Читать книгу Police in America - Steven G. Brandl - Страница 148

Some scholars explain that we have the police in order to deal with a wide variety of situations where something is not right—situations where “something ought not to be happening, about which something ought to be done now!”²⁸ A gas station has been robbed, a neighbor is threatening another neighbor, traffic lights are not working, people are arguing, a dog is on the loose. Police officers may be asked to intervene in each of these situations. Some involve crime and law enforcement, but most do not. Some involve regulating citizens’ behavior, others do not. Some involve the potential use of force, but not all of them do. These situations cannot wait for some future resolution; they need to be handled immediately. Cars may collide and the dog might bite someone. As this clearly illustrates, the police are needed for more than law enforcement, crime control, the use of force, or to assist persons with special needs. As criminologist James Fyfe wrote, “The police perform a variety of services that must be available seven days a week, 24 hours-a-day, that may require the use or threat of force, and that are not readily available from any other public agency or private institution.”²⁹