When the federal government declared war on crime, it underwrote the rapid expansion of local police departments to combat crime. But Washington did not condition the receipt of federal aid on the implementation of sound recruitment, training and supervision policies. Thus, over the years, the federal government has subsidized the addition of thousands of ill-suited, inadequately trained and unsupervised officers who, once on the streets, have became a law unto themselves. Many of these officers have been trained in paramilitary techniques that are woefully out of synch with today's emphasis on community policing. In effect, the elite anti-crime units that were created declared unofficial Marshall Law in the inner city and unilaterally suspended the civil liberties of minority citizens.
Most police officers serve our community with compassion and distinction.
We welcome the sharp reduction in urban crime. Yet the repeated killings of unarmed civilians and the routine trampling of our civil rights have undermined our faith in the ability of state courts to bring the accused officers to justice and in the capacity of local police departments to police themselves. With Washington's help, police departments across the country are getting a grip on crime. It's the Justice Department's job now to make certain the police get a grip on themselves.