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Notes -
Only if the entire outcome is due to policing, which seems absurd. But I think it's capturing the instinct: the same assumption is what leads to teachers being hammered for bad childhood outcomes (or treated as besieged miracle-workers - as if, if they merely had everything they wanted, all of the outcome would then be in their hands)
The reality is that policing is one tool to help improve community safety. It might succeed and not be recognized because other things are going on and drowning it out. It might succeed in relative terms (if it reduces more harm than it causes it's a net positive) and still not make the community feel safe. But that doesn't actually mean that their problem is cops.
The root of ACAB/police racism is a motte-and-bailey on just how much power this one side of government policy and this one set of employees has.
I don't think that's necessarily true. I think to do policing properly, you need to have the trust of the local populace*, and failure to earn that represents a very real failure.
That's before we get into the optimal level of safety, which is probably not maximum safety. I did mention "as safe as possible" in a separate post, but I probably should have said "as safe as is practical". That level of safety, and which kinds of safety (e.g. the difference between unsafe worksites and muggings in the street) to prioritize aren't decisions that I, or the police, can make for a community. That's a decision that the community has to make for itself.
*Note: Does not apply if the police in question are controlled by a far away power center. That's better modeled as an occupation force, rather than a self-governing community.
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