As the Justice Department’s report highlights, Ferguson, like many other jurisdictions and even the federal government, has been using police powers more aggressively for minor matters that have more to do with raising money than preserving the public order. The city, DOJ noted, “budgets for sizable increases in municipal fines and fees each year, exhorts police and court staff to deliver those revenue increases, and closely monitors whether those increases are achieved … Partly as a consequence of City and FPD priorities, many officers appear to see some residents, especially those who live in Ferguson’s predominantly African-American neighborhoods, less as constituents to be protected than as potential offenders and sources of revenue.”
This is a sad byproduct of the national trend toward excessive criminalization, egregious use of civil forfeiture and other practices that encourage police to harass citizens like Garner for trifling, victimless offenses. When a police force is used this way, it fosters distrust of law enforcement.
Most cops just want to do their jobs and protect the public. But the trend toward over criminalization undermines their ability to do so. It increases the frequency of police confrontations with citizens who are not really part of the problem. This erodes goodwill. For many, especially those picked on most often, it turns the police into the enemy. It saps the public’s willingness to give police the benefit of the doubt when they actually do deserve it.
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