America relies far too heavily on police to address problems that have nothing to do with what they are trained, hired,

1. America relies far too heavily on police to address problems that have nothing to do with what they are trained, hired, and equipped to handle. Do you agree?  Make a list of problems that you think the police should be responsible for addressing and then make a list of problems that you think the police should not be responsible for addressing.  How do your lists compare to the realities of policing in the U.S. at this point in history?

2. police officers arent primarily crime fighters and law enforcers; instead, they fill a huge range of other social functions, often ones that other social services and institutions dont have the ability to respond to quickly or at all. Do you think that de-funding the police and redistributing money to social service institutions would be beneficial to society overall?  Why/Why not?

3. Which of the multiple proposed solutions that address the mismatch between the nature of our police forces and the roles we ask them to perform do you think would be most effective in reducing unnecessary or excessive use of force by police officers?

4. What did you learn from this article?