The Thin Blue Veil of Deception
It seems our guardians of law and order have been less than forthcoming when it comes to the true state of crime in this country. According to the data, nearly 3.4 million violent crimes per year go unreported to the police. And why, pray tell, are these heinous acts being swept under the rug? The answer, my friends, lies in the self-serving machinations of the boys in blue.
For years, we've been fed a steady diet of statistics purporting to show a decline in crime rates. But peel back the veneer, and you'll find a rotten core of manipulation and obfuscation. The police, it would seem, have a vested interest in presenting a rosy picture of public safety — whether it be to secure higher budgets, curry favor with politicians, or simply massage their own fragile egos.
Take, for instance, the curious case of the New York City Police Department. In the early 2000s, there were allegations that the NYPD was systematically "downgrading" felonies to lesser offenses, all in the name of creating the illusion of a safer Big Apple. And let us not forget the Atlanta Public Schools scandal, where educators were caught red-handed altering test scores to meet performance targets. The message is clear: when the powers that be have something to gain, the truth is the first casualty.
But the police's penchant for fudging the numbers extends far beyond the confines of the big city. Across the country, we see a disturbing pattern of underreporting, particularly when it comes to hate crimes and violent offenses. Why? Because, you see, the victims of these heinous acts are often the most vulnerable among us — the poor, the marginalized, the "undesirables" in the eyes of the establishment.
And let us not forget the insidious role that politics plays in all of this. For what politician, after all, wants to be saddled with the reputation of presiding over a "high-crime" jurisdiction? Better to bury the evidence, to massage the data, to present a facade of order and security — even if it means betraying the very people they've sworn to protect.
Reasons why we should NEVER trust the police
1. Police in the U.S. killed over 9,000 people in the first 8 years of data collection, an average of 1,095 per year or 3 per day.
2. Shootings were the most common cause of these deaths, accounting for over 90% of police killings in the past 5 years.
3. Criminal prosecution for police violence remains incredibly rare, with the rate of charges filed never exceeding 2% of cases over the past 5 years.
4. The only reason former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder of George Floyd was that the incident was recorded by a bystander.
5. Prosecutors often face an uphill battle to convict police officers, as there is a "tendency to believe an officer over a civilian" and "reasonable doubt has a lot of bite" when an officer is on trial.
6. Black Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population but account for over 25% of people killed by police.
7. In Utah, police have killed Black people at a rate of 26.7 per 100,000, compared to 2.7 per 100,000 for white people — a stark racial disparity.
8. Several states, including West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Alaska, have double-digit disparities between the rates of police killings of Black and white individuals.
9. The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) was found to have missed and underreported 55.5% of police killings, with the highest underreporting (59.5%) for deaths of Black Americans.
10. There are concerns about a "code of silence" within police agencies and the close relationships between police and prosecutors, which can shield officers from accountability.
So, the next time you hear the police trumpet their "success" in driving down crime rates, remember this: they are the masters of illusion, the high priests of deception. Their numbers are as reliable as a three-dollar bill, their motives as pure as the driven snow.
The thin blue line, it would seem, is nothing more than a veil of lies. And until we demand true transparency and accountability from our law enforcement agencies, the true face of crime in America will remain hidden from view.