You Want Safer Streets? Then be Ready to Defend Force it Takes to Get There!

Chief Scott Hughes:

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.

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

If we want to clean up the streets, we need to stop acting shocked when force is used.

You can’t demand action and then punish the people delivering it.

People call for proactive policing—but often forget what it actually involves

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

Meanwhile, officers are overwhelmed, buried in calls, and restricted by policy and politics.

They’re being second-guessed before the first word of the report is even written.

Here’s what 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—quickly and decisivelyoo.

That’s not misconduct.

That’s not abuse.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴.

We don’t have a policing problem—we have a perception problem.

We’ve conditioned the public to treat any use of force as excessive because they saw a five-second clip online, out of context and fueled by outrage.

But here’s the truth: real policing isn’t pretty.

And it shouldn’t have to be.

If someone is armed, violent, high, or fleeing—and they resist—you’re going to see force.

That’s not a glitch in the system. That’s the system working as designed.

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

Then, some courts let violent offenders walk. They reoffend. The public suffers.

And officers are forced to repeat the cycle, each time with greater risk.

I’ve seen good cops hesitate—not because they don’t know what to do, but because they’re afraid of what will happen after they do it.

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠.

Accountability matters. Bad cops should be dealt with.

But treating every justified use of force like misconduct isn’t accountability—it’s confusion.

We’re demanding more accountability from cops than we are from criminals.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔—𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔.

There is no polite way to police violent crime.

You want results? Then brace for reality.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞.

And when force is justified, we must defend it—loudly and publicly.

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.

If we want safer streets, we need to stop apologizing for protecting them.

That’s the truth.

Stay safe, my friends.