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By Universal I mean all of the US 
I was thinking about this today at work while planning a trip for this weekend. I travel quite a bit and therefore I have met quite a few flavors of police departments in my day. Most of the encounters have been fine, even when I was being written up for something, and professionalism and civil politness the rule. However, at times I have met some true jackasses, and if not that then simply incompetent. And besides differences in character there are myraid variations of policy, doctine and equipment that I find disturbing.
Now I am not advocating nationalizing civil law enforement. We already have an Army, and I don't think nationalizing anything will produce efficiency. However, I don't see why we cannot have national standards of uniforms, equipment and training. I don't think having officers attend a national law enforement college before their state/local training means we are headed towords dicatatorship. I think it would be great if the law enforement pool was more fluid between areas, as opposed to simply relying on whatever resources you happen to have at your disposal. I think have cops serve their entire career in one area leads to cronism and corruption. Why not require them to serve tours in different reagions of the country.
And I don't like locally elected law enforement. Those positions should be held by trained professionals and not whoever won the chili cookoff last summer. Police are resposible to civil athorities that are already elected, we don'd elect admirals and generals.
Anways just a thought.
I was thinking about this today at work while planning a trip for this weekend. I travel quite a bit and therefore I have met quite a few flavors of police departments in my day. Most of the encounters have been fine, even when I was being written up for something, and professionalism and civil politness the rule. However, at times I have met some true jackasses, and if not that then simply incompetent. And besides differences in character there are myraid variations of policy, doctine and equipment that I find disturbing.
Now I am not advocating nationalizing civil law enforement. We already have an Army, and I don't think nationalizing anything will produce efficiency. However, I don't see why we cannot have national standards of uniforms, equipment and training. I don't think having officers attend a national law enforement college before their state/local training means we are headed towords dicatatorship. I think it would be great if the law enforement pool was more fluid between areas, as opposed to simply relying on whatever resources you happen to have at your disposal. I think have cops serve their entire career in one area leads to cronism and corruption. Why not require them to serve tours in different reagions of the country.
And I don't like locally elected law enforement. Those positions should be held by trained professionals and not whoever won the chili cookoff last summer. Police are resposible to civil athorities that are already elected, we don'd elect admirals and generals.
Anways just a thought.