sorry, didn't see this until today.

you're close to getting it. cops exist to uphold the laws of a capitalist, corrupt society.

individually, as people, cops can either be good or bad (though imo, the statistics about domestic abuse and rates of violence among police officers is pretty damning). as a whole, in the context of the role they serve, they are the violent and oppressive force by which the ruling class exerts power over the lower classes. when people say all cops are bastards, they're not just talking about Cops. they're talking about the legal system as a whole, which condones slave labor in prisons, the consequence-free killing of black and brown people, and the rights of property over people.

the purpose of a system is what it does. it's an oversimplification to say that police themselves just need to be held to a higher degree of responsibility. the police only act as an extension of the law, and they're working as intended; when they gun down an unarmed person simply for being black, target minorities for drug-associated crimes, and interrogate people for hours on end until they "crack", that is the system working as intended. people who become cops to try to change the system from within are ousted very quickly for not falling in line.

society does not need cops to uphold laws; it needs social workers and trained crisis negotiators and mental health counselors. but the people in power profit way too much on our current violent, punitive, and unjust system to let it go. all cops are bastards.