People I know went into policehood to help their community. If that's the goal, they could be put to better use instrumenting more effective policy.

These types of policies should be data and analysis questions, not based on politics and world view. Some of them inarguably work better than others.

We need to exit the theater of unfounded opinion when it comes to these things. It's not useful.

Adding cops is pretty low on the list of reasonable jobs programs

Its not a cop's job. Its a social worker's job.

I do recognize that cops are just "trying to help", and that no one cares about social workers. Cops are in an advantaged position in the USA because they are relatively well respected by most mainstream members of the population. So the fact that they want to help is good.

But Cops aren't given the right training to deal with medical problems or other problems (ie: Fire hazards. In theory, cops could be the ones to inspect Fire Hazards in buildings, but realistically, its better for Firemen to do it).

There are lots of social work jobs in America. A big problem, a seriously big one... is that we expect Cops to do any job. Erm... no. Have drug specialists deal with the drug problem. Cops really shouldn't shoulder the burden of everything in the country.

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Cops should focus on the distribution of drugs. Not on the users of the drugs. The users need treatment, mental treatment that cops do not have the abilities to give.

These drug abusers need nurses and social workers to check up on them every few hours. Not cops.

As we have it now law enforcement is just that. And they are also the frontline to anything downstream (e.g., social worker). We're not really set up to respond to this in a way other than a legal one.

We should have figured this out years ago. This won't be the last article we see like this.

Drug users usually turn violent and can be a hazard to themselves or others. Somebody trained to deal with such situations is required. This is, a cop.

As do people who are infected with Rabies. Or rare forms of violent schizophrenia. Indeed, violent offenders are often not users of drugs, but from my understanding: the cutthroat underground distributors.

Which is why cops should continue to focus on the violent distributors of drugs. But social workers and hospital workers should step up their responsibility and start treating drug abusers better.

Or perhaps, more programs need to be made so that hospital workers / social workers are paid to fix this drug problem.

Hint: throwing drug USERS in jail, where they only get more underground connections and better learn to become a criminal, will start a cycle where they have to end up in jail again. Jail is just about the worst place you can put a person.

> Hint: throwing drug USERS in jail, where they only get more underground connections and better learn to become a criminal, will start a cycle where they have to end up in jail again

What is: the most profitable outcome you can hope for when your prison system is privately owned?

The US prison system is not privately owned. Less than 20% of prisoners are in private jails.

> Drug users usually turn violent

Citation needed.

It's well known that drug dependency is a relatively good predictor of violent behaviour. People think severe mental illness predicts violent behaviour, but substance misuse is far better predictor.

Watch the video here: https://twitter.com/ProfLAppleby/status/917838820682489858?s...

Both videos threw errors in playback.

The initial claim was 'usually turn violent', compared to your 'relatively good predictor of violent behaviour'.

I've known quite a few people with drug dependency problems and very, very few of them were violent.

So, citation still needed.

Put them in treatment centers?

Whom? The cops?

Against their will?

As opposed to putting them in jail against their will?

We really need to get rid of cops. That experiment is over.