have enough uniforms to send out two in a squad car. Yet, there are a lot of similarities between a military unit and a police precinct, and I doubt the military has ever look at operations that way. I think the Minneapolis police need to relook at how they do things. Mobility is good, but I think a squad car is only one way to deploy forces. It is optimum for a certain stratum of situations, being then inadequate for many and too much for the rest. If you change the total number of personnel without changing how you use them, it seems you me you affect ability to respond quickly and effectively. I think other models should be considered. ******************* Chris, don't compare urban schools to country schools and figure somehow they're doing "the same job". The very fact that parents move away from the city tells me that the parents don't think the country school will have as difficult a job. Urban teachers have to deal with a host of distractions that compete for the student's attention. Urban teachers must deal with higher percentages of broken homes that do interfere with achievement. It is harder for the urban school to get a teacher due to more work for the same pay. In her career, my mother did both, and the suburban job was easier. I, too, want much more information about how spending decisions get made in schools. I don't think our present school organization does nearly enough to create transparency for the schools. But I don't intend to start with a facile assumption that "a school is a school is a school". Teaching is like policing. Expectations are limitless, means are modest. We need to do more to help the schools and ease up on the constant defiant challenges to them. But they have to know that we can't help without full disclosure. Jim Mork Neighborhood of Cooper Community of Longfellow City of Minneapolis (Star of the North) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM). http://calendar.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
