If you doubt that the whole idea of policing has changed, go find a photo of a 1960's demonstration. You'll see cops in short-sleeved shirts, sometimes with those little half-helmets on their heads. Compare it with a photo from today: full body armor, helmets with face-masks, the whole military complement. And that whole "serve and protect" slogan is way out of date; what should be on the car doors today is "comply and survive".
"Law enforcement officers now are part of the revenue gathering system," Carson tells me in a phone interview. "The ranks of cops are young and competitive, they’re in competition with one another and intra-departmentally. It becomes a game. Policing isn’t about keeping streets safe, it’s about statistical success. The question for them is, Who can put the most people in jail?"
Officially, they don't do profiling. Of course, reality's a bit different. The article - and presumably the book - gives some interesting insights into cop mentality; some should be intuitive, but others aren't.
For example, it's always seemed weird to be driving along and have the car in front of you suddenly hit the brakes because the driver saw a cop. Intuitively, that seems like a stupid move, and Carson agrees: if you hit the brakes, the front end of your ride's going to tilt downward momentarily, which clues the cop into the fact that you were likely speeding. You might as well just pull over.
On the other hand, who knew that while you should answer questions truthfully and respectfully, you shouldn't smile?
Make eye contact, but don't smile. "Cops don't like smiles."
It's useful information to know, even if, like most of us, you rarely if ever get pulled over.
