Robocop

I suppose it's only paranoid little old me, but does anyone remember when your mother told you if you find yourself in trouble, find the nearest policeman? Times have changed. We read, almost daily, about dirty cops and how they prey on innocent victims. This is not to say that all cops are bad, but as in any profession, you are bound to find a few rotten apples that tarnish the reputation of the rest.

It has always been understood that there is an underground war waged between the men in blue and motorists. They had unmarked cars with which to prowl the streets in order to capture the stop sign running criminal or the 'one toke over the line, sweet Jesus' drinker who thought he was sober enough to drive home.

It was easy to avoid the unmarked cars. They stood out from the crowd the same as the guy who farts on the dance floor would. Black on black, no whitewalls, no chrome trim. That was your basic unmarked car. The cops got wise to this and have recently started using more refined unmarked cars. These things look just like what you and I would buy off the lot. They've taken to buying SUV's and pick up trucks in their never ending quest to nab bad guy motorists. They've gotten sneakier than ever before, thus widening the trust gap between us and them.

When radar was introduced it was greeted with cries of the cops playing unfairly. And they were. They still hid under overpasses and behind billboards but the radar left no doubt as to how fast you were going. Before that, it was the cops judgement and you at least stood a minimal chance of beating the ticket in court. Along came 'Fuzz Busters' and the playing field was leveled once more. The cops didn't take kindly to Joe Average being able to spot him before he spotted Joe and thus made 'Fuzz Busters' illegal. In a curious side note, the Detroit City Police held a contest for the most imaginative excuse for speeding with the first prize being, you guessed it, a 'Fuzz Buster'.

Rolling right along, the police uniform has changed over the ages. At one time, our boys in blue actually were in blue. They are now decked out in black. How intimidating is this? In the few cases where I've had to deal with the police, I found them menacing enough without being clad like the evil knight in a long forgotten movie. Somehow you just know the guy in black is going to do you a world of hurt before you get a chance to get your own licks in. Instead of the friendly, cop on the beat facade we grew up with, we now have a' just this side of Robocop' figure staring us down, daring us to make a mistake. Add the Stetson hat that traffic officers now sport and you have a pretty imposing figure. Someone actually made the insane comment that the change in police officer uniform was for their own safety. How does going from blue to black help the cop on the side of the road, dealing with a traffic offence, at 1 AM?

I don't know about you, but if I was a kid, I'd think twice before approaching such a figure in the mall and telling him I lost my mommy. He'd probably cuff me, print me, book me and tell me it was my fault, that mommy had left me on purpose because of my greed in asking for more of her welfare check to play video games.

It is subtly creeping into our society that it has once again become a game of us vs them. It really shouldn't be this way. The cop needs the trust and confidence of the general population in order to do his job to the fullest. And the general population needs to know they can approach a police officer without fear at any time, at any place.

Maybe we need to get a grip and try to work together instead of drawing battle lines.