American Analysis: Neighborhood Guard for American Cities

Neighborhood Guard for American Cities

It is universally recognized that the two paramount duties of government are defense from foreign aggression and the preservation of domestic tranquility. Hence, we have an army and a police force. Abuses, yes, humans are in charge. From Rodney King to George Floyd and from My Lai to Abu Ghraib, we must judge and punish the guilty. Nevertheless, we can neither destroy the village in order to save it nor declare victory and run.

Arguments abound on all sides concerning police abuse in black neighborhoods, as well as in poor neighborhoods in general. Is racism a factor? In some instances, yes, but not in most situations. When violent gangs dominate the streets, and the police are outmanned and outgunned, tensions rise, some overreach and people die. There is no excuse for police brutality or murder, and those who practice it should pay dearly. The police and government will protect themselves and hide their mistakes so that massive peaceful demonstrations are good and effective public reactions.

The problems that ensue are those caused by excesses, like acts of violence, looting, and property destruction, followed by irrational political demands. One demand calls for the defunding of police departments and redirecting funds to social programs. From my perspective, the opposite is needed. Our police forces must take control of the streets. Allowing open markets for narcotics, forced prostitution, violent street gangs, and drive-by shootings… is what constitutes real racism. It is allowed as incorrigible in the ghetto but not in wealthy communities. Ask the working poor in any ghetto if they want less police presence or more. They want and deserve more so their street becomes safe, their schools work better, and their families do not fall apart.

The reality is that flooding the ghettoes with white policemen will not be a positive move. In fact, it never makes sense. While the standards for becoming a policeman in America rule out most minority youth, e.g., high school degree, no prior arrest record of any kind, and difficult admission testing…, there is room for a paid auxiliary force to create a substantive number of minority men and women in uniform. In some of my books (Amazon Kindle), like Mirror to a Nation, 2005; Surrender Management: America in Retreat, 2011; and The Crime of Punishment: Surrender Management, 2012, I advocated for the creation of such a neighborhood force as part of alternative non-military service in a system of universal conscription, along with other second-tier professional services like tutors in schools, magistrates in courts, correctional aides in prisons and more.

What I propose today is the establishment of a Neighborhood Guard in American cities to enlist minority men and women in their own backyards to serve as paid security. I am not proposing an autonomous force with loose controls but an extension of the local police department. One regular police officer would command three unarmed neighborhood guards (NG) patrolling together. The NGs would be well trained by the police in proper community relations, basic law, self-defense, first-aid… This program would quadruple police presence, improve street safety, provide a pool of good candidates for the regular police force, and many more benefits. It will cost money but let this be a true measure of reparations to the poor in America.