writing this must have taken a lot of strength, as well as soul-searching, so, thank you for sharing…… And although I am not from the US, in my line of work, through the years , I have had a lot of dealings with the police as an institution ( well, quite a few police services in various countries) as well as cops as individuals and all I can say is that what is that what you wrote, applies everywhere. … I have seen as many “bad” as I did “good” cops, and even the ones who are “good”- never go against a system which seldom is.

With all the discussions going around about abolishing the police and what would it mean, I keep thinking of how my people ( albanians) managed to have a functioning society ( in many ways much more functioning) without having a police force for centuries:

We had something called “kanuni” — a set of rules which regulated everything and which everyone was obliged to follow. for centuries it kept the communities functioning, orderly and ( mainly) crime free without any outside force being applied or a policing system being out in place in order to ensure it is followed.

And although some critic s today keep concentrating on the issue of “gjaku” or “blood-vengeance” within Kanuni, it did much more than just spell out the rules of revenge. ( as I said before) It regulated every part of one’s life, from birth, to death- of the household, the rules of the land, as well as guaranteeing one's place within the society — It also made certain that everyone gets their fair share of things and that the ones who have a bit more, help out/take care of those who do not. ( In fact, during the times “kanuni” functioned there were no families who were homeless, people who could not secure a living for their families, or children who are hungry- the rules made certain everyone is taken care of) It was a social contract which kept a society going and crimes at a minimum which everyone was bound to follow. And the system was, generally simple:

If one broke “besa” ( a concept difficult to explain, but in this case it would refer to any of the main rules of “kanuni”) — it was the duty of the family to ensure that the appropriate punishment was given.

If, for some reason, the family refused to do so then, it was the duty of the village to punish the entire family ( the punishment usually meant being expelled from the village- your house raised to the ground and no-one was supposed to built another house there ever again) — and, if an entire village decided to break “besa”- than, the entire region would gather up to punish the village.

I know it seems backward, not to say, barbaric to some- in practice there have been very few recorded instances in history when a family decided to break “besa”- and almost none of an entire village going against the rules. And the rules where such that would make anyone think twice before stealing, killing or doing anything that would damage the society the person is in.

In fact rules which spelled out that “Me sha o si me ra, me ra o si me plagu, me plagu është gjysë gjaku- gjysë gjaku nuk ka” ( to curse/swear/offend someone is the same as is oyu hit them- hitting someone is the same as wounding them- a wounding is “half a blood”- and there is no such thing as “half of a blood) — — made certain that you really, really took care not to offend anyone just because you’re having a bad day.

Now, I am not propagating going back to “Kanuni” — although I believe that if people knew, with absolute certainty, like they did back when Kanuni ruled these lands, that if they exercise violence, steal, do anything damaging for their society - they will be punished-( one way or another) — a lot of people would change their behavior . The fact that it made every person of age responsible for everything they do can not be a bad thing.

What I am saying is that it is possible to create a social contract in which a society takes care of itself without the need for a police force that will ensure that the rules are being followed. ( in fact, police mainly serves to keep a system functioning- not to keep the citizens safe) . A society in which everyone is at the same time, being held responsible for each and every one of their actions, and making certain that the rules are being upheld can only be beneficial.

Can you imagine:

A society where there is no police since the citizens take care of the law. No prison systems, since there is no need for them- no lawyers and complicated legal systems which allow the guilty to walk away for “technicalities” — No cases where one family/individual has more than they need while another has nothing — where everyone is really the same.

OF course, it would take time for people to get used to it- but it can be done. All it takes is for us ( the people) to really want it.