This Thanksgiving was a relief for me, as I was finally able to enjoy a holiday with my New England family for the first time in two years. The name “Trump” never came up, and we all understood the value of home COVID tests and took them willingly before Thanksgiving Day.
This year, our conversation focused on the future of policing. My nephew, a police officer, spoke of how his work has changed even in the 10 years since he began in law enforcement. He related some pretty gut-wrenching stories of what has been happening in his quiet, small, suburban precinct, especially involving young people overdosing and a mentally ill man wielding an automatic rifle, which was aimed at fellow police officers.
That discussion and a lot of what I’ve been reading lately leads me to be deeply concerned about what will be the future of policing over the next 10 to 20 years. If we continue our policy in America of neglecting areas of mental health, drug addiction, poverty and the education of disadvantaged children, we will continue to place those in law enforcement and our citizens at unnecessary risk.
Police are not social workers, drug rehabilitation specialists or marriage counselors, and yet nowadays that is largely what is expected of them. It is now apparent that most police academies do not adequately train and prepare their officers in how to handle many of these new job requirements effectively and to de-escalate situations so that no one gets hurt.
It is no wonder that so many policeman are leaving the force or retiring earlier than they would have otherwise. What will become of our society another 10 years from now if we continue this level of attrition? What if the good cops decide they simply can’t take it anymore? Will we be left with too few applicants, or perhaps will those who are selected to serve no longer be “the finest”?
Now is the time to adequately address the very social issues that are placing our citizens and law enforcement at risk and to change the militaristic attitude of police academies, which is outdated and ineffective.
Paula Angelone, Ph.D.
Southampton Village
Shut Him UpFolks: it is time to take Michael Daly at his word(s), unpleasant as that may be. First: glide by his smarmy greeting card calls for “love.” His own words reveal him, above all, and consistently, a purveyor of hate and...
Suffering in SilenceWhen our world gets out of balance, we lose our comfort and security. Too much or too little of anything spikes our fear, and we lose our sense of peace. Those who have what they want and need are comfortable....
Advocate & Adjudicate?The previous administration of [Supervisor Jay] Schneiderman and current board member Tommy John Schiavoni did not give high priority to monitoring appointed public officials for ethical lapses in their private life activities. This laissez-faire policy towards ethics enforcement appears to...
Soil Is CallingIn a book titled “In Old Southampton,” Abigail Halsey reminds us that in the early days of Southampton, “every man was a farmer and a fisherman.” But those days are long gone and most people, today, have no connection to...
A Web of InterestsKudos to Craig Catalanotto [“What Are We Doing?” Letters, April 18] and Barbara Ring [“Tangled Web” Letters, April 18] for their letters to the editor shining a light on the web of special interests, conflicts of interest and misinformation that...
Dates of InfamySeptember 11 and October 7, similar dates of infamy for strong allies with similarly divergent reactions. Now gathered mobs of protesters are cheering on those who cry “Death to America” and call for the complete annihilation and genocide of the...
Your VoiceOn June 25, registered Democrats will go to the ballot box to determine who will represent their ticket for New York’s 1st Congressional District. Although CD1 has recently been held by Republicans, both parties have assumed leadership over the years....
Master ClassI thank Barbara Ring for aptly proving my point. In response to my letter [“An Alliance,” Letters, April 11], which decried the state of civic public discourse in Hampton Bays as being overtaken by misinformation, fear-mongering and conspiracy peddling, Ring...
