You Want Safer Streets? Then Be Ready to Defend the Force It Takes to Get There

Everyone wants safer streets. But not everyone wants to face what it takes to get them.

Let me be clear: Real crime reduction means more, not less, use of force. That’s not a failure of policing—it’s a reality of confronting violent offenders.

If we want to clean up the streets, we need to stop acting shocked when force is used. You cannot demand action and then punish the people delivering it.

You Want Proactive Policing? Here's What Comes With It

Across the country, violent crime is rising—shootings, carjackings, armed robberies, and juvenile offenders carrying extended magazines.

Meanwhile, officers are overwhelmed, buried in calls for service, and restricted by policy and political fear. They’re being second-guessed before the first word of the report is even written.

Here’s the part people don’t want to hear:
When officers are allowed to be proactive—when they stop violent offenders, pursue armed suspects, and take initiative—use of force will go up.

Why?
Because criminals don’t go quietly. They resist. They fight. They flee.

And when they do, officers have a legal and moral obligation to respond with appropriate force—quickly and decisively.

That’s not misconduct.
That’s not abuse.
That’s policing.

If we’re serious about getting crime under control, then we need to stop treating every use of force like a scandal. You cannot demand action and then punish the people delivering it.

This Isn’t a Policing Problem—It’s a Public Perception Problem

Force doesn’t mean failure. It often means the opposite.

But we’ve trained the public to believe any use of force is excessive—because they saw a five-second clip on social media, taken out of context and fueled by outrage.

Here’s the truth: real policing isn’t pretty. And it shouldn’t have to be.

If someone is armed, high, violent, or running from a warrant—and they resist—you’re going to see force. That’s not a glitch in the system. That’s the system working as intended when done lawfully and professionally.

The Courts May Let Them Walk—But the Public Can’t Let That Define Us

Officers do their job. They make the arrest. They risk their lives.

Then the courts let violent offenders walk with a slap on the wrist.

They reoffend. The public suffers. And officers are stuck doing it all over again—with greater risk each time.

Meanwhile, every use of force is scrutinized as misconduct, rather than being recognized as a direct result of proactive policing. We’re demanding accountability from cops while letting violent criminals off the hook.

It’s backwards. And it’s dangerous.

Where I Lead, We Back the Badge—And We Hold the Line

As a current police chief, I see this up close every day. In the community I serve, we support our officers when they act with integrity. We hold them accountable when they don’t. And thanks to a strong partnership with our prosecutor’s office, we hold violent criminals responsible for their actions—without apology and without delay.

Our prosecutors don’t play games with public safety. They understand that consequences matter, and they stand with us in protecting our community.

That makes a difference.

That’s what safer communities are built on.

Let’s Stop Pretending There’s a Polite Way to Police Violent Crime

You want results? Then brace for reality.

Because the more serious we get about proactive policing, the more resistance we’re going to face—and that means more force.

That’s not brutality. That’s cause and effect.

So when officers do it right—when they follow the law, use good judgment, and go hands-on with violent offenders—don’t flinch. Don’t apologize. Defend it. Loudly. Publicly. Without hesitation.

Because if we keep treating good police work like misconduct, we’ll keep losing good cops. And without them, we all lose.

You don’t get peace without strength. And you don’t get safety without force.

That’s the truth.