If All Police Officers Went On Strike

[Rainman]

Supposing all police officers went on strike what exactly would happen? Chaos? Would everyone who has ever wanted to commit a crime take advantage of their absence to loot, kill, etc? Would this force communities to form vigilante groups to ensure their neighborhoods are safe? Or would cities hire private security companies to do the cops jobs in the interim?

Your thoughts?

 

[Gabe]

I think this has happened before in some countries and the army is brought in to assist with law and order. As they are government employees they are also charged with protecting the public, so can take on the role of the police in times of emergencies. There have been incidents when there are not enough police and the army reserves are called in.

 

[Josie]

If there was NO law, no government pushed "order".. then I'm sure the good would take care of the bad. I'd be worried about the damage done before it happens though. I do think eventually the people would come together to plan out a system that works. I honestly believe if power were handed over to us (with notice of course lol), it would work out well beyond what we're dealing with now. I do think regular people should run our countries lol.. I think things would finally get done

 

[bala]

It is very unlikely that every single police force in the country would come out on strike together.Maybe this ain't a reasonable question, as the Police are not allowed to ever ever go on strike. It's a law of the land.

 

[Rainman]

Maybe this ain't a reasonable question, as the Police are not allowed to ever ever go on strike. It's a law of the land.

It's a hypothetical question — not a reasonable one — and should be treated as such. Police aren't allowed to go on strike but they CAN go on strike. You can't force someone to go to work if they don't want to, can you?

 

[dyanmarie25]

That would be a total chaos. But probably the government would just let the military take over the cops' duties/responsibilities for some time while the officers are on strike.

 

[Diane Lane]

My neighborhood would probably be o.k., because many carry guns with them in their golf cart travels. I wouldn't doubt they would block off the entrances, and verify IDs before letting anyone in, and that would be acceptable to me. Of course, we'd have to leave for supplies, and deal with the chaos that would be taking place elsewhere. I am thankful that we have the dedicated police we do, because I've seen some really nasty areas, and that's now, with as much local, state, and federal enforcement as we have. It's a daunting thought to be left defenseless, and even if the military temporarily replaced civilian law enforcement, they often wouldn't be familiar with the areas, let alone local and state laws, and the limits of their powers. I imagine there would be quite a few clashes, not only with criminals, but also with normally law abiding citizens who weren't comfortable with the military presence.

 

[bala]

That would be a total chaos. But probably the government would just let the military take over the cops' duties/responsibilities for some time while the officers are on strike.

Yeah,the military would take over and acc to laws they will be removed from service permanently if they go on strike,maybe that's because they are integral to the government force and form up a large chunk.

 

[jeremy2]

This would surely lead to the emergence of militias and other vigilante groups to offer alternative form of security. The downside here is that they would definitely unleash their own brand of justice and am not sure everyone will be comfortable with that.

 

[Rosyrain]

I like hypothetical questions even if they are not reasonable. I think that even the sleepiness of towns would turn chaotic very quickly and we would all be in danger. I also think that the good citizens would group together and make a makeshift police force as best we could. I also agree that the military would probably step in to make sure everyone stays safe to some degree; kind of like what they did in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

[JoanMcWench]

I think if that were to occur a lot of people might have to change their minds about how they feel concerning gun control. It would be a strike that the city I'm in would need to quickly resolve. When the lights go out on a street here people lose their minds. I can only imagine if the news alerted them to no police following up on 911 calls.

 

[donnalynn47]

It is something that I hope I never live to see. Cops are considered pigs etc.... until they are needed. I personal wouldn't be a cop its a very scary job.

 

[oraclemay]

Not every country or neighborhood will descend into chaos. A new force will be formed to serve and protect because that is what humans do, they adapt and adjust. Some countries are peaceful and don't really need a police force.

 

[mrsbright]

I also would say that it would depend on the place. Big cities might become more chaotic and risky, sure, but I'm pretty sure that in villages or quiet suburbs, there might be an immediate thrill and a few (or many) law breakers that would want to push their luck, just to see -- driving past the speed limits, jaywalking, urinating outside, maybe. I don't know. But I think that they could be tempted to try stuff. And then that would lose its appeal and things would find a new rhythm, adapting to the situation without much trouble.

For big criminal cities -- maybe it'd become like Gotham pre-batman. Who knows.

 

[Whitewolf2578]

Marshal Law becomes reality if this happens, but I don't think total chaos would happen as not everyone wants to run around breaking the law. Most of the time the police force just reminds people if they do something bad there will be a consequence to their actions. I hope they don't all go on strike though.

 

[Patrick]

The military would probably swoop in to instil marshal law, curfews might be set in place while this happens. However considering the influence of police unions I think that such strikes are really unlikely, and only a last resort since it would reflect poorly on police organisations.

 

[stevesxs9]

You would have some sort of law even if all police were on strike. You would probably have Marshal law with the national guard policing the areas. Since the guard is not taught in the ways of domestic policing, they are more likely to approach every civil situation in a defensive manner which could lead to more unnecessary deaths the there already are.