Demanding Reforms
Why We Need Real Change Now To The Criminal Justice System
It is no secret to anyone who knows me, or to anyone who has spent time reading my books, my articles, or listened to my podcasts to know that I don’t have a very high estimation of the criminal justice system.
An opinion based not only on my current situation of fighting a wrongful conviction, it’s based on a lifetime of experience in other countries and other social stratospheres very different from where I now find myself.
I have known law enforcement members both on and off the job, some have even worked for me in a security capacity. Some are honest and hardworking and others are more criminal than the criminals they pursue.
But, unfortunately, good and honest intentions more times than not turn to jaded perceptions of seeing themselves as the “good guys” and everyone else as the “bad guys.” And here in lies the problem.
At a theoretical level, I acknowledge that law enforcement and investigation of crimes is a noble profession. But once we step into the real, that which goes beyond the theoretical, the story changes.
Because by then we have added to this ever-changing equation the pressures of the job and the strain of their personal ambitions to the exercising of the duties that coincide with these necessary roles in our society.
Professional roles that require people who are honest, determined, hardworking, with a moral compass that points due North—not to mention personal integrity. It’s not an easy list to hire from.
In the businesses that I either owned or served in an executive or managerial capacity it was difficult, sometimes nearly impossible, to properly fill the most mundane of roles. Which makes me empathetic to the challenges that police departments face.
Often as a society we complain about the militarization of police or correctional departments. We complain about police brutality, corrupt officials, racial profiling, or the social injustices that stem from so many broken departments.
And, without a doubt our complaints are justified based on all the evidence before us. We demand reforms and yet, how many of us have ever considered leaving our careers to fill these necessary societal roles?
When I attended the university I’m ashamed to admit that I was guided only by personal ambition. At that time it didn’t even occur to me that I could or should make the world a better place. All I could think about was how to get the best internship with the best Wall Street firm, and later, how to get the best job offer.
I've owned a couple of businesses, and each and every one was focussed on profit margins and returns on investment. There were no conversations about social capital or return, and that’s part of the harsh realizations that I now confront.
It never even occurred to me to become a public servant. And if I had, would I have resisted the pressures and temptations that police officers, detectives and prosecutors are confronted with on a regular and ongoing basis? Would I be any better than them? Would you?
Police departments struggle with an array of challenges. From budgetary, to legislative, to legal attacks both internally and externally, to having local prosecutors and community groups breathing down their necks for results all under a veiled threat, is all part of the reality that these departments face.
Add to this the overwhelming case loads that many departments in metro areas confront and we begin to comprehend the very real nature of “burnout” syndrome, a well-documented condition for officers.
Detectives that don’t produce fast results face the same fate as salesmen who don’t reach their quotas. Therefore, it’s understandable that with all these factors and pressures combined it eventually becomes too tempting to resist one investigative shortcut or another. Or, it could be that there is just no deterrent.
Without a doubt we need to rethink policing in our communities. The current stratagem of more oppression, more weapons, more crimes, and therefore more convictions is not serving our greater and higher interests as a society.
Reforms are necessary, and officers and prosecutors who succumb to the temptations of personal ambition over justice need to be shown the door. But, as we demand these changes let’s look to ourselves for whom should fill these roles.
Thank you for supporting MYLIFEplus25 and for reading today’s publication.
To help support even more please take a moment to subscribe to my podcast on one of the following channels:
Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mylifeplus25/id1562605207
Google Podcasts:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81NThjMWE5MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==
Spotify:
And follow me on Twitter here: Follow @lifeplus25
Follow me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/MYLIFEplus25-106918954788500
Look out for next week’s publication: The Forgotten.