The One Thing the VP Candidates Agree on Is Meaningless

Tim Kaine and Mike Pence agree on ‘community policing’ because it's an empty buzz word.

Kaine and Pence at VP debate
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Kaine and Pence at VP debate

Kaine and Pence at VP debate

During Tuesday’s debate, there was a single moment of bipartisan agreement between vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. The two men, whose campaigns couldn’t be more different, were somehow able to come together on one topic: community policing.

When debate moderator Elaine Quijano asked Kaine and Pence if the country asks too much of its police officers, both men pivoted to their policing philosophies.

“Here's what I learned as a mayor and a governor. The way you make communities safer and the way you make police safer is through community policing,” Kaine said. “You build the bonds between the community and the police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that gap between the police and the communities they serve narrows. And when that gap narrows, it's safer for the communities and it's safer for the police.”

Kaine followed up with specific policies: “We will focus on—and Hillary Clinton has rolled out a really comprehensive mental health reform package that she worked on with law enforcement professionals, and we will also fight the scourge of gun violence in the United States."

Not to be outdone, Pence began his answer with high praise for cops.

“Police officers are the best of us,” he said. “And let me say, at the risk of agreeing with you, community policing is a great idea. It's worked in the Hoosier state. And we fully support that.”

Then Pence promised that he and Donald Trump would ensure that law enforcement officers around the country have the resources and “tools” they need to "restore law and order.” Kaine and Pence then went on to argue over the existence of implicit bias and whether or not black officers can have it.

So, how is it that two people who can’t agree on the source of America’s policing problem can agree on the solution? Simple: Kaine and Pence can agree on “community policing” because it’s bullshit. To be more specific, it’s simply an approach to policing, not a policy over which elected officials might have legitimate differences. Moreover, the phrase “community policing” has been so overused in recent years as to render it meaningless and open to interpretation. Kaine, for example, seems to define it as “comprehensive mental health” and gun control. Pence interprets it to mean “law and order” and fully-resourced police departments.

To be sure, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services defines community policing as, “a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.”

It's important to note that the DOJ’s definition for community policing doesn't preclude the use of practices like Stop and Frisk. It also doesn't speak to the militarization of police or questionable use of force practices currently fueling our national conversation on policing.

Organizers within the movement for black lives have made their demands regarding the criminal legal system very clear: they want an end to America’s “war on black people,” specifically an end to capital punishment, money bail, mass surveillance, private police, and the demilitarization of law enforcement, among other actions. These measures weren’t raised during Tuesday night's debate. In fact, their feasibility, benefits, and potential risks have yet to be debated on any national stage this election year. And it's not likely they will be, at least not as long as lip service and buzz words like community policing are considered sufficient responses from our elected officials on both sides of the aisle.

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