That would be nice, but how? They have 50 years of excellent, unearned, PR. 20% of scripted television is about unrealistically wonderful cops. When a local government has a problem their first response is always to throw cops at it. Any time they get the slightest pushback they threaten to stop doing all the things the municipality thinks they’re doing. Every time a cop’s ability to do whatever they want, including nothing, is threatened a massive media reaction rises up to defend them.

That’s why I think we need alternatives. We need to replace cops. The people who solve problems cannot think of themselves as sheep dogs protecting the sheep from the wolves. Someone protecting a potential DV victim from assault might need a gun but someone handling traffic enforcement does not. People running welfare checks don’t need guns. People responding to a public mental health emergency almost never need guns.

Citation needed and Behind the Bastards cop episodes are excellent background if you’d like to know why I’m so jaded when it comes to cop reform.