In both articles the issues being raised concern the use of undo force and the ensuing criminal offenses committed by those who have been put in positions to keep law and order, namely police officers and security personnel. When we look at Kaba’s argument to abolish the police force, the question arises as to what point we should restrict law enforcing officers from doing their job? Should we halve the force and remove funding, based solely on hearsay and opinion? Stating that most officers don’t do their “job” by dealing with non-criminal issues, is at best experience based opinion and not hard data. Where Kaba says that traffic violations are non-criminal offenses, that is a exactly what it is not. They are actionable offenses and it is the police officers job to uphold the law and maintain security throughout our communities whether out in the streets or on college campuses. In situations where there are legitimate cases of misconduct by police officers, the actions to be taken need to be assessed on an individual basis and internal investigations should ensue, and they do. But to say an institution as a whole needs to be abolished based on a few cases of mistaken judgment and/or criminality is counterproductive and ultimately an unsafe solution for our society. In a world without accountability and consequences of one’s actions chaos would reign.
With Wright’s article discussing cases of violence and excessive use of force on college campuses, there does seem to be a similar trend as Kaba’s argument, where the idea that criminals will be scared off by mental health counselors and varying degrees of education will terminate or lessen dramatically cases of violence. On or off campuses people who are busy making a life, getting a degree or raising a family, deserve and must be protected. It cannot be said for those who choose to act with aggression, for example, those who trash campuses and damage private property. That is not free speech and can only lead to further criminality. Having a show of force when the need arises and maintaining proper protocol must be established by law enforcement and other university entities. This protection that we see in our daily lives and even the ones we don’t, cannot be said to be “unnecessary ” as Wright puts it. But in fact, it should be viewed as the one thing preventing the collapse of humankind.
