Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of 'Fear'

Not a good way to instill trust. People will hate what they fear....automatically instigates violence and dangerous conditions in the streets.
Tom

Thursday, April 24, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Springfield's men in black are returning. The city's new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members of the department's Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence.

Fitchet's predecessor, Edward Flynn, had ditched the black attire as part of an effort to soften the image of the unit. Flynn left Springfield in January to become the police chief in Milwaukee.

Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests.

Delaney said a sense of "fear" has been missing for the past few years.