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[[File:George Floyd Protests in Washington, DC (10).jpg|thumb|360x360px|Police officers in the [[United States of America|United States]] during the [[George Floyd protests]].]] | [[File:George Floyd Protests in Washington, DC (10).jpg|thumb|360x360px|Police officers in the [[United States of America|United States]] during the [[George Floyd protests]].]] | ||
'''Police''' are organizations operated by the [[state]] whose primary purpose is to protect the ruling class and their continued rule, through the means of whatever violence on their part is “necessary”. They are either always armed, or occasionally (in a few countries) unarmed, but who can quickly become armed if need arises. They may have, on occasion, other auxiliary duties, such as traffic control, but by far their most important and central purpose is to protect the rule of one social class or another.<ref>Sam Mitrani (January 6 2015). [https://inthesetimes.com/article/police-and-poor-people "The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People, Not ‘Serve and Protect’"] ''In These Times.''</ref> | '''Police''' are organizations operated by the [[state]] whose primary purpose is to protect the ruling class and their continued rule, through the means of whatever violence on their part is “necessary”. They are either always armed, or occasionally (in a few countries) unarmed, but who can quickly become armed if need arises. They may have, on occasion, other auxiliary duties, such as traffic control, but by far their most important and central purpose is to protect the rule of one social class or another.<ref>Sam Mitrani (January 6 2015). [https://inthesetimes.com/article/police-and-poor-people "The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People, Not ‘Serve and Protect’"] ''In These Times.''</ref><ref>Vladimir Lenin (1901). [https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/casual/beat.htm ''Casual Notes I. "Best — But Not to Death!"'']. Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.<br><blockquote>"As is to be seen, quite the usual thing happened. And the judicial authorities behaved with customary indifference. There is a law that provides severe penalties for perjury. A prosecution instituted against the two perjurers would throw further light on the outrages the police perpetrate against those who have the misfortune to fall into their hands and are almost completely defenseless (hundreds of thousands of the “common” people meet with such misfortune every day). But all that the court is concerned about is applying this or that article of the Penal Code; it is not in the least concerned about that defenselessness. This detail in the trial, like all the others, showed clearly how strong and all-entangling is the net, how persistent the canker, which can only be removed by abolishing the whole system of police tyranny and denial of the people’s rights."</blockquote></ref> | ||
Under [[capitalism]], this means that their primary and most essential task is to safeguard the rich, their property, and their exploitative system of capitalist class rule. Capitalist police also function as [[Strike action|strike-breakers]], evictors of the [[Homelessness|homeless]], and agents of [[Terrorism|state terrorism]].<ref>[https://redphoenixnews.com/2023/04/02/and-a-white-hood-on-every-corner/ "And a white hood on every corner"] (April 2 2023). ''The Red Phoenix.''</ref> | Under [[capitalism]], this means that their primary and most essential task is to safeguard the rich, their property, and their exploitative system of capitalist class rule. Capitalist police also function as [[Strike action|strike-breakers]], evictors of the [[Homelessness|homeless]], and agents of [[Terrorism|state terrorism]].<ref>[https://redphoenixnews.com/2023/04/02/and-a-white-hood-on-every-corner/ "And a white hood on every corner"] (April 2 2023). ''The Red Phoenix.''</ref> | ||
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# In 2021, 29 residents of the Favela do Jacarezinho were killed in a bloodthirsty massacre triggered by the police's "Exceptis" operation.<ref>Betim, Cecília Oliveira. (2021). [https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2021-05-07/maioria-dos-mortos-na-chacina-do-jacarezinho-nao-era-suspeita-em-investigacao-que-motivou-a-acao-policial.html Deaths in the Jacarezinho massacre rise to 28. At least 13 were not investigated in the operation.] Consulted on May 8, 2021</ref> | # In 2021, 29 residents of the Favela do Jacarezinho were killed in a bloodthirsty massacre triggered by the police's "Exceptis" operation.<ref>Betim, Cecília Oliveira. (2021). [https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2021-05-07/maioria-dos-mortos-na-chacina-do-jacarezinho-nao-era-suspeita-em-investigacao-que-motivou-a-acao-policial.html Deaths in the Jacarezinho massacre rise to 28. At least 13 were not investigated in the operation.] Consulted on May 8, 2021</ref> | ||
# In 2022, 23 people were killed in the Vila Cruzeiro Complex as a result of the wave of police operations in Rio de Janeiro, lefting behind 39 massacres and 182 deaths.<ref>[https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2022/05/26/numero-mortos-operacao-policial-na-vila-cruzeiro-rj.htm Sobe para 26 o número de mortos em chacina policial na Vila Cruzeiro (RJ)]. Uol. 26 May 2022.</ref> | # In 2022, 23 people were killed in the Vila Cruzeiro Complex as a result of the wave of police operations in Rio de Janeiro, lefting behind 39 massacres and 182 deaths.<ref>[https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2022/05/26/numero-mortos-operacao-policial-na-vila-cruzeiro-rj.htm Sobe para 26 o número de mortos em chacina policial na Vila Cruzeiro (RJ)]. Uol. 26 May 2022.</ref> | ||
===China=== | |||
Under the governance of [[Mao Zedong]] (1949–1976), police in the [[People's Republic of China]] were slowly phased out to the point in which they were practically non-existent in many areas such as the [[People's commune|people's communes]] and large cities such as [[Shanghai]].<ref>Rajani X. Desai (2002). [https://www.marxists.org/subject/india/ghosh/2002/himalayan-adventure/ch02.htm ''The Himalayan Adventure: India-China War of 1962 — Causes and Consequences'', Part 2: "Convergence of interests of the ruling classes of India, the USA and the USSR"]. Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.<blockquote>"Burchett and Alley remarked that 'One thing that strikes even a casual visitor [to the communes] is the absence of the normal attributes of state power. Although there is a People’s Militia, there is no army, no police and no courts or gaols.'"</blockquote></ref> After rise to power of [[Deng Xiaoping]] and restoration of capitalism in China between 1976–1978, police were reinstated to their former prominence and acted as the repressive organ of the restored bourgeoisie.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160610142945/http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/liaoyang-protest-movement-2002-03-and-arrest-trial-and-sentencing-liaoyang-two-0 "The Liaoyang Protest Movement of 2002-03, and the Arrest, Trial and Sentencing of the 'Liaoyang Two'"] (20 July 2003). ''China Labour Bulletin''. Archived from the [http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/liaoyang-protest-movement-2002-03-and-arrest-trial-and-sentencing-liaoyang-two-0 original].</ref> | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Repression]] | [[Category:Repression]] | ||
[[Category:Capitalism]] | [[Category:Capitalism]] | ||
[[Category:Class struggle]] | [[Category:Class struggle]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:27, 25 October 2025
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Police are organizations operated by the state whose primary purpose is to protect the ruling class and their continued rule, through the means of whatever violence on their part is “necessary”. They are either always armed, or occasionally (in a few countries) unarmed, but who can quickly become armed if need arises. They may have, on occasion, other auxiliary duties, such as traffic control, but by far their most important and central purpose is to protect the rule of one social class or another.[1][2]
Under capitalism, this means that their primary and most essential task is to safeguard the rich, their property, and their exploitative system of capitalist class rule. Capitalist police also function as strike-breakers, evictors of the homeless, and agents of state terrorism.[3]
By country
United States
Police in the United States are generally extremely racist with few exceptions. There have even been a very large number of murders of unarmed Black Americans in particular by racist white cops just in the past few years as of 2024. The exact number of racist killings perpetrated by police in the United States will likely always be unknown, and only now is a database being created to gather this data for just some of the police departments in the US.[4]
Brazil
Police massacres are common in Brazil,[5] and are often kept away from public knowledge. Some of the police-involved massacres:
- In 1959, workers responsible for the construction of Brasília protested against the unsanitary conditions where they lived, including the ausence of bathrooms, food contaminated with cockroaches, few beds for hundreds of workers and much more. 9 workers died and 30 were injured.[6][7]
- In 1992, 111 prisoners were killed and thousands were injured in the Carandiru penitentiary complex during a riot.[8] The bodies were piled up by other prisoners.
- In 2021, 29 residents of the Favela do Jacarezinho were killed in a bloodthirsty massacre triggered by the police's "Exceptis" operation.[9]
- In 2022, 23 people were killed in the Vila Cruzeiro Complex as a result of the wave of police operations in Rio de Janeiro, lefting behind 39 massacres and 182 deaths.[10]
China
Under the governance of Mao Zedong (1949–1976), police in the People's Republic of China were slowly phased out to the point in which they were practically non-existent in many areas such as the people's communes and large cities such as Shanghai.[11] After rise to power of Deng Xiaoping and restoration of capitalism in China between 1976–1978, police were reinstated to their former prominence and acted as the repressive organ of the restored bourgeoisie.[12]
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Sam Mitrani (January 6 2015). "The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People, Not ‘Serve and Protect’" In These Times.
- ↑ Vladimir Lenin (1901). Casual Notes I. "Best — But Not to Death!". Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.
"As is to be seen, quite the usual thing happened. And the judicial authorities behaved with customary indifference. There is a law that provides severe penalties for perjury. A prosecution instituted against the two perjurers would throw further light on the outrages the police perpetrate against those who have the misfortune to fall into their hands and are almost completely defenseless (hundreds of thousands of the “common” people meet with such misfortune every day). But all that the court is concerned about is applying this or that article of the Penal Code; it is not in the least concerned about that defenselessness. This detail in the trial, like all the others, showed clearly how strong and all-entangling is the net, how persistent the canker, which can only be removed by abolishing the whole system of police tyranny and denial of the people’s rights."
- ↑ "And a white hood on every corner" (April 2 2023). The Red Phoenix.
- ↑ Erika Hayasaki (2015). Police Racism: A Search for Answers UCLA Blueprint.
- ↑ GENI, 2022. Chacinas Policias (PDF)
- ↑ RIBEIRO, Gustavo Lins. O Capital da Esperança: a experiência dos trabalhadores na construção de Brasília. Brasília: Editora da Universidade de Brasília, 2008.
- ↑ Teixeira, Hermes Aquino. No Tempo da GEB (1956-1960). Trabalho e Violência na Construção de Brasília. Thesaurus, Brasília. 1ª ed. 1996.
- ↑ New York Times, 1992. 111 Killed When Police Storm Brazilian Prison During Inmate Riot.
- ↑ Betim, Cecília Oliveira. (2021). Deaths in the Jacarezinho massacre rise to 28. At least 13 were not investigated in the operation. Consulted on May 8, 2021
- ↑ Sobe para 26 o número de mortos em chacina policial na Vila Cruzeiro (RJ). Uol. 26 May 2022.
- ↑ Rajani X. Desai (2002). The Himalayan Adventure: India-China War of 1962 — Causes and Consequences, Part 2: "Convergence of interests of the ruling classes of India, the USA and the USSR". Available on the Marxists Internet Archive.
"Burchett and Alley remarked that 'One thing that strikes even a casual visitor [to the communes] is the absence of the normal attributes of state power. Although there is a People’s Militia, there is no army, no police and no courts or gaols.'"
- ↑ "The Liaoyang Protest Movement of 2002-03, and the Arrest, Trial and Sentencing of the 'Liaoyang Two'" (20 July 2003). China Labour Bulletin. Archived from the original.