August 27, 2014

Welcome to our first installment of Weekly Message, exploring ideas, solutions, and issues-of-the-day from a Libertarian perspective, brought to you by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. There are many issues today which sorely need a Libertarian viewpoint. We hope that our members and supporters will find these ideas to be worthy of thoughtful consideration.

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Ferguson Police Department

In light of the events in Ferguson Missouri, police powers and accountability are a top news story. Images of police in armored vehicles, with automatic weapons on tripods aimed at protestors, are quite disturbing for libertarians … and for the public at large. For some time, Libertarians have been warning about military-grade weapons in the hands of police, and now, the phrase “militarization of the police” has entered the public consciousness.

The Star Tribune has picked up on this, noting that police in many Minnesota communities have already obtained the same types of equipment: Tons of military equipment donated to Minnesota police, sheriffs.

Of course, police do have a tough job. They must deal with unsavory and even violent people on a regular basis. We can be thankful that some folks are willing to step up to the task of apprehending these people so that we, and our neighborhoods, can be safer.

But increasingly, many people try to avoid the police … and for good reason. Today, police are a far cry from the idyllic childhood view of an easygoing Officer Friendly whom one could feel comfortable approaching at any time. Is there anyone who feels delighted to see a squad car in their rearview mirror? Straying from their role as protectors of the public, police have morphed into “revenue generators” for the local government, ticketing people for minor offenses where no one was harmed. They now tend to see every citizen as a “potential criminal”, and many officers have become outright aggressors, with police brutality stories covered frequently by the alternative media, and occasionally by the mainstream media as well. As some will recall, we in the LPMN recently had our own unpleasant experience with the police.

This situation arose largely out of the War on Drugs, which encouraged police to take an aggressive, adversarial stance toward the public with SWAT tactics, no-knock raids, and seizing assets of those merely accused but not convicted. Use of military hardware has further accelerated this trend.

So these are the problems. What are the Libertarian solutions?

Libertarians believe that, at minimum, it’s time to change from our current system of police as “law enforcers” to a profession where they truly “serve and protect” their communities. Some steps in that direction could include:

  • Eliminate military-type armaments from local police inventories. Not only do these reinforce the public perception of police as an “occupying army”, but they also create a tendency to use excessive force which can lead to tragic mistakes. (For rare hostage situations or mass attacks where this equipment might be needed, such weaponry could be retained by a small group of experts trained in their use who could be deployed if needed.)
  • Return police to their rightful role of stopping fraudsters, robbers, and other violent offenders. These are areas where citizens genuinely need protection. It would mean legislators ending the policing of nonviolent offenses for all such things as simple speeding (as opposed to reckless driving), skinny dipping, fireworks, seat belts, simple alcohol or drug possession, and a wide variety of other non-crimes where no one is hurt. The “criminalization of everything” has created a distrust of the police among the public and amplified police aggressiveness. In stark contrast, here’s the standard by which Libertarians would gauge whether an activity should be criminal or not: No victim, No crime!
  • Create independent organizations to review cases of police officers accused of unjustified force. Today, such officers are put on “leave” (paid vacation) while a committee of their police peers reviews the case, nearly always concluding that “the circumstances justified the officer’s actions”. Police tend to look out for their own, so allowing them to judge their own colleagues is a clear conflict-of-interest.

These steps above would go a long way to returning police to their original “protect and serve” mission. However, these aren’t the only ways, nor even the best ways, of ensuring the most effective policing.

Libertarians are willing to explore new ideas, many of which the public has never heard before. These ideas are based on the principle that entrepreneurs in a competitive marketplace can always do better than a government bureaucracy. Many people still assert that police are an “essential” function of government. Though widely-held, that view is at odds with the reality of how many other services are delivered. For instance, food and housing could also be considered “essential”, yet both are provided by a voluntary and competitive marketplace, not by a government monopoly.

Let’s get to the root of the matter. Everyone will certainly agree that the function of SECURITY is important, no matter whether one considers themselves a conservative, liberal, libertarian, or centrist. After all, there will always be some people who have harmful intentions. As it stands today, police departments are true monopolies, in that everyone is forced to pay for their services through the tax system, whether they believe they’re receiving good value or not, and with no alternatives available. Could there be better ways? You bet!

Market-based mechanisms

How might policing occur through market-based mechanisms? Here’s one example. Businesses in a downtown area or shopping district could band together to hire a private security firm to protect themselves and the public, eliminating the need for police. This could provide a new level of security and accountability that the public has not yet known:

  • The coalition of businesses would have a strong incentive to hire a firm which keeps their own property secure and assures that people in the area feel safe, yet also assuring that personnel do not harass or aggress against ordinary people … and where they would be held accountable if they ever did. If the quality of security provided in the area was ineffective, it would lead to negative publicity & a loss of business in the area. No need to wait for the next election for mayor or sheriff; that security firm could quickly be fired and replaced by another firm with a better track record. Similarly, if personnel employed by the firm showed a pattern of using excessive force upon minor offenders or harming innocent people, that firm could be fired and replaced with an entrepreneur who could do the job better.
  • Security personnel would be directly accountable to those they might have harmed. In the event of a misdeed, those persons, and the firm itself, could be prosecuted in court, just like other professionals in any other industry. Unsavory private security personnel could not hide behind claims of “sovereign immunity” to avoid public prosecution and escape justice, as the government’s police do today. Security firms would tend to hire only qualified and ethical people, and provide adequate training, lest one person’s actions result in that firm losing its security contract.
  • Two key aspects are needed for such a solution to work. An agorist component is needed, with entrepreneurs encouraged to step forward to create firms that can provide security in more effective ways than the police. A political component is also needed, with Libertarian candidates speaking out to educate the public about the benefits of market-based security, and once elected, enacting legislation allowing citizens and businesses to hire private security and enabling such security to apprehend criminals. This would also pave the way for Libertarians to sustainably cut taxes. After all, the portion of tax payments used to fund the police would no longer be needed where private security is used in lieu of police.

Libertarians are ready to tackle the issue of police accountability! We will support all necessary steps to hold police accountable and return them to their core mission of protecting and serving the public. But we’re also willing to push the envelope further, offering bold and innovative new solutions where the essential function of security can be performed even better. Dependable security to stay safe AND accountability for those who provide that security … it need not be a trade-off of one for the other.

In Liberty,

S.L. Malleck
LPMN Vice Chair

Concerned about the expansion of government control and the erosion of individual liberty? Please consider joining and becoming active with the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. Libertarians support liberty on all issues, all the time. Libertarianism is a philosophical and political movement to promote personal freedom, strong civil liberties, a genuinely free marketplace, and peace.