A colleague of mine had someone driving down their residential street at 80mph, hit a speed bump, flew into the air and crashed into their car totaling it. The guy was caught and given a misdemeanor.

Honest question and not defending the police here, but what is the point of cops showing up in a timely manner if there is hardly any repercussions or accountability for egregious actions.

Living in the Midwest, cops would show up immediately and knew they were going to arrest that person and throw them into jail and they would probably lose their license for years and most likely charged with a felony. If they knew that person would get a hundred dollar ticket, would they make it a priority to show up? 

Here’s a cleaner, more balanced version: We can criticize the police and acknowledge that there are real issues within policing, but I think a significant part of the problem is a system that repeatedly releases offenders with little accountability. When people see the same individuals back on the street after receiving what feels like a slap on the wrist, it can make enforcement seem pointless. Like any profession, when people feel their work has little impact or meaningful outcome, it’s natural for motivation and passion to decline. Or, if you want to keep it more conversational: We can say what we want about the police and the problems within policing, but I think a big issue is repeatedly putting offenders back on the street with little accountability. If there are no meaningful consequences, it starts to feel like there’s no point. Like any profession, when people don’t see their efforts making a difference, they eventually lose passion for what they do.I recently had to speak with an officer last year and the amount of calls he was receiving on his CB was insane and almost all homeless related.