Many of the police departments in St. Louis County, Missouri, have abandoned community-oriented policing, and instead are focused on the "grossly inappropriate" mission of making money from fines, according to a new study, NBC News reported. These police strategies have strained police-community relations, thereby "undermining the legitimacy of the police in the eyes of residents, community leaders, and business owners," according to the highly critical issued Monday by the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum. "It is a dysfunctional and dangerous situation that cannot be sustained," the group wrote.
