Could Detroit be the next Ferguson or Baltimore?

[Wesley Mouch]

So how do we get police who aren't uncivilized?

1) Decriminalize drugs, and the incentive for PDs to arrest to sieze and profit.
2) Eliminate any and all standards to hire based on anything except qualifications. No residency, no racial preferences.
3) Establish state-wide certification programs. Not federal, and not local. Federal risks no diversity of thought. Local invites 'good ol' boy' networks. Track certifications, make the results visible to citizens.
4) See Veterans as a great source for recruits.
5) Continue to encourage community involvement. That doesn't mean listening endlessly to vocal fools at public meetings. It means getting the cops away from being nothing but arrest machines. The LA basketball initiative is a good example. Consider using police in roles that help the community, bike licensing in Detroit was once a great introduction for kids to their cops.
6) Eliminate police unions, they are a force for preservation of the status quo. Create strong civil service protections.
7) Establish state-wide wage guidelines, and measure cities against them, share results.
8) Encourage shift to 'Public Safety', and go even further towards having Public Safety officers do other kids of community work where positive relationships can be built.
9) More higher education, and stop calling it 'Criminal Justice'.

In short, toss out the current model, where Unions stiffle, the blue wall stonewalls, and reinvent the profession.

Oh, I forgot.... 10) forget race. Sure, racism exists. But it will heal naturally if you follow good guidelines. You can't force racial healing. There's no such thing as a 'conversation' on race. That just means you are bad, and I know what's right, you listen to me. That will never heal anything.
11) Realize that these problems are deep, and won't get fixed overnight. Hold bad cops responsible. But don't assume that all cops are bad. That just alienates the 95% of cops who are on your side. This 'anti cop' diatribe right now is just making reform harder.