Police have been quitting in droves in the last year

> When you have one side shouting "All cops our bad" "F the police" etc,

To keep with the hacker news software developer metaphor; It's not dissimilar from the industry often seeing Facebook developers as unscrupulous about privacy. Or Solarwinds (CEO blaming an intern).

Just a week ago I needed an answer re interstate transportion of controlled items. I realized I am the only person I know who knows any cops. This struck me as ludicrous as many people I know have strong (>75% negative) opinions about police. I got my answers directly.

In the US, a typical metro area police is what I descrobe as a janitor of humanity. Domestic violence, mental illness, drunks and drug addicts, vehicle accidents, and various antisocial acts make up a good portion of a day's chores. Being insulted, spit on, bitten, having offenders intentionally defecate in patrol cars, and of course a rainbow of physical confrontation are all common occurences.

Imagine dealing with that everyday, every week, every month, for years. The "us vs. them mentality" is of course not good, and not how police ought to be thinking, but as I came to know cops, it became clear to me that I would not have the moral fortitude to maintain a default empathy.

Now, add in politicians, activists and media asserting that you are a agent of oppression, a sociopath, and liable for outcomes in the thousands of conflicts you will encounter in your career.

I wonder if it is mostly "good" cops or "bad" cops quitting.

Bad cops might be sensing that there time is up and are upset that they might be held accountable for something they wouldn't have before. They also feel like they might be losing some power, which might be what attracted "bad" cops to the position in the first place.

Good cops might be finding it too hard to do their job, and be fed up with being demonized even though that got into the profession to help people. Which is what the article seems to indicate, but this seemed to be based on interviews with retiring police officers. Of course they are going to think that. I am sure the internet mobs attacking retiring police officers is not the correct way to respond.

>>last summer had chipped away at his professional pride

why do cops get to have "professional pride" when basically all other dangerous jobs are un-glamourous and lower paid? [0] Do these people contribute less to society?

I am in the camp, which I assume most people are, where most cops are good, but they need additional qualification and help dealing with different problems (homelessness, drug addiction, mental illness, evictions ...). The fact that someone can graduate high school and, before the rest of their class starts college, can be a full blown police officer doesn't sit right with me. Also, the fact that it is nearly impossible to arrest a police office is not right, if anything they should be held to a higher standard.

Overall, I think change is needed, but it is important to not take it out on individual people, nobody thinks they are the "bad guy".

[0]https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2018/01/09/work...

I agree that an effective police force probably needs to see their job as a profession and a career and that investment into officers is important, but also I think cops are already well paid.

Cops in my area cross six figures within about 5 years of joining (this is informed by police officers I know but probably far from uniform) and they get some of the best pension benefits available and have to work far less time than most other professions to receive full retirement benefits.

My understanding with my state's troopers is that they can retire with 75% of their highest earning years after working 25 years, or 50% after working 20 years.

Raising compensation from that level would make them some of the most well paid workers in the state and they only require 6 months of training.

Yeah. The only time I've "needed" police was because my insurance required a police report. It's not like the police did anything except file "yep, burglary at (address)".

The number of times I've seen police in situations they were clearly unequipped for is insane though. It's a not-infrequent occurrence near where I live to see them standing around and talking to a homeless person. Regardless of the motivation (are they trying to help or hassle the person), they don't have the training or incentives to be the right people for that.