The police department in Seattle, Washington, cannot refer to alleged criminals as “suspects” any longer, but must now use the term “community members.”

The politically correct policy changes that have infiltrated law enforcement on the streets have also drifted into state prisons, as the local KIRO 7 TV Station reported that the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) is no longer allowed to call prisoners inmates – now having to refer to them as “students.”

Calling a spade a club

The former policy changes how apprehended thugs on the streets are written up on police reports.

“When Seattle police officers write use of force reports, they no longer call a suspect a suspect,” Townhall reported. “’Community member’ is the new term. Several officers say the term is offensive, explaining their work with violent suspects.”

It is argued that the new euphemisms used to denote offenders on the streets are ridiculous and make no sense.

“Sources point to the suspect who shot three officers last month after a downtown Seattle armed robbery,” Townhall’s Matt Vespa noted. “When officers involved in that incident were writing their use of force reports, they were required to refer to the shooter, Damarius Butts, as a ‘community member,’ not a suspect, police sources said. Police fatally shot Butts after they said he shot the officers.”

Seattle Police Officers’ Guild President Kevin Stuckey sees the new policy strictly as a directive to enforce politically correct lingo in the name of tolerance.

“I think this is all is an effort to make sure our report writing sounds politically correct,” Stuckey expressed to KIRO 7.

The president insists that the term “community member” is too vague.

“I don’t think you should have a broad stroke like that and call everybody the same thing,” Stuckey suggested, according to Downtrend.com. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with calling someone who is a victim a victim, or calling someone who’s a suspect a suspect.”

Along the same lines, the term “offenders” is no longer permitted in the Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC), which ceased using the term in favor of adopting the term “student.”

Rationalizing the ridiculous

Calling offenders “students” is a move that acting WDOC Secretary Dick Morgan explained in a document.

“The term ‘offender’ does have a negative connotation and significantly impacts a broad group of people and communities,” Morgan wrote in an internal department memo, which was obtained by KIRO 7.

He then attempted to get police force members to give the change a chance.

“It takes time to change habits, but I encourage all of you to make an effort,” the memo from last fall continued. “Start by referring to individuals by their names (if you don’t already), practice replacing or removing the word ‘offender’ from your communication and presentation to others.”

In disbelief, Vespa emphasized how criminal activity earns people titles worthy of respect and honor.

“So, if you shoot people, you’re a community member on the run,” Vespa mused. “If you’ve been tried, convicted of a crime, and sent to jail, you’re a student.”

Seattle Police Chief Operating Officer Brian Maxey insisted that the changes were put in place purely for accuracy. The pro-immigration reform COO argued that labeling someone a suspect can oftentimes be misleading – if they are not suspected of anything.

Maxey is on board with the progressive policy backed by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray – including his designation of Seattle as a so-called “sanctuary city” to harbor criminal illegal aliens.

“Similarly, we don’t know or inquire about citizenship status, so labeling someone a citizen is arbitrary,” Maxey contended in an email, according to KIRO 7. “Neither term is confusing at all.”

Offend officers, not criminals

The Blue Lives Matter website noted how the recent modification to terminology came as a result of the city not being able to freely use the term “citizen” – quite possibly because of all the illegals its progressive policies have attracted into city limits.

“This latest change comes after the department had previously banned the word ‘citizen’ because the person may not actually be a U.S. citizen,” the pro-police officer site announced.

It was also mentioned that in the attempt to not offend criminals, the new policy is offending the officers who are paid to protect and serve the community.

“Police officers are calling the latest change from ‘suspect’ to ‘community member’ a change which is offensive to officers who are assaulted by violent criminals,” the website’s report continued.

The pro-law enforcement post went on to warn Seattle residents that the lunacy of inaccurate terms will most likely continue for some time – until city officials realize that their politically correct terms are as ridiculous to most law abiding citizens and police officers as they are offensive.

“After all, how else do you accurately document when police officers just start beating people who aren’t suspected of doing anything wrong?” The website posed. “It’s expected that the wording will change again once they realize that people from outside of the community could be involved in crime while visiting the city.”

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Copyright American Family News. Reprinted with permission.

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