“It’s a calling, never a job.” Stated Mr. Russell in the video. He began with explaining the love he had for his job. He gave many perks to being a police officer, then he changed gears and started to explain some of the policing issues. He believes law enforcement is in a crisis. Mr. Russell observed, that the police get called for too many small things. For an example the neighbor’s dog makes a mess on someone else’s property, the police get called. When it simply should have been worked out among the individuals that where involved in the situation. The police are given so much of the community responsibilities. It is not fair to the officers as they only make up a small number within the community. He encouraged the elders, mothers, the pastors to become more intentional with the community. If they were more involved, the youth would have more positive role models to live up to. By this the community would be making great advancements away from criminal activity. He strongly believed that the people need to be taken care of first and the criminal activity would sort itself out. They needed health care, jobs, churches in order for the crime rate to decrease in the community. Police have two major tasks, protecting and serving. They often are more concerned with protecting the community than serving the community. By serving and helping the people, it also helps the crime go down; that simple. This was out of the box thinking. Not many officers have this profound thought process. I admire Mr. Russell for he challenges the whole policing system. His passion and presence paid off. He impacted countless lives now and in years to come with his out of the box thinking. I think we need to learn from Mr. Russell, as he did not take the status quo. He improved it. - CoalRoller003
I agree what you are saying when it comes to the parents, elders, and the church being more involved with the youth. If this would happen like it did back in the day the crime rate would be lower. The communities would be better kept up and taken care of and would help the communities grow. Batman.003
I think we need more leaders like this in all professions and everyone could learn so much from this man. It is evident he is trying very hard in his community and trying to reach out to everyone he can and make a difference. I think it is quite impressive. -holy waffles002
I agree that the community needs to be more involved with little situations like kids playing in the streets and neighbors playing music too loud. When the community comes together like that it makes it a lot easier for police to help out. This has to be an effort from both sides to help fix the broken relationship that the police have with the community.Celtics003
He loved being a police officer cause it’s a calling. Law Enforcement has to adopt and bring along the idea of community policing. Policing needs radical thinking in order to fix the broken. Never should have been them vs us. Came to meet the community in the area where he was trying to fix. He began to listen to what the community in the area had to say. He listened to the community as they had ideas of how to rekindle the relationship between the police and the community. He had to shift 130 officers that were under his command from one mindset to another. Teaching officers the mindset partners with the community from us vs them. Law Enforcement has evolved into great protectors. Officers have become such great protectors that it is sometimes an issue with overstepping. Mindset across the country from department to department is protect and serve. Community his suffered because of officers forgetting the second part of that which is service. It’s not just law enforcement that has need hurting. Everyone of us is part of the community. Communities have put to much of a responsibility on Law Enforcement. Community members need to take more of a leadership of lost children. Lost meaning doing the wrong thing. No need to call police on kids playing ball in the streets or neighbors complaining about music to loud. Dealing with our youth now as they are still young is a must. In order to make our future better, getting kids out of gangs and showing them how to live a life nonviolent life is a must. The speaker turned his district around to an all time low in crime with only 197 homicides. He was able to teach his officers how to be great servers and deal with the community in a positive way and not in a negative way. In the past 10 years, officers have learned to be good proactive officers as compared to reactive officers. Being able to deter crime in some of the bad areas and being able to deter crime before they happen. Having a police commissioner/Cheif who understands community-policing helps both the department and the communities inorder to fully commute to the phrase community policing. I learned in this video that community police is working, it just takes time to rekindle that relationship with the community.-chicubs003
This video talks about how law enforcement is in a crisis in this day and age. The police officers would come up with these amazing but would never talk to the people in the community to try to see if those ideas were the best way to handle the problems that are going on in the community. What is ruining our communities are that "us versus them" mentality. We as a people have always seen that police officers were against and wanted to work with us. This is why communities should be working with the police officers and the police officers should be working with the communities. As he said in the video in the police officers forgot to treat the people in community like our customers, like our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers. Which is true most police officers forget that we are actual human beings in the community and that we have actual feelings. Which is why the communities and the police officers need to get to together. Back in the day people would protect their communities and would protect the kids who would play in the streets. The elders and the parental figures in the communities would stop a lot of crimes which is why crime would be low. It's better known as neighborhood watch. Most police officers think as their job as a job not a calling police now of days think its police versus the community. The police department has been so focused on protecting then doing it the right way which lead to abuse. It's not just the police fault to we put to much responsibility on the police today. Batman.003
I always enjoy when we have visitors come into our lectures in all the many courses I’ve taken with this professor. I thoroughly enjoy hearing from our primary instructor as well, although it’s nice to hear others’ thoughts and opinions on how things are in the real world as a law enforcement officer. In this video, Melvin Russell, a man who has devoted his life to impacting the way we police and as well as being a preacher, speaks about the issues that need changing in our law enforcement agencies and how things are currently. Something that he mentioned that really stood out to me is that he was planning on retiring with his wife and moving all his focus onto preaching, but he felt this almost “higher power” calling for him to stay and make changes. He made his way up the ranks of his agency in Baltimore through dedication and incredibly hard work- he went from being a drug sergeant to a district commander of the absolute worst district in Baltimore City. This city was the most violent district, had an unemployment rate of 46% in that district, and the district also in the top 10 list of AIDS and tuberculosis in the national zip code list for areas around the country. He then goes on to say that the problem with policing today is that we have put so much time, money, and effort into the “protection arm” that we have left the “serving arm” frail and weak. He says we don’t treat the community as our partners and often times we try to come up with these “extravagant strategies and deployments, but we never talk to the community about them” and we shove them in their faces. In an effort to change this, he started sitting down with everyone he could in this community to hear what they thought would work and what would make the best improvements. After a 3 ½ year effort of his 4 year “stint,” he had played a massive part in helping this impoverished community hit a historical low in crime rates and homicides- the lowest it had been in 40 years. I truly enjoyed watching this video and loved Mr. Russell’s outlook on policing and his in-depth analysis/efforts on what we need to do to change how we police. GMan003
We do need reform in policing. So many new officers take on the role of a police officer not for a purpose or a calling but only as a job. In looking at policing only as a job you will never work to make a change in the community. It is hard to make a change in an area where things have always been one way. I know from experience when I started in corrections I felt as though this was my purpose. Especially having relatives in the penal system and hearing their stories of racism and discrimination I felt I needed to help make a change in corrections. Going into the jail and treating the inmates with respect and as a human being you get labeled and called things like “hug a thug”. So yes I understand it might be hard to make a change in the community when everyone has the US vs THEM mentality. It also doesn’t help when officers are scrutinized for everything that they do, If they arrest someone their wrong, if they don’t arrest their wrong. They must also understand that not all officers are racist. Even as an African American when I have to deal with an issue and I don’t automatically side with an African American inmate whether he /she is right or wrong, I get comments like “Oh you must be married to a white person, or wow so that’s how you treat your people.” So I agree we all must come together as a community and build each other up. If the police focus on the causations of crime not only will they have a better understanding of why people commit crimes but this will also help with getting the community the jobs, training classes, mentoring groups etc. that they need to be better. In working with the community this will show them that we are all in this together. They will need to make as much effort as the police if they want to see change also. Jadist003
In this video he really spoke very true facts i agree with everthing and he also mentioned about the neighbor playing the music to loud and getting the police called or playing outside to rough and getting the police called. That is a very true statement ive been in that positioned getting the policed called for something that not harming anyone. Many can agree that working in the safety and criminal justice sector is not child’s play. Most times, you are faced with life and death situations and have to put your life on the line for the safety of others. It is mentally, emotionally and physically demanding as you are constantly faced with resolving difficult situations.The recruitment process for officers today is one of the biggest problems facing any positive disposition towards police by civilians and rightly so. Police recruitment selects individuals with characteristics that you most likely might also find in an ex-con. Reasoning being is that they're tough enough to handle certain difficult experiences better. Most of these hardened individuals would of course find it difficult in offering that rapport and relation to civilians because they're indefinitely locked in one mode: defense/offense. That one mode is a breeding ground for corruption because someone locked in a mode like that can only see and consider themselves. "Serve and Protect" becomes only a faint directive that fades to the background when on the streets that's only significance is in that they're allowed to carry a firearm and do what they want with little to no consequence. Change the recruitment process and change the force. Good law enforcement officers are not only strong and manly but they are also meek and mild. A good law enforcement professional should be driven by a strong and sincere motivation to help better other peoples' lives and situations, protect those who cannot protect themselves, and make a positive difference in the world be it large or small. Good law enforcement officers and professionals feel a sense of duty and commitment to community service. Good law enforcement officers demonstrate their commitment by continually assisting those in the community notwithstanding the inherent risk and dangers of the job. Bball003
I think that this speaker really dug deep and spoke nothing but the truth throughout this video. You did a great job at narrowing down the importance that was talked about in this video. I like how you said A good law enforcement professional should be driven by a strong and sincere motivation to help better other people's lives and situations. -Anchorman003
I agree with a lot of what Mr. Russell is saying. He talks about his experience as a police officer and as a preacher and how he thinks being more involved withy the community is important. He brought up how distant the church has become and how police forces have been all about protection and have almost forgotten about serving. I believe police departments have to get involved with the community more and get to know everyone. They have to help out and make sure everyone is getting what they need. As Russell said, if you take care of your community, the crime will sort itself out. In his jurisdiction, he lowered the crime rate immensely by getting out into the community and serving its people. We need to form stronger bonds and trust between the police force and the citizens. Officers must also remember their purpose is to protect and serve. - Smokeybear003
I absolutely love how he said being a police officer is not a job it is a calling. As that is so very true. You can truly see this man's dedication to his community and the people surrounding him about making his city great again. He was not happy with the crime rate and everything going on within the city and he is making every possible attempt to turn the city into a lively, happier place. He is wanting to get everyone involved and I think that is so beautiful as he also said that protecting and serving is so important and the main job. Which it truly is. On the side of squad cars it normally says to serve and protect. This man truly is a leader and I think that many people can learn so much from him because of this. He also said how we as civilians put a lot on law enforcement which is very accurate. We expect the police to come at our beck and call and handle every situation and over some very petty, unnecessary things but an officer will still respond to the call regardless of how badly they may not want to and they will handle it to the best of their ability. I think it is so very sad though how he said that things are different now because police are called over everything and it is all handled differently than it used to. He said how he would play in the street or even get into a small fight and it would be handled by themselves or an elder and the police would not be called but now the police are called and it is a lock your doors type world. I thought it was funny though how he said if you had the clergy riding with you, it was hard to be a tough cop. -holywaffles003
The officer Russel has explained well on the video the important things the community should do to help the police department have good relationship to the community and work together to sort out the problems. Treating each other with respect is the major key. There are small things such as playing loud music in the neighborhood the community need to work it out or solve this without involving the police. police officers are often the heroes on one wants, it is often said that everyone hates cop until they need one. The fact is police still enjoy a measure of respect in their community. Regardless of their rank or status in their department, among their circles of friends, church groups or other community involvements they are often looked to as leaders and examples to be followed. Dont take it wrong way, but there is something to be said for being able to tell people to do something and have them listen. It is also nice to see a problem and able to fix it. Obviously, there is tremendous potential to abuse the authority police have, but when used properly and for the good of others, it is great to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. GUSII 003
I agree with you that little things such as a noise complaint should not be a problem for the police at first. The community should try to solve the problem themselves. If they have exhausted all means and could not get the problem under control than at that time they should call the police. -ClarkKent003
Baltimore Police officer Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell starts out by telling us that he has been an officer for a long time this is way back before even the war on drugs. And how much he loves being a police officer, he also states that it's been a calling for him not just a job this makes it clear he respects his job and officers. With all that being said he then goes to talk about how its in crisis it has always been. That even though the law enforcement sees issues it still going down the same path. Racism discrimination, made him do radical policing and over the 18 to 19 months he went from a drug sergeant to a district commander, in the worst district of baltimore. It was called this because it was the most violent districts, forty six unemployment rate in the district. He had to think outside the box so he had to start realize that it should never be or never should have been us versus them.That for so long us thinking they had to be tough like they were being symbolized it made them coldness and callousness, and it's dehumanized the police force. That it is to protect and serve so one arm is strong and the other weak.This is because they focused so much on protection they forgot about serving their communities. And sense it's a proud profession it's hard to see their mistakes. There is just to much responsibility out on law enforcement. He also has instituted a series of reforms aimed at winning back the trust of the community and lowering the violent crime rate -pizza003
This video was about a police officer discussing the changes that he made in a community. He said he was a police officer for a long time and he said that being a police officer has never been a job, it’s been a calling. I really liked how he said that because if you truly love what you do, you don’t look at it like a job. You look at it like a calling. You can tell that he loves what he does with a passion. It’s something he truly cares about. His views on it never changed even through the bad times. He talked about how he thinks that law enforcement is in a crisis. People were changing the ways that they view the police in ways we dont want them to think. He was a drug sargent and then he became a district commander in the worst district in Baltimore City. There was a lot of violence and poverty. The percentage of poverty at the time was forty six percent. He talked about how he wanted to change things. He described his views as it should not be us versus them. I agree with that statement. I feel like we all should come together and help and we shouldn't be fighting against each other. He talked about how the police come up with different strategies on how to change things and they never talked to the community about them. He said that they would just throw the changes at them and not discuss it. But he wanted to hear from the community. He wanted to talk to the community on what would work in their community. He wanted both the police officers and the community to become partners. If we all came together, we could keep each other all safer. He also thinks that we put way too much responsibility on law enforcement. People would call the police if there was children playing ball in the street or someone’s stereo was too loud or if someone's dog went to the bathroom in their yard. I agree that these examples should not require a police call. I agree that an adult figure should be able to fix that. The community should be able to come together and peacefully work out those specific issues. If someone was getting hurt or robbed or something else then that would require a police call. He talked about how it takes all of us in the community to work together. He didn't see a lot of community policing. He wanted to change that because in order to help the community, we all have to work together and be on the same side. He talked about how at the end of the day if we took care of the needs of the people, the crime would take care of itself. I agree with that because if everyone gets taken care of, the crime might not happen. Once the changes started happening, he said after four years there was a forty year historical crime low. Then he talked to the city and the city started doing the same things and they were at a thirty year crime low. He believed in community policing so much and the outcome was great. Everyone wants to live their life happily and peacefully. If we all come together and give each other respect, all communities can be like this. Not every community is bad but if we come together, crime can possible be at an all time low. -Soccer003
The video starts off with an officer named Melvin Russell. At the very start he explains and shows his passion for being a police officer. He explains how he has been an officer for a long time and it was funny to have him make a few jokes on technology and how he predates it. He says that being a police officer is not a job rather it is a calling. I really did like his dedication that he showed through his emotions and you could tell that he really loved being a police officer. He goes on to say that law enforcement is going through an invisible crisis that has been going on for many years. He explained that in his city of Baltimore there was the most violent district, that had an unemployment rate of 46% in that district, and the district also in the top 10 list of AIDS and tuberculosis in the national zip code list for areas around the country. He goes on to say that the problem with policing in today’s world is that we have put so much time and money into the “protection arm” that we have left the “serving arm” frail and the weak. After a three and half years out of his four, he had made a massive difference within the community. And played a massive part in helping this dire need community hit a historical low in crime rates and homicides. Which was the lowest it had been in 40 years in Baltimore. Overall, I found this video very enjoyable to watch just based on the information and history Mr. Russell provided, but also his love and passion for the police force. -CUBSFAN003
This ted talk is with Melvin Russell and talks about how the police are in a crisis right now. Melvin says that it should never be us versus them when policing a community. I think that police are almost taught this during their training because so much of their training involves arrests. When the majority of what you’re taught in training is how to arrest people, you’re probably going to go out and arrest a lot of people. We need to teach our police a healthy balance of arresting and community policing. The relationship between the public and the police is at an all time low and this is partially due to the fact that our police aren’t trained well enough in community relationships. The best way to fix this problem is to change the mindset of our police. This isn’t going to happen overnight, but if we really focus on fixing our relationships within the community by helping out more, then we can slowly but surely fix the broken trend. Melvin reminds us that we need to protect and serve our community, rather then just protect. Police are really good at protecting the community, so much so that it has led to a lot of abuse. He says that we have put too much responsibility on police. We shouldn’t call the police for little things like kids playing in the street or the neighbors music being too loud. If we stop wasting the police’s time with these problems and take some own initiative then we can better our community relationships with the police. The police can’t fix the relationship with the public on their own, it has to be a joint effort. If both sides make an effort to help fix the broken system then we can come together as one. Celtics003
You can tell at the start of this video that Melvin Russell was meant to be a police officer and you can tell that he really loved what he was doing in the community even if it was not a good community to be in. He said that it was a calling to him and not a job and I would think that it really does feel that way for most police officers. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do this kind of career. To be able to work in such a bad area and to still have the perspective that he does is the way that all law enforcement should be. Russell knows that there is a lot of things that still need to be done and things that will need changed in these communities to make them better but he is very hopeful. A lot of people in the United States are always counting down the days until they finally get to retire and him and his wife had the day set that he could retire and they could “ride off into the sunset” but when the time came he did not want to retire because he loved what he was doing. Instead of retiring he worked his way up to a district commander of the eastern district of Baltimore. He could have retired and started traveling or enjoying more days with his family but instead he knew that he could make a difference in Baltimore. In his three years of being the district commander he was able to put that district at an all time low for crime and homicide since the 1970’s when they first started recording all of these crimes. He made a difference for his community when he did not even have to and that is the way that we should all be. -Steel003
Melvin was truly an inspiring man to listen too. A Baltimore cops and he's a man that loves his job, and he has a passion for it. He's done it for so long, and he still loves going to work everyday. Melvin says that he loves the job so much, but you can also see it in his body language. When he talks about how much he loves policing, or anything about the job, his hands start flying everywhere, his tone changes. I hope to love the job as much as he does someday. Melvin said that as a police department, we have to stop thinking paramilitary, and holistically. I completely agree with that, police agencies, have to stop being so aggressive, and become more community oriented. Police officers need to establish better relationships with the public, and integrate themselves into the community more. Police agencies, and or officers cannot have the mentality of us vs them, and that is what Melvin states. Melvin is a great example of a community police officer, and is running a community police department. He wants to hear what the communities want, and what they think the department is doing right, and wrong. That's when you will see change in the community, and your departments. Police departments are there for protection, and to implement authority, when a person commits a crime. Melvin states that we exercise that protection so much that it leads to abuse from the police. I completely agree with him, police will become corrupt if we are constantly telling them how strong they are. That is why people don't trust police departments, because of how they think, and their mentalities. Melvin also states that we have put too much responsibilities on police departments. That is very true, it can't just be a police department that changes a community, they need compliance from the citizens as well. I-Like-Cereal003
This guy was very interesting to listen to because he has been through a lot of history in the policing field. As he stated before he was in the police force before technology and the war on crime. This man wanted to get out and retire but he was pulled back in because of the love for his neighborhood. He ended did not retire and within a year and a half he was promoted to commander of a area that was the worst district in Baltimore city. He knew that he needed to change that so he went into the community and actually talk with them. He asked the community what they think would help instead of implementing a plan and throwing it at them. One thing that the speaker said was that police officer know how to protect but with that they lose some of the human in them. They become cold, callous, and dehumanized. I can see this in my own community, the police officers never get out of the car to engage in the community. I hear more and more “oh this cop does not care about the community all she cares about is giving out tickets or oh this cop doesn’t care what your doing he’ll pull you over for the simplest reason.” Like the speaker said we are all a community and we put too much responsibility on the police. We do not need to call the police for simple things that we can handle out selves. I love that one of the changes that he made was putting pastors In police cars with the officer. You cannot be nasty cop with a pastor watching you. With the changes that the speaker made in his area the crime was at a 40 year low. He had other districts calling him asking what are you doing. He shared his knowledge and the city of Baltimore had an 30 year crime low. -ClarkKent003
As a police officer, you are trained to think and act paramilitary. They tell you what you can and what you can’t do. They tell you the wrongs and the rights and the do’s and the don’ts. I agree and think that police officers need to take the communities thoughts and concerns into factor about what they see at first hand. As a citizen of a community, they see more throughout the community than what the officers do. People tend to behave more around officers because they are afraid of them. The strategy is that cops need to learn how to be partners and work and support the community instead of only bringing negative impacts to the table. They had to retrain their way of thinking and their demeanors on how they were trained to from the beginning. This would then change the way the officers approached situations and the way they handled traffic violations, home disturbances, robberies and even more crimes that are committed on a daily basis. People would be more out to ask for help or even help a cop ina time of need. Many people today, are scared or afraid of cops because they are of higher power and are there to enforce the laws. Police officers are known for protecting and serving but sometimes they forget the other big picture which is to invest in the communities and treat them like they are family. Police officers are also very highly thought of and there are many proud of them. Therefore, it is hard to truly see the mistakes that they make or to even think that they can improve on some of their actions and takes. But as a community there is too much responsibility put on law enforcement. And when the community takes action they seem to get upset with law enforcement because they did something wrong. We rely too much on law enforcement and call them for unnecessary reasons. If the community would just be respectful to others and would take care of their own responsibility, law enforcement could take care of the real issues. #notaplumber003
I enjoy the fact that Melvin Russell started by giving a background of him being a police officer. He has been one for many years; through the good and the bad. Russell said he absolutely loves being a police officer, yet he admitted it needed reform. He was tired of the departments saying what they needed to do and then never carrying out with the actions of it. He worked his way up until he was a district commander. In this position he decided it was time for a change. He decided to listen to what the community wanted, instead of doing what they thought the community wanted. I heard this in the video and it really spoke to me. I feel like all to often people assume what people want rather than just listening and seeing what the a person wants. This would makes things so much easier. One thing I found interesting is that he mentioned it is not just law enforcement that needs to make a change. A lot of the time the community puts too much responsibility on the shoulders of the police. Instead of having the elders and the parental figures in neighborhoods help out with small things, they call police. This is where he brings in the aspect of relation equity. He says that it is not just one persons fault, it is all of our faults. We need to stop blaming each other and work on helping everyone else out. I think this aspect is something everyone needs to hear. So many people blame someone else instead of looking at what they can be doing to change the situation they find themself in. -AS003
In order to make a change that will help, you can’t have the thinking of “us versus them”. He believed police have a problem with cooperating with the community to see what would work best to help that certain community, instead of coming up with new strategies and implementing the ideas the police think would help they need to sit down with the people and listen to what they have to say, listen to their concerns and their ideas. It will not only help make their relationship stronger but also help build up the community in great ways. People who live within the community will be some of the best judges to know what will help spring growth, help the people feel safer and also help the police have an everlasting strong relationship with as many people in the community as they can. He said that the exercising of protection has sometimes led to abuse, due to the fact that police sometimes don’t take the opportunity to connect with the people and police officers have gotten out of balance because of this, by not seeing our communities as partners, they have forgotten how to treat the people. With that he talks about the fact that everyone makes up a community and we have put too much on law enforcement, we can’t expect them to make a change when we are discriminating against them. We point out the bad they do but not the good they have done. We have to be willing to cooperate with them, support them and build a relationship with them just as they have to be as willing to listen to us, support us and our concerns and take action. This helps them exercise being part of their community instead of just exercising the protection of it, this is the best way for change to take place. Ark003
This ted talk was very eye opening and had the audiences attention right off the start. i will really enjoyed the the comparison of both arms on the protect and serve job of the police officer and the community. He hits the point of the "23 inch" arm of protect and it is big and strong. The serve arm is low and weak he makes the point of how the community isn't involved. He goes into the past of how the community used to not rely on the police to fight all the little crimes or the "music to loud" and "dog walking in my yard". He goes into how he had the elders were the mentors to the community and paved the way for him. He goes into detail on how he was the district commander for one of the worst districts in Baltimore. There is a saying that says if you love your job you will never work a day in your life. He says he loves everything about being a police officer. Law Enforcement as a community he says has been going down for years, with that he means how he hold police to way to many responsibilities. We are very quick to judge and blame when it comes to the actions the police take. Police take action and then get blamed for all wrong doing. Police officers have gotten out of line with the community as a whole. They are not as close and care about the community. Police officers need to reconnect as a whole to take care of the town and community they serve and protect for. DirtTrack003
Being a cop you have to look at that as more than a job be really a passion. Mr. Russell said “It’s a calling, never a job.” You have to love doing what you do as a cop with all your heart. You can’t look at as just another job that pays you have to be genuine and sure with and about everything you do as a cop.Police have two major tasks, protecting and serving and do do those two the right way you have to be willing to do it and be good at it. Even though most cops do more protecting than serving but those two still goes hand to hand with me because in order to protect you have to serve. Serving is protecting. That still starting with the police and the community trusting each other as well. People call the police about the littlest things from calling them because kids are placing ball in the street to the neighbor’s music being too loud. Those issues can be dealt with between each other. Tell the kids it’s not safe to play ball in the street and they’ll respect the fact that you care enough about their safety and they'll find somewhere safe to play ball. Walk across the hall and ask the neighbors nicely can they turn the music down because it’s too loud and they’ll respect that because they didn’t realize it was too loud and they are disturbing other that they’ll turn it down and be more mindful.-KenzieLand003
its truly amazing how far communication goes. if you know that your gonna have a party warn your neighbors to no call the police but to have them call you if the music is to loud. casket003
Melvin Russell is the speaker in this ted talk. Melvin Russell is also a preacher. He states that he absolutely loves being a police officer. He believes that law enforcement has been in a crisis for a long time now. In law enforcement, you have to put up with the same things every single day. These things include racism and discrimination. He was tired of dealing with it. Right when he thought that he was going to quit being an officer he decided that he couldn’t quit now. He had to move up in the rankings. He became a district commander in Baltimore’s Eastern district. He spoke about how a change needed to be made in this district. A reform was most necessary. I like how he said in the video that officers like to come up with all these unique different strategies to help solve certain issues in the communities, but they come up with these strategies without ever going and actually asking the community. So they decided to start speaking to the communities. Melvin Russell decided to switch all his officers from being just leaders into partners. Law enforcement has come a long way when it comes to to protecting people in the communities and we will continue to protect those who need protecting, but over the years protection has been practiced too much by law enforcement officers. It is practiced to the point that abuse has come out of it. In my opinion this is a very serious topic. I think that it is a great idea to talk to the community more often. Somehow we need to make a change and stop being too proud to do anything about it. One last thing that interested me while watching this video was the fact that he mentions that people in general have put too much responsibility of law enforcement and even the law enforcement officers are part of the community. - Anchorman003
i think in order to reform the way policing is done their also needs to be a change in the community each party needs to be held accountable for their actions. It is not okay to rob to rob someone just like it is not okay for an officer to beat someone because of their race and they crossed the street the wrong way. Gangs don't need to be shooting people either so they can gain the trust of their fellow gang members. we need to listen to actions because they speak louder than words. we need to go out of our way to help people. by helping i don't mean post a video of yourself giving food to the homeless. We need to understand why some people are doing the things they do. casket003
“It’s a calling, never a job.” Stated Mr. Russell in the video. He began with explaining the love he had for his job. He gave many perks to being a police officer, then he changed gears and started to explain some of the policing issues. He believes law enforcement is in a crisis. Mr. Russell observed, that the police get called for too many small things. For an example the neighbor’s dog makes a mess on someone else’s property, the police get called. When it simply should have been worked out among the individuals that where involved in the situation. The police are given so much of the community responsibilities. It is not fair to the officers as they only make up a small number within the community. He encouraged the elders, mothers, the pastors to become more intentional with the community. If they were more involved, the youth would have more positive role models to live up to. By this the community would be making great advancements away from criminal activity. He strongly believed that the people need to be taken care of first and the criminal activity would sort itself out. They needed health care, jobs, churches in order for the crime rate to decrease in the community. Police have two major tasks, protecting and serving. They often are more concerned with protecting the community than serving the community. By serving and helping the people, it also helps the crime go down; that simple. This was out of the box thinking. Not many officers have this profound thought process. I admire Mr. Russell for he challenges the whole policing system. His passion and presence paid off. He impacted countless lives now and in years to come with his out of the box thinking. I think we need to learn from Mr. Russell, as he did not take the status quo. He improved it. - CoalRoller003
ReplyDeleteI agree what you are saying when it comes to the parents, elders, and the church being more involved with the youth. If this would happen like it did back in the day the crime rate would be lower. The communities would be better kept up and taken care of and would help the communities grow. Batman.003
DeleteI think we need more leaders like this in all professions and everyone could learn so much from this man. It is evident he is trying very hard in his community and trying to reach out to everyone he can and make a difference. I think it is quite impressive. -holy waffles002
Delete-holywaffles*003
DeleteI agree that the community needs to be more involved with little situations like kids playing in the streets and neighbors playing music too loud. When the community comes together like that it makes it a lot easier for police to help out. This has to be an effort from both sides to help fix the broken relationship that the police have with the community.Celtics003
DeleteHe loved being a police officer cause it’s a calling. Law Enforcement has to adopt and bring along the idea of community policing. Policing needs radical thinking in order to fix the broken. Never should have been them vs us. Came to meet the community in the area where he was trying to fix. He began to listen to what the community in the area had to say. He listened to the community as they had ideas of how to rekindle the relationship between the police and the community. He had to shift 130 officers that were under his command from one mindset to another. Teaching officers the mindset partners with the community from us vs them. Law Enforcement has evolved into great protectors. Officers have become such great protectors that it is sometimes an issue with overstepping. Mindset across the country from department to department is protect and serve. Community his suffered because of officers forgetting the second part of that which is service. It’s not just law enforcement that has need hurting. Everyone of us is part of the community. Communities have put to much of a responsibility on Law Enforcement. Community members need to take more of a leadership of lost children. Lost meaning doing the wrong thing. No need to call police on kids playing ball in the streets or neighbors complaining about music to loud. Dealing with our youth now as they are still young is a must. In order to make our future better, getting kids out of gangs and showing them how to live a life nonviolent life is a must. The speaker turned his district around to an all time low in crime with only 197 homicides. He was able to teach his officers how to be great servers and deal with the community in a positive way and not in a negative way. In the past 10 years, officers have learned to be good proactive officers as compared to reactive officers. Being able to deter crime in some of the bad areas and being able to deter crime before they happen. Having a police commissioner/Cheif who understands community-policing helps both the department and the communities inorder to fully commute to the phrase community policing. I learned in this video that community police is working, it just takes time to rekindle that relationship with the community.-chicubs003
ReplyDeleteThis video talks about how law enforcement is in a crisis in this day and age. The police officers would come up with these amazing but would never talk to the people in the community to try to see if those ideas were the best way to handle the problems that are going on in the community. What is ruining our communities are that "us versus them" mentality. We as a people have always seen that police officers were against and wanted to work with us. This is why communities should be working with the police officers and the police officers should be working with the communities. As he said in the video in the police officers forgot to treat the people in community like our customers, like our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers. Which is true most police officers forget that we are actual human beings in the community and that we have actual feelings. Which is why the communities and the police officers need to get to together. Back in the day people would protect their communities and would protect the kids who would play in the streets. The elders and the parental figures in the communities would stop a lot of crimes which is why crime would be low. It's better known as neighborhood watch. Most police officers think as their job as a job not a calling police now of days think its police versus the community. The police department has been so focused on protecting then doing it the right way which lead to abuse. It's not just the police fault to we put to much responsibility on the police today. Batman.003
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy when we have visitors come into our lectures in all the many courses I’ve taken with this professor. I thoroughly enjoy hearing from our primary instructor as well, although it’s nice to hear others’ thoughts and opinions on how things are in the real world as a law enforcement officer. In this video, Melvin Russell, a man who has devoted his life to impacting the way we police and as well as being a preacher, speaks about the issues that need changing in our law enforcement agencies and how things are currently. Something that he mentioned that really stood out to me is that he was planning on retiring with his wife and moving all his focus onto preaching, but he felt this almost “higher power” calling for him to stay and make changes. He made his way up the ranks of his agency in Baltimore through dedication and incredibly hard work- he went from being a drug sergeant to a district commander of the absolute worst district in Baltimore City. This city was the most violent district, had an unemployment rate of 46% in that district, and the district also in the top 10 list of AIDS and tuberculosis in the national zip code list for areas around the country. He then goes on to say that the problem with policing today is that we have put so much time, money, and effort into the “protection arm” that we have left the “serving arm” frail and weak. He says we don’t treat the community as our partners and often times we try to come up with these “extravagant strategies and deployments, but we never talk to the community about them” and we shove them in their faces. In an effort to change this, he started sitting down with everyone he could in this community to hear what they thought would work and what would make the best improvements. After a 3 ½ year effort of his 4 year “stint,” he had played a massive part in helping this impoverished community hit a historical low in crime rates and homicides- the lowest it had been in 40 years. I truly enjoyed watching this video and loved Mr. Russell’s outlook on policing and his in-depth analysis/efforts on what we need to do to change how we police. GMan003
ReplyDeleteWe do need reform in policing. So many new officers take on the role of a police officer not for a purpose or a calling but only as a job. In looking at policing only as a job you will never work to make a change in the community. It is hard to make a change in an area where things have always been one way. I know from experience when I started in corrections I felt as though this was my purpose. Especially having relatives in the penal system and hearing their stories of racism and discrimination I felt I needed to help make a change in corrections. Going into the jail and treating the inmates with respect and as a human being you get labeled and called things like “hug a thug”. So yes I understand it might be hard to make a change in the community when everyone has the US vs THEM mentality. It also doesn’t help when officers are scrutinized for everything that they do, If they arrest someone their wrong, if they don’t arrest their wrong. They must also understand that not all officers are racist. Even as an African American when I have to deal with an issue and I don’t automatically side with an African American inmate whether he /she is right or wrong, I get comments like “Oh you must be married to a white person, or wow so that’s how you treat your people.” So I agree we all must come together as a community and build each other up. If the police focus on the causations of crime not only will they have a better understanding of why people commit crimes but this will also help with getting the community the jobs, training classes, mentoring groups etc. that they need to be better. In working with the community this will show them that we are all in this together. They will need to make as much effort as the police if they want to see change also. Jadist003
ReplyDeleteIn this video he really spoke very true facts i agree with everthing and he also mentioned about the neighbor playing the music to loud and getting the police called or playing outside to rough and getting the police called. That is a very true statement ive been in
ReplyDeletethat positioned getting the policed called for something that not harming anyone. Many can agree that working in the safety and criminal justice sector is not child’s play. Most times, you are faced with life and death situations and have to put your life on the line for the safety of others. It is mentally, emotionally and physically demanding as you are constantly faced with resolving difficult situations.The recruitment process for officers today is one of the biggest problems facing any positive disposition towards police by civilians and rightly so. Police recruitment selects individuals with characteristics that you most likely might also find in an ex-con. Reasoning being is that they're tough enough to handle certain difficult experiences better. Most of these hardened individuals would of course find it difficult in offering that rapport and relation to civilians because they're indefinitely locked in one mode: defense/offense. That one mode is a breeding ground for corruption because someone locked in a mode like that can only see and consider themselves. "Serve and Protect" becomes only a faint directive that fades to the background when on the streets that's only significance is in that they're allowed to carry a firearm and do what they want with little to no consequence. Change the recruitment process and change the force. Good law enforcement officers are not only strong and manly but they are also meek and mild. A good law enforcement professional should be driven by a strong and sincere motivation to help better other peoples' lives and situations, protect those who cannot protect themselves, and make a positive difference in the world be it large or small. Good law enforcement officers and professionals feel a sense of duty and commitment to community service. Good law enforcement officers demonstrate their commitment by continually assisting those in the community notwithstanding the inherent risk and dangers of the job.
Bball003
I think that this speaker really dug deep and spoke nothing but the truth throughout this video. You did a great job at narrowing down the importance that was talked about in this video. I like how you said A good law enforcement professional should be driven by a strong and sincere motivation to help better other people's lives and situations. -Anchorman003
DeleteI agree with a lot of what Mr. Russell is saying. He talks about his experience as a police officer and as a preacher and how he thinks being more involved withy the community is important. He brought up how distant the church has become and how police forces have been all about protection and have almost forgotten about serving. I believe police departments have to get involved with the community more and get to know everyone. They have to help out and make sure everyone is getting what they need. As Russell said, if you take care of your community, the crime will sort itself out. In his jurisdiction, he lowered the crime rate immensely by getting out into the community and serving its people. We need to form stronger bonds and trust between the police force and the citizens. Officers must also remember their purpose is to protect and serve. - Smokeybear003
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love how he said being a police officer is not a job it is a calling. As that is so very true. You can truly see this man's dedication to his community and the people surrounding him about making his city great again. He was not happy with the crime rate and everything going on within the city and he is making every possible attempt to turn the city into a lively, happier place. He is wanting to get everyone involved and I think that is so beautiful as he also said that protecting and serving is so important and the main job. Which it truly is. On the side of squad cars it normally says to serve and protect. This man truly is a leader and I think that many people can learn so much from him because of this. He also said how we as civilians put a lot on law enforcement which is very accurate. We expect the police to come at our beck and call and handle every situation and over some very petty, unnecessary things but an officer will still respond to the call regardless of how badly they may not want to and they will handle it to the best of their ability. I think it is so very sad though how he said that things are different now because police are called over everything and it is all handled differently than it used to. He said how he would play in the street or even get into a small fight and it would be handled by themselves or an elder and the police would not be called but now the police are called and it is a lock your doors type world. I thought it was funny though how he said if you had the clergy riding with you, it was hard to be a tough cop. -holywaffles003
ReplyDeleteThe officer Russel has explained well on the video the important things the community should do to help the police department have good relationship to the community and work together to sort out the problems. Treating each other with respect is the major key. There are small things such as playing loud music in the neighborhood the community need to work it out or solve this without involving the police. police officers are often the heroes on one wants, it is often said that everyone hates cop until they need one. The fact is police still enjoy a measure of respect in their community. Regardless of their rank or status in their department, among their circles of friends, church groups or other community involvements they are often looked to as leaders and examples to be followed. Dont take it wrong way, but there is something to be said for being able to tell people to do something and have them listen. It is also nice to see a problem and able to fix it. Obviously, there is tremendous potential to abuse the authority police have, but when used properly and for the good of others, it is great to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. GUSII 003
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that little things such as a noise complaint should not be a problem for the police at first. The community should try to solve the problem themselves. If they have exhausted all means and could not get the problem under control than at that time they should call the police. -ClarkKent003
DeleteBaltimore Police officer Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell starts out by telling us that he has been an officer for a long time this is way back before even the war on drugs. And how much he loves being a police officer, he also states that it's been a calling for him not just a job this makes it clear he respects his job and officers. With all that being said he then goes to talk about how its in crisis it has always been. That even though the law enforcement sees issues it still going down the same path. Racism discrimination, made him do radical policing and over the 18 to 19 months he went from a drug sergeant to a district commander, in the worst district of baltimore. It was called this because it was the most violent districts, forty six unemployment rate in the district. He had to think outside the box so he had to start realize that it should never be or never should have been us versus them.That for so long us thinking they had to be tough like they were being symbolized it made them coldness and callousness, and it's dehumanized the police force. That it is to protect and serve so one arm is strong and the other weak.This is because they focused so much on protection they forgot about serving their communities. And sense it's a proud profession it's hard to see their mistakes. There is just to much responsibility out on law enforcement. He also has instituted a series of reforms aimed at winning back the trust of the community and lowering the violent crime rate -pizza003
ReplyDeleteThis video was about a police officer discussing the changes that he made in a community. He said he was a police officer for a long time and he said that being a police officer has never been a job, it’s been a calling. I really liked how he said that because if you truly love what you do, you don’t look at it like a job. You look at it like a calling. You can tell that he loves what he does with a passion. It’s something he truly cares about. His views on it never changed even through the bad times. He talked about how he thinks that law enforcement is in a crisis. People were changing the ways that they view the police in ways we dont want them to think. He was a drug sargent and then he became a district commander in the worst district in Baltimore City. There was a lot of violence and poverty. The percentage of poverty at the time was forty six percent. He talked about how he wanted to change things. He described his views as it should not be us versus them. I agree with that statement. I feel like we all should come together and help and we shouldn't be fighting against each other. He talked about how the police come up with different strategies on how to change things and they never talked to the community about them. He said that they would just throw the changes at them and not discuss it. But he wanted to hear from the community. He wanted to talk to the community on what would work in their community. He wanted both the police officers and the community to become partners. If we all came together, we could keep each other all safer. He also thinks that we put way too much responsibility on law enforcement. People would call the police if there was children playing ball in the street or someone’s stereo was too loud or if someone's dog went to the bathroom in their yard. I agree that these examples should not require a police call. I agree that an adult figure should be able to fix that. The community should be able to come together and peacefully work out those specific issues. If someone was getting hurt or robbed or something else then that would require a police call. He talked about how it takes all of us in the community to work together. He didn't see a lot of community policing. He wanted to change that because in order to help the community, we all have to work together and be on the same side. He talked about how at the end of the day if we took care of the needs of the people, the crime would take care of itself. I agree with that because if everyone gets taken care of, the crime might not happen. Once the changes started happening, he said after four years there was a forty year historical crime low. Then he talked to the city and the city started doing the same things and they were at a thirty year crime low. He believed in community policing so much and the outcome was great. Everyone wants to live their life happily and peacefully. If we all come together and give each other respect, all communities can be like this. Not every community is bad but if we come together, crime can possible be at an all time low. -Soccer003
ReplyDeleteThe video starts off with an officer named Melvin Russell. At the very start he explains and shows his passion for being a police officer. He explains how he has been an officer for a long time and it was funny to have him make a few jokes on technology and how he predates it. He says that being a police officer is not a job rather it is a calling. I really did like his dedication that he showed through his emotions and you could tell that he really loved being a police officer. He goes on to say that law enforcement is going through an invisible crisis that has been going on for many years. He explained that in his city of Baltimore there was the most violent district, that had an unemployment rate of 46% in that district, and the district also in the top 10 list of AIDS and tuberculosis in the national zip code list for areas around the country. He goes on to say that the problem with policing in today’s world is that we have put so much time and money into the “protection arm” that we have left the “serving arm” frail and the weak. After a three and half years out of his four, he had made a massive difference within the community. And played a massive part in helping this dire need community hit a historical low in crime rates and homicides. Which was the lowest it had been in 40 years in Baltimore. Overall, I found this video very enjoyable to watch just based on the information and history Mr. Russell provided, but also his love and passion for the police force. -CUBSFAN003
ReplyDeleteThis ted talk is with Melvin Russell and talks about how the police are in a crisis right now. Melvin says that it should never be us versus them when policing a community. I think that police are almost taught this during their training because so much of their training involves arrests. When the majority of what you’re taught in training is how to arrest people, you’re probably going to go out and arrest a lot of people. We need to teach our police a healthy balance of arresting and community policing. The relationship between the public and the police is at an all time low and this is partially due to the fact that our police aren’t trained well enough in community relationships. The best way to fix this problem is to change the mindset of our police. This isn’t going to happen overnight, but if we really focus on fixing our relationships within the community by helping out more, then we can slowly but surely fix the broken trend. Melvin reminds us that we need to protect and serve our community, rather then just protect. Police are really good at protecting the community, so much so that it has led to a lot of abuse. He says that we have put too much responsibility on police. We shouldn’t call the police for little things like kids playing in the street or the neighbors music being too loud. If we stop wasting the police’s time with these problems and take some own initiative then we can better our community relationships with the police. The police can’t fix the relationship with the public on their own, it has to be a joint effort. If both sides make an effort to help fix the broken system then we can come together as one. Celtics003
ReplyDeleteYou can tell at the start of this video that Melvin Russell was meant to be a police officer and you can tell that he really loved what he was doing in the community even if it was not a good community to be in. He said that it was a calling to him and not a job and I would think that it really does feel that way for most police officers. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do this kind of career. To be able to work in such a bad area and to still have the perspective that he does is the way that all law enforcement should be. Russell knows that there is a lot of things that still need to be done and things that will need changed in these communities to make them better but he is very hopeful. A lot of people in the United States are always counting down the days until they finally get to retire and him and his wife had the day set that he could retire and they could “ride off into the sunset” but when the time came he did not want to retire because he loved what he was doing. Instead of retiring he worked his way up to a district commander of the eastern district of Baltimore. He could have retired and started traveling or enjoying more days with his family but instead he knew that he could make a difference in Baltimore. In his three years of being the district commander he was able to put that district at an all time low for crime and homicide since the 1970’s when they first started recording all of these crimes. He made a difference for his community when he did not even have to and that is the way that we should all be. -Steel003
ReplyDeleteMelvin was truly an inspiring man to listen too. A Baltimore cops and he's a man that loves his job, and he has a passion for it. He's done it for so long, and he still loves going to work everyday. Melvin says that he loves the job so much, but you can also see it in his body language. When he talks about how much he loves policing, or anything about the job, his hands start flying everywhere, his tone changes. I hope to love the job as much as he does someday. Melvin said that as a police department, we have to stop thinking paramilitary, and holistically. I completely agree with that, police agencies, have to stop being so aggressive, and become more community oriented. Police officers need to establish better relationships with the public, and integrate themselves into the community more. Police agencies, and or officers cannot have the mentality of us vs them, and that is what Melvin states. Melvin is a great example of a community police officer, and is running a community police department. He wants to hear what the communities want, and what they think the department is doing right, and wrong. That's when you will see change in the community, and your departments. Police departments are there for protection, and to implement authority, when a person commits a crime. Melvin states that we exercise that protection so much that it leads to abuse from the police. I completely agree with him, police will become corrupt if we are constantly telling them how strong they are. That is why people don't trust police departments, because of how they think, and their mentalities. Melvin also states that we have put too much responsibilities on police departments. That is very true, it can't just be a police department that changes a community, they need compliance from the citizens as well.
ReplyDeleteI-Like-Cereal003
This guy was very interesting to listen to because he has been through a lot of history in the policing field. As he stated before he was in the police force before technology and the war on crime. This man wanted to get out and retire but he was pulled back in because of the love for his neighborhood. He ended did not retire and within a year and a half he was promoted to commander of a area that was the worst district in Baltimore city. He knew that he needed to change that so he went into the community and actually talk with them. He asked the community what they think would help instead of implementing a plan and throwing it at them. One thing that the speaker said was that police officer know how to protect but with that they lose some of the human in them. They become cold, callous, and dehumanized. I can see this in my own community, the police officers never get out of the car to engage in the community. I hear more and more “oh this cop does not care about the community all she cares about is giving out tickets or oh this cop doesn’t care what your doing he’ll pull you over for the simplest reason.” Like the speaker said we are all a community and we put too much responsibility on the police. We do not need to call the police for simple things that we can handle out selves. I love that one of the changes that he made was putting pastors In police cars with the officer. You cannot be nasty cop with a pastor watching you. With the changes that the speaker made in his area the crime was at a 40 year low. He had other districts calling him asking what are you doing. He shared his knowledge and the city of Baltimore had an 30 year crime low. -ClarkKent003
ReplyDeleteAs a police officer, you are trained to think and act paramilitary. They tell you what you can and what you can’t do. They tell you the wrongs and the rights and the do’s and the don’ts. I agree and think that police officers need to take the communities thoughts and concerns into factor about what they see at first hand. As a citizen of a community, they see more throughout the community than what the officers do. People tend to behave more around officers because they are afraid of them. The strategy is that cops need to learn how to be partners and work and support the community instead of only bringing negative impacts to the table. They had to retrain their way of thinking and their demeanors on how they were trained to from the beginning. This would then change the way the officers approached situations and the way they handled traffic violations, home disturbances, robberies and even more crimes that are committed on a daily basis. People would be more out to ask for help or even help a cop ina time of need. Many people today, are scared or afraid of cops because they are of higher power and are there to enforce the laws. Police officers are known for protecting and serving but sometimes they forget the other big picture which is to invest in the communities and treat them like they are family. Police officers are also very highly thought of and there are many proud of them. Therefore, it is hard to truly see the mistakes that they make or to even think that they can improve on some of their actions and takes. But as a community there is too much responsibility put on law enforcement. And when the community takes action they seem to get upset with law enforcement because they did something wrong. We rely too much on law enforcement and call them for unnecessary reasons. If the community would just be respectful to others and would take care of their own responsibility, law enforcement could take care of the real issues. #notaplumber003
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the fact that Melvin Russell started by giving a background of him being a police officer. He has been one for many years; through the good and the bad. Russell said he absolutely loves being a police officer, yet he admitted it needed reform. He was tired of the departments saying what they needed to do and then never carrying out with the actions of it. He worked his way up until he was a district commander. In this position he decided it was time for a change. He decided to listen to what the community wanted, instead of doing what they thought the community wanted. I heard this in the video and it really spoke to me. I feel like all to often people assume what people want rather than just listening and seeing what the a person wants. This would makes things so much easier. One thing I found interesting is that he mentioned it is not just law enforcement that needs to make a change. A lot of the time the community puts too much responsibility on the shoulders of the police. Instead of having the elders and the parental figures in neighborhoods help out with small things, they call police. This is where he brings in the aspect of relation equity. He says that it is not just one persons fault, it is all of our faults. We need to stop blaming each other and work on helping everyone else out. I think this aspect is something everyone needs to hear. So many people blame someone else instead of looking at what they can be doing to change the situation they find themself in. -AS003
ReplyDeleteIn order to make a change that will help, you can’t have the thinking of “us versus them”. He believed police have a problem with cooperating with the community to see what would work best to help that certain community, instead of coming up with new strategies and implementing the ideas the police think would help they need to sit down with the people and listen to what they have to say, listen to their concerns and their ideas. It will not only help make their relationship stronger but also help build up the community in great ways. People who live within the community will be some of the best judges to know what will help spring growth, help the people feel safer and also help the police have an everlasting strong relationship with as many people in the community as they can. He said that the exercising of protection has sometimes led to abuse, due to the fact that police sometimes don’t take the opportunity to connect with the people and police officers have gotten out of balance because of this, by not seeing our communities as partners, they have forgotten how to treat the people. With that he talks about the fact that everyone makes up a community and we have put too much on law enforcement, we can’t expect them to make a change when we are discriminating against them. We point out the bad they do but not the good they have done. We have to be willing to cooperate with them, support them and build a relationship with them just as they have to be as willing to listen to us, support us and our concerns and take action. This helps them exercise being part of their community instead of just exercising the protection of it, this is the best way for change to take place. Ark003
ReplyDeleteThis ted talk was very eye opening and had the audiences attention right off the start. i will really enjoyed the the comparison of both arms on the protect and serve job of the police officer and the community. He hits the point of the "23 inch" arm of protect and it is big and strong. The serve arm is low and weak he makes the point of how the community isn't involved. He goes into the past of how the community used to not rely on the police to fight all the little crimes or the "music to loud" and "dog walking in my yard". He goes into how he had the elders were the mentors to the community and paved the way for him. He goes into detail on how he was the district commander for one of the worst districts in Baltimore. There is a saying that says if you love your job you will never work a day in your life. He says he loves everything about being a police officer. Law Enforcement as a community he says has been going down for years, with that he means how he hold police to way to many responsibilities. We are very quick to judge and blame when it comes to the actions the police take. Police take action and then get blamed for all wrong doing. Police officers have gotten out of line with the community as a whole. They are not as close and care about the community. Police officers need to reconnect as a whole to take care of the town and community they serve and protect for. DirtTrack003
ReplyDeleteBeing a cop you have to look at that as more than a job be really a passion. Mr. Russell said “It’s a calling, never a job.” You have to love doing what you do as a cop with all your heart. You can’t look at as just another job that pays you have to be genuine and sure with and about everything you do as a cop.Police have two major tasks, protecting and serving and do do those two the right way you have to be willing to do it and be good at it. Even though most cops do more protecting than serving but those two still goes hand to hand with me because in order to protect you have to serve. Serving is protecting. That still starting with the police and the community trusting each other as well. People call the police about the littlest things from calling them because kids are placing ball in the street to the neighbor’s music being too loud. Those issues can be dealt with between each other. Tell the kids it’s not safe to play ball in the street and they’ll respect the fact that you care enough about their safety and they'll find somewhere safe to play ball. Walk across the hall and ask the neighbors nicely can they turn the music down because it’s too loud and they’ll respect that because they didn’t realize it was too loud and they are disturbing other that they’ll turn it down and be more mindful.-KenzieLand003
ReplyDeleteits truly amazing how far communication goes. if you know that your gonna have a party warn your neighbors to no call the police but to have them call you if the music is to loud. casket003
DeleteMelvin Russell is the speaker in this ted talk. Melvin Russell is also a preacher. He states that he absolutely loves being a police officer. He believes that law enforcement has been in a crisis for a long time now. In law enforcement, you have to put up with the same things every single day. These things include racism and discrimination. He was tired of dealing with it. Right when he thought that he was going to quit being an officer he decided that he couldn’t quit now. He had to move up in the rankings. He became a district commander in Baltimore’s Eastern district. He spoke about how a change needed to be made in this district. A reform was most necessary. I like how he said in the video that officers like to come up with all these unique different strategies to help solve certain issues in the communities, but they come up with these strategies without ever going and actually asking the community. So they decided to start speaking to the communities. Melvin Russell decided to switch all his officers from being just leaders into partners. Law enforcement has come a long way when it comes to to protecting people in the communities and we will continue to protect those who need protecting, but over the years protection has been practiced too much by law enforcement officers. It is practiced to the point that abuse has come out of it. In my opinion this is a very serious topic. I think that it is a great idea to talk to the community more often. Somehow we need to make a change and stop being too proud to do anything about it. One last thing that interested me while watching this video was the fact that he mentions that people in general have put too much responsibility of law enforcement and even the law enforcement officers are part of the community. - Anchorman003
ReplyDeletei think in order to reform the way policing is done their also needs to be a change in the community each party needs to be held accountable for their actions. It is not okay to rob to rob someone just like it is not okay for an officer to beat someone because of their race and they crossed the street the wrong way. Gangs don't need to be shooting people either so they can gain the trust of their fellow gang members. we need to listen to actions because they speak louder than words. we need to go out of our way to help people. by helping i don't mean post a video of yourself giving food to the homeless. We need to understand why some people are doing the things they do. casket003
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