What the **** is Wrong with American Cops?

pgwenthold said:
There was a recent case here where the police dog injured someone. The police report says that the behavior of the police was consistent with police department policies.

The response from the community was, if that is consistent with policy, then the policy needs to be changed.
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Cops tend to support policies that get them off the hook when they engage in “a bit of the old ultraviolence”. (Thank you, Anthony Burgess, for that word and quote).
 
Steve said:
Yes, I think the police included, or added, those things to their procedures book as the law evolved. I also think that police forces establish their own procedures, using current law, for how they expect arrests to be conducted. The point that you seem to be missing is that, just because arrest procedures are carried out in a lawful manner, it does not always make them the appropriate thing to do.
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They were forced to add those things. They did not initiate them. The community did.
The laws were made to make the police more professional- less free to behave in whatever manner they saw fit.
 
BobTheCoward said:
It isn't at the expense of addicted customers. Getting high is great. People like it. The high from drugs is a benefit.

People get benefits and costs wrong all the time. Getting high is a benefit. Having a job is a cost
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Sure. But drugs are also the ultimate consumer good - once you consume them, they're gone. Unlike a car, clothes or a dishwasher, the benefit is gone in a matter of hours. And if anyone else in the family was counting on the money for rent or groceries, too bad. This represents a high opportunity cost, keeping people stuck in neighborhoods where cops feel free to behave badly.
 
Steve said:
Chief says they did it right. Followed the book.
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The department is being sued. The chief isn't going to admit fault no matter what he thinks.

Cops are infamous for circling the wagons to protect their own. I'm curious what the Chief might have said if the officer had asked him prior to arresting a 8 year old for felony battery.
 
Minoosh said:
Sure. But drugs are also the ultimate consumer good - once you consume them, they're gone. Unlike a car, clothes or a dishwasher, the benefit is gone in a matter of hours. And if anyone else in the family was counting on the money for rent or groceries, too bad. This represents a high opportunity cost, keeping people stuck in neighborhoods where cops feel free to behave badly.
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there are no benefits to illegal drugs.
 
elgarak said:
From my German perspective, training of US cops is ridiculously short. I read that the LAPD Academy is just a six-month program, followed by one year rookie status, where they do full duty together with a senior training officer.

Here in Germany, it's three years of training (with a lot of theoretical course work). They do internships in precincts, but not full duty, during that time. After that, they still have some probationary time (although that's probably not a full year).
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Two years at the training college, then a year in placements, then back to college.

rockinkt said:
Still doesn't stop the claims...
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Though it may help them kill one-twentieth as many people.
:rolleyes:
 
Ziggurat said:
That’s part of it. Another part is that legalizing drugs won’t make most drug dealers go straight. They will often turn to other forms of crime in order to make a living, because most of them are involved in the drug trade to begin with because they either cannot or do not want to work in the legal labor market. Legalization won’t change that. I can’t say what the net effect of legalization will be, but there are definitely significant costs to doing so.
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And yet countries, such as Canada, have seen so such explosion in crime.
It's almost as if you're spouting nonsense.
:rolleyes:
 
Steve said:
And cannabis.

Benefits of legal drugs:
- people don’t become criminals because of use
- quality control
- can be purchased from (generally) reputable retailers
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There is also that people like these things. If that is taken out of the equation there are all sorts of things bad for us that badly flunk any cost/benefit analysis.

Soft drinks. The NFL. Reality television. Pop Tarts.
 
If we legalize drugs, it will be much harder for cops to hand-wave away civil rights protections during interaction with the public. The existence of commonly used contraband materials is an excellent excuse to conduct searches and other invasions of privacy on people who are otherwise law abiding.

This is especially true with Marijuana, because it is very commonly used and has a strong odor. Since it is impossible to determine after the fact if a cop is lying about smelling the odor of contraband, it is trivially easy for a cop to generate a pretext for probable cause.

This isn't hyperbolic nonsense. Joe Kennedy III, former prosecutor and politician currently running for US Senate, once cited the ability to conduct searches as his reason for opposing legalization (which he has since reversed)

“If you smelled [marijuana] in a car, you could search a car,” Kennedy said. “When it became decriminalized, you couldn’t do that.”
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https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/08/joe-kennedy-iii-marijuana

The war on drugs is a massive boon to cops.
 
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SuburbanTurkey said:
If we legalize drugs, it will be much harder for cops to hand-wave away civil rights protections during interaction with the public. The existence of commonly used contraband materials is an excellent excuse to conduct searches and other invasions of privacy on people who are otherwise law abiding.

This is especially true with Marijuana, because it is very commonly used and has a strong odor. Since it is impossible to determine after the fact if a cop is lying about smelling the odor of contraband, it is trivially easy for a cop to generate a pretext for probable cause.

This isn't hyperbolic nonsense. Joe Kennedy III, former prosecutor and politician currently running for US Senate, once cited the ability to conduct searches as his reason for opposing legalization (which he has since reversed)



https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/08/joe-kennedy-iii-marijuana

The war on drugs is a massive boon to cops.
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Also gives them good things to keep on hand to plant for some juicy overtime.
 
catsmate said:
And yet countries, such as Canada, have seen so such explosion in crime.
It's almost as if you're spouting nonsense.
:rolleyes:
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Canada is a poor example to cite. High government taxes and onerous regulations add so much to the cost that legal cannabis is more expensive than illegally sourced cannabis. There are also questions about the strength and quality of the legal weed. This has resulted in virtually no reduction in the production or sales of illegal weed.

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/legal-cannabis-costs-50-more-than-black-market-statcan-1.1195761
 
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rockinkt said:
Canada is a poor example to cite. High government taxes and onerous regulations add so much to the cost that legal cannabis is more expensive than illegally sourced cannabis. There are also questions about the strength and quality of the legal weed. This has resulted in virtually no reduction in the production or sales of illegal weed.
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But there it has resulted in tons of actual cannabis businesses. There's like a pot shop on every block in Vancouver. They aren't all losing money.
 
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