Victims are often criminals, and that is a paradox American policing can’t solve
&gt; Cooperating with law enforcement is often morally and practically unthinkable for the city’s most vulnerable<p>The article has a really big blind spot, in that it fails to mention the Drug War even a single time.<p>If you want to understand <i>why</i> America&#x27;s police act like an occupying army- the militarization of weapons and approaches, the festering hostility between the police and the policed, the heavy-handed suspicion and disregard for those under their protection- then you have to start with the Drug War.<p>Policing against victimless crimes is fundamentally a different endeavor than policing against normal violent or property crime. In a rape, assault, or robbery there&#x27;s a clear victim to come forward. Crime gets reported, police investigate, criminal gets arrested, community improves from having a violent psychopath off the streets. It&#x27;s a simple formula, everybody&#x27;s happy.<p>But when you&#x27;re trying to police the crimes of drugs or prostitution or illegal lemonade stands, there is no aggrieved party. Just two or more people engaged in a mutually voluntary transaction. Hence there&#x27;s no way to stop this activity besides butting into people&#x27;s lives, violating their privacy, kicking down doors, and harassing random people on the street. You&#x27;re no longer hauling away lunatics that hurt people. You&#x27;re arresting mothers, sons, and boyfriends who are just trying to make a living.<p>If you want the police to be respected and valued by the communities that they police, then focus on restricting their activities mainly to victim-centric crimes. The resolution of which provides tangible value to the policed. Adopt a Portuguese-Style approach to drug policy, where usage and low-level dealing of drugs is decriminalized and treated as a health rather than criminal issue.