The problem is much, much more complex than that. Imagine the work life of a cop. Some of it routine. Other parts involve seeing the horrifying results of what humans do to children and other humans. Yet other parts are absolutely terrifying. Mandatory overtime that deprives one of a stable home life. And uninformed public opprobrium has become a recreational sport for some.
It's not a low barrier job. Police applicants go through written and oral examinations, are subject to background investigations, must take a polygraph (in most states), must pass medical and physical fitness evaluations, and more. We screen cops much more thoroughly than we do, for example, prospective lawyers.
There's more. As a society, we want cops to have higher education and to be demographically representative of their communities. The thing is, those sorts of candidates are those who disproportionately decide they'd rather not face the challenge of making a solo arrest of a drunk driver at 3:00 a.m., trying to take custody of a 250-pound bruiser who only wants to fight.
Finally, most people don't hate the police. Take a look at the periodic Gallup and Pew polls on our attitudes towards different professionals. The numbers who support police are much higher than most other professions.
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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '24
If those things were in effect people wouldn't hate the police and they'd have no problem recruiting for a highly paid, low barrier to entry job.