[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

There is a time and a place for everything just dont send out a social worker for criminal activity

Agree. But.....do not downsize police presence. My point was to supplement police presence with a social worker when warranted.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

So......having a couple of cops outside just in case the social worker needs help? With defunding the police, are those cops not going to earn full pay? Maybe they deserve only half pay because they are just standing by in case they are needed to deal with an out of control suspect? This is getting ridiculous. If anything, add a social worker to the existing police presence......don't downsize the police presence.

Agree. It is amazing how little many on here know about law enforcement. I guess they believe it's all Hollywood Dirty Harry. Not so in real life.
By the way folks, Social Services works with law enforcement every day. It is Social Services that calls the police to assist them with removing battered women, neglected children and assist them with mental cases. They use the police professionals that are trained in physical confrontation to handle their protection when they go to these homes. It is not the police that need to be removed.

Taking all the arguments into consideration, how many on here think that police Depts. want to spend three times the wage for a qualified Social Worker that has a Masters Degree? Do you think that an educated person that specializes in Social Work and has an advanced degree wants to do "police" work? Besides, if it was up to Social Workers, how many career criminals would be in prison?

Since most on here have no experience in law enforcement, you cannot be expected to understand a police officer's job. Most of it really does consist of social work with the public. Do you think that a police officer is nothing more than a tag team of mix martial arts warriors? And do you really think that a police officer "pulls" his gun whenever he is confronting a subject? Of course not, or he would not be able to utilize his hand to defend himself. An officer knows that he cannot just shoot someone that is "bad" or breaking the law. Most pistols remain in the holster until such time as the officer feels either he or someone else's life is in danger.

Some folks on here really should do a ride along with a police officer on a busy weekend where they can see what he/she deals with on a routine basis.

You might get an unarmed civilian to write parking tickets but you better have an armed officer making a traffic stop. And you may not know the stats on how many officers are assaulted or killed on domestic calls, but I bet Social Workers know them.

You want better police work? Talk to the judges about putting the perps away instead of letting them off with a plea deal and community service when they were originally charged with felonies.

[Schuvwj]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

You beat me to this.

How can politicians be so stupid and irresponsible

Because they were elected by uniformed stupid and irresponsible people!

[Gulfcoast]

Originally Posted by coffeebean

Agree. But.....do not downsize police presence. My point was to supplement police presence with a social worker when warranted.

I don't think that police officers should have the liability of keeping an unarmed social worker coworker safe.

It seems as though the police officers are being blamed for escalating a situation into violence when in reality the police officers are usually responding to a situation after it has already escalated. The police do try to calm the unruly subjects down but if the safety of bystanders and the officers, themselves is at risk, the officers have to respond proportionately to the threat.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Byte1

Agree. It is amazing how little many on here know about law enforcement. I guess they believe it's all Hollywood Dirty Harry. Not so in real life.
By the way folks, Social Services works with law enforcement every day. It is Social Services that calls the police to assist them with removing battered women, neglected children and assist them with mental cases. They use the police professionals that are trained in physical confrontation to handle their protection when they go to these homes. It is not the police that need to be removed.

Taking all the arguments into consideration, how many on here think that police Depts. want to spend three times the wage for a qualified Social Worker that has a Masters Degree? Do you think that an educated person that specializes in Social Work and has an advanced degree wants to do "police" work? Besides, if it was up to Social Workers, how many career criminals would be in prison?

Since most on here have no experience in law enforcement, you cannot be expected to understand a police officer's job. Most of it really does consist of social work with the public. Do you think that a police officer is nothing more than a tag team of mix martial arts warriors? And do you really think that a police officer "pulls" his gun whenever he is confronting a subject? Of course not, or he would not be able to utilize his hand to defend himself. An officer knows that he cannot just shoot someone that is "bad" or breaking the law. Most pistols remain in the holster until such time as the officer feels either he or someone else's life is in danger.

Some folks on here really should do a ride along with a police officer on a busy weekend where they can see what he/she deals with on a routine basis.

You might get an unarmed civilian to write parking tickets but you better have an armed officer making a traffic stop. And you may not know the stats on how many officers are assaulted or killed on domestic calls, but I bet Social Workers know them.

You want better police work? Talk to the judges about putting the perps away instead of letting them off with a plea deal and community service when they were originally charged with felonies.

Thanks for the post. A few years ago I did several ride alongs and developed new respect for our police. I agree most people do have no clue.

[TexaninVA]

Originally Posted by John41

“Crazy as hell” is what a St. Petersburg, Florida resident called the mayor’s plan to replace 25 police with 25 social workers. Beginning October 1 unarmed social workers will be responding to the following “non violent” 911 calls instead of the police.

Disorderly intoxication
Intoxication
Mental health crisis
Drug overdose
Disorderly juvenile
Homeless complaint
Panhandling
Neighborhood dispute

We sometimes visited attractions in the St Pete area. No more.

Suicidal stupidity .... I'm amazed at the utter fecklessness of the people who run some of these cities ... ???????????


...

[beccaboo**]

As a licensed independent social worker for over 40 years, I find it ludicrous. I own a private practice and I would not engage any of my practitioners in this activity. Having background in a psychiatric setting reinforces to me the inappropriateness of this role for mental health counselors.

[Bay Kid]

It will cost taxpayers more for social workers. After the social worker session is over then the police will be called to protect the social workers and fix the problem.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Bay Kid

It will cost taxpayers more for social workers. After the social worker session is over then the police will be called to protect the social workers and fix the problem.

I do not understand why any living breathing person would think this is a good idea.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

I do not understand why any living breathing person would think this is a good idea.

Because it has actually been proven to be effective in the communities that have been doing it.

This entire thread is just so weird to me. The rage against the idea is just as insane to me as if people protested the suggestion that you inhale as often as you exhale. "I refuse to inhale - I have the right to not inhale! It will be inconvenient! Exhaling is the only way to fight bacteria! I refuse to inhale air that might possibly have germs in it! Who and what army are going to force me to inhale? I will fight inhaling til my last breath! ZERO money should be provided to any hospital with ventilators that force patients to inhale - they should ONLY be allowed to force them to exhale!"

That's what I see when I read the tirades against spreading some of the police funding to social service work in prevention methods.

[coffeebean]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Because it has actually been proven to be effective in the communities that have been doing it.

I would much rather have the police supplemented with social workers. I do not want to see the police defunded. That is just a very bad idea, IMHO. People want to feel safer in their communities, especially large inner cities.

[ffresh]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

It might help to see what the concept of "defunding" the police actually entails, because the word seems to be tripping everyone up. Here is what communities with defunded police departments actually look like, and the organization partly responsible for the success of the concept:

Defund police, as BLM wants? What it means in cities that have started

and

'CAHOOTS': How Social Workers And Police Share Responsibilities In Eugene, Oregon : NPR

and

the organization's website:

CAHOOTS | White Bird Clinic

Personally, I agree with MANY aspects of defunding the police. In recent years, because of federal intervention - it's almost always the government creating the problem and then proposing myriad solutions, ALWAYS consisting of throwing MASSIVE amounts of money at the problem. And when that fails, as it almost always does, allocating even MORE MASSIVE amounts of money (definition of insanity?).

I never subscribed to the efficacy nor immorality of busting down doors, with No-Knock warrants in the wee hours, tossing flash grenades with sometimes horrendous results, police dressed as Storm Troopers, exiting vehicles last seen on the sands of Iraq or Afghanistan, AD NAUSEUM! I think we, as a nation, have to return to saner times when there was mutual respect between the police and the citizens. You mention two organizations in your post that proclaim systemic racism is "a public health crisis". This is utter nonsense promulgated by two organizations with unquestionable Marxist ideology: "We are appalled by the lynching of George Floyd, aware that he was not the first nor the last to die a preventable death due to the color of his skin. Police brutality is not an isolated issue. It is a symptom of the broader toxic culture of white supremacy that was woven into the fiber of this nation as we know it during its inception.".

"We resist any statement claiming that gender is a biological or immutable condition determined by genitalia. Both categories of sex and gender are infinitely diverse and complex in their expressions and cannot be limited to a binary system. To dictate how an individual personally identifies stands in direct conflict with our humanistic values of self-determination, freedom of expression, and valuing of diversity."

These types of nonsensical ramblings come only from tormented minds or Marxist revolutionaries (or am I being redundant?). IMHO, people falling for this type of dogma are "imported" revolutionaries or have been indoctrinated by their Marxist professors at our "esteemed" bastions of "higher learning" Stalin, you may recall, referred to these folks as "useful idiots"

Fred

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by John41

“Crazy as hell” is what a St. Petersburg, Florida resident called the mayor’s plan to replace 25 police with 25 social workers. Beginning October 1 unarmed social workers will be responding to the following “non violent” 911 calls instead of the police.

Disorderly intoxication
Intoxication
Mental health crisis
Drug overdose
Disorderly juvenile
Homeless complaint
Panhandling
Neighborhood dispute

We sometimes visited attractions in the St Pete area. No more.

Better get the body bags ready.

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by newgirl

I disagree !!! Totally disagree and if this happens it will take a bit but in the long run our country will be safer in areas that they do send the right professional for the job.
Would you want a cop to do surgery on you? Then why do you expect them to correctly do other jobs that they were not trained to handle?

What, you think police are only trained to hand out speeding tickets?? SMH

[Aloha1]

Originally Posted by petiteone

It's a waste of time to have police show up for mental health issues. The police should be freed up to do their job, not the job of trained mental health professionals. Too many times the police have been called upon to handle jobs they're not trained for and many times it goes wrong for the victim. Remember the deaf autistic adult who couldn't understand police commands and they ended up killing him? Police have resorted to their guns when other means would have saved lives of the victim.

Remember the guy who walked into a convenience store in Michigan this week and stabbed a 77 year old man because he was asked to put on a mask. When the police responded he attacked with 2 knifes and a screwdriver? Remember that he was mentally ill? So, you would have sent an unarmed recent sociology grad instead??