The tragedy is that the police and inner city communities should be allies. Who suffers most from violent crime in America? Inner city communities. Who has a personal and professional interest in lowering that violence? Cops.
Don WinslowRead
Police departments are always a reflection of the society that they serve. Is there such a thing as 'police culture?' Absolutely. Is that culture isolated form the surrounding society? Absolutely not.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Police culture is influenced by the society they serve and is not isolated from it.
This quote by Don Winslow highlights the concept that police departments are not separate entities but rather a reflection of the broader society. It emphasizes that the culture within police forces mirrors societal values and behaviors, and thus cannot be considered in isolation from the community's social dynamics. The interconnection suggests that changes in society can directly impact police culture and vice versa.
Themes
PoliceCultureSocietyReflectionCommunity
In practice
Example use cases
In a public discussion about police reforms, this quote can serve to acknowledge the deep connection between society and law enforcement.
More from Don Winslow
All quotes →We have contradictory expectations of police: We want to be perfectly safe and perfectly free. We want total security and total privacy. We want the bad guys stopped and the good guys unmolested. That's great for the consumer; try providing it.
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When you criminalize something, only criminals can deal with it. When criminals deal with it, there's no recourse to law, so there's only recourse to violence.
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