Downgrading tickets, letting pot smokers go compromises public safety, police mag argues
And you thought those officers were just being human. The editor of Blue Line magazine, the bible of police culture in Canada, says “apologetic policing”—where the officer reduces your fine by recording your speed as lower than it actually was—costs lives. It’s all part of a lamentable trend toward empathy among officers, argues Morley Lymburner: “The new era attitude that to get along with the public you must be ready to show them the human, fuzzy, warm side of policing all the time.” Lymburner might have a point about letting speeders off the hook. But it’s also conceivable that many officers have noticed the recent escalation in traffic fine amounts. Perhaps they sense their political bosses are more interested in fundraising than road safety. As for that warm, fuzzy side of policing, well, if the steady stream of news about police misconduct and brutality is any guide, the supply of nasty cops is in no danger of running out.