Originally Posted by golfing eagles (Post 1803305)

Not a good analogy. A cat in a tree is a cat in a tree. Regardless of whether animal rescue of the fire department gets it down, the rescuer is not going to get shot by the cat. A "disorderly juvenile" or a "mental health crisis" can, and often does, go south in a matter of seconds. Maybe the police do not have enough training to deal with mental health, but certainly a social worker doesn't have the training to deal with a 300 lb. "disorderly juvenile", who may be armed.

Originally Posted by davem4616 (Post 1802799)

they'll be advertising for social workers shortly....all the 'cupcakes' from the liberal states that have absolutely no clue other than classroom BS will apply ...

that will not be fun to watch

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1803441)

So the defunding crowd will eventually say send social worker with a couple of cops outside just in case.

Of course before the social worker gets help she or he might wake up dead.

Originally Posted by Choro&Swing (Post 1802872)

Do you know the saying, “To a hammer, every problem looks like a nail”? That’s the problem with having cops handle these problems, we are told. I understand that cops are often not properly trained to act as counselors for these problems. Drunk? Cuff them! Mental health crisis? Use the Taser! Drug overdose? Take them to jail!

Well, of course, that’s not really the way it is. In most instances, they do a better job and make the right decisions and save lives. So is a social worker ready to handle any of these problems when people turn violent? Are they armed? Will they have police backup? Will someone with schizophrenia off his meds understand that this is a “safe” social worker? Would you be willing to handle these problems unarmed on the street or in someone’s house without backup? I wouldn’t!

Maybe what will happen is that one cop and one social worker will start riding together. Cop for handling violence and providing protection, social worker for people who need help solving, say, a homeless crisis or a reference to a drug counselor. Then the social worker would have protection, and the cop could avoid making things worse. But of course, then the cop would have no armed backup unless more cops were called in.

(My dad was the head chaplain for the Denver Police Department and carried a Lieutenant’s shield. He would ride a shift with any cop who wanted to talk, day or night. He didn’t want to carry a gun, so they compromised on his always carrying an Ultra-Stinger flashlight that could blind suspects for a few seconds and crack any skull if swung properly. Maybe social workers would carry these flashlights.)

Perhaps instead, cops should be required to have solid college coursework in social welfare and counseling and thorough training in de-escalation techniques. It would help a LOT if they would learn to speak with a calm, relaxing voice instead of shouting at people to get on the ground. I know a lot of the people cops deal with are low-lifes who treat them badly. That shouldn’t be. The lack of respect shown to police officers is at the root of the problem of “racist” cops. They learn that from how they are treated. I can’t blame them. They aren’t superheroes. But the cycle of abuse has to start somewhere, and it’s easier to train a thousand cops to calm down and de-escalate than train a hundred thousand angry people who have been taught from childhood to hate cops.

Originally Posted by stan the man (Post 1802876)

UK police officers do not carry guns on a regular basis...follow the mother country

Originally Posted by newgirl (Post 1802953)

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?

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 1803101)

Are we not men? Have we no empathy? Are we trigger happy? Is everything NEW a threat.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1803441)

So the defunding crowd will eventually say send social worker with a couple of cops outside just in case.

Of course before the social worker gets help she or he might wake up dead.

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 1803624)

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.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1803629)

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

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 1803624)

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.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1802790)

You beat me to this.

How can politicians be so stupid and irresponsible

Originally Posted by coffeebean (Post 1803635)

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

Originally Posted by Byte1 (Post 1803643)

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.

Originally Posted by John41 (Post 1802762)

“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.

Originally Posted by Bay Kid (Post 1804588)

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.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 1804698)

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

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 1804712)

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

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 1803094)

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

Originally Posted by John41 (Post 1802762)

“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.

Originally Posted by newgirl (Post 1802953)

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?

Originally Posted by petiteone (Post 1803132)

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.

Originally Posted by Aloha1 (Post 1806092)

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??