They Say Crime Is On The Decrease....

[fdeck]

That's a number that I don't have. I was referring to both trial juries and grand juries. Sorry for the confusion.

From the numbers that I've read, it's around three percent, largely due to the plea bargaining system. As a result, there is practically no public oversight of the criminal justice system. The press is the only source of oversight. I realize it's uncomfortable when it's your job that's under the spotlight, and potentially controversial, but it's a cornerstone of democracy.

 

[fdeck]

Ah, the original contention was that 18th century-style pirate numbers are down and this was a correlation, and it was a joke. Actual piracy rates were going up through the 90s and 00s.

 

[Tbone76]

From the numbers that I've read, it's around three percent, largely due to the plea bargaining system. As a result, there is practically no public oversight of the criminal justice system. The press is the only source of oversight. I realize it's uncomfortable when it's your job that's under the spotlight, and potentially controversial, but it's a cornerstone of democracy.

No disagreement there, but realize that when cases involving police corruption, excessive force, etc. are investigated, they are taken more seriously than you'd be lead to believe. Typically, they do go further into the court system than the typical run of the mill crime. There's also internal investigations, and often civil litigation involved, so LE tends to go through a ton of scrutiny that most seem to overlook.

I also won't argue or disagree with those who have had bad experiences with police. Sometimes, it's a matter of perception (the cop just took my report and didn't do anything after! Lazy cop didn't do anything!). Most times, things are being done, but you don't see what those things are, and it's not always possible to keep a victim in the loop every step of the way. Sometimes, people go out of their way to be adversarial just to be adversarial. I had one person start yelling at me (saying I was harassing her) because she couldn't believe that I pulled her over for driving with no headlights on (at 2am). There are also interactions with the public where cops do act inappropriately, and I say hang those guys out to dry. Like I said above, I welcome camera scrutiny, and it's saved me more than once. I work under the premise that there's always a camera or audio device recording me, and I don't say or do anything that I can't justify. The officers I work alongside also operate in the same manner. Again, I'm in no way suggesting that others' negative interactions are false.

As to your point regarding media oversight, all I can tell you is that I've personally seen blatant misrepresentation of case facts, as well as outright omission of facts. Most people confuse sensationalism with true investigative journalism. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but when ratings and sponsorships are the main motivating factor, objectivity goes out the window.

As to being under the spotlight, I knew what I was getting into when I went down this career path. I understand that some people will never change their minds, but most are better than that. I've had interactions with people where they started out bad and ended up positive, I've physically fought with a suspect while effecting an arrest, brought them back for processing and had them apologize to me, and I've been involved in some pretty insane situations. I've been in situations where I wasn't sure my partners and I were going to make it out, as well as situations where I thought I was going to have to shoot someone in order to keep me safe (and I thank God that I didn't). I've also lost friends, and I've seen some things that have permanently changed my perception. My family (and their support) as well as hobbies that have nothing to do with my career, keep me in check, mentally. I realize that I'm no better than the general public, and I hold myself accoutable for my actions both on and off the clock.

I'll step off my soapbox now. Sorry for the rant, and if this ventured off the original topic

 

[monkeyfinger]

You seem like a decent cop. I think that a small group of bad-acting cops are getting a lot of attention these days. (Much of it deserved IMO.) But it takes the spotlight away from good cops trying to stay faithful to their oath. Thank you for your service to the public.

 

[loveandbass]

Blue Wall of Silence

 

[metron]

Ah, the original contention was that 18th century-style pirate numbers are down and this was a correlation, and it was a joke. Actual piracy rates were going up through the 90s and 00s.

Er... didn't know that data was delineating neo-pirates from the old-schoolers (puffy shirt style?). Indeed, now that does seem pretty absurd and hard to take seriously.

 

[Tbone76]

You seem like a decent cop. I think that a small group of bad-acting cops are getting a lot of attention these days. (Much of it deserved IMO.) But it takes the spotlight away from good cops trying to stay faithful to their oath. Thank you for your service to the public.

Thanks. I also think that a lot of problems in policing can be dealt with by giving preference to candidates that are married and a little older than 21. You're less likely to throw it all away when you have skin in the game, so to speak. Headway is being made, however. More bad cops are actively and successfully being prosecuted, jailed and fired than in previous times. This shows a lack of tolerance for bad behavior. Ethics is actively being pushed at the academy level, and attitudes are changing as the older generations are retiring. I remember in my academy class being told by the ethics instructors to look around, and look at the session roster carefully, because some of us wouldn't make it to retirement. It made a big impression on me, and they were right, btw. Candidates are more commonly being required to have some level of higher education, and that's a positive, too. It helps reinforce that the candidates have something to lose if they screw up. Make no mistake, there's no sure fire way to predict who will turn out bad, but gains are being made in hiring cops that want to do the job for the right reasons. Standardizing field training is also paying dividends. Putting rookies with newer cops instead of the old timers is huge. Rookies are now more likely being trained by cops with 3-5 years on the job as opposed to older cops who may have developed bad techniques over the years.

There's also (in NY, at least) a new focus on identifying officers who may be suffering from PTSD, and getting them treatment as opposed to ignoring it. I attended a 2-day training class to help identify and work with cops who are having these issues. It was eye-opening, to say the least.

There's also more of a focus on holding supervisors responsible for their officers' actions. It gives incentive to properly supervise subordinates. In NY, last I knew, the State Police have a promotional policy where a new supervisor is sent to a different Trooper barracks for a minumum of 1 year, so they learn how to supervise officers that they don't know, as opposed to their buddies. It's not possible in a smaller department, obviously, but it's a great idea.

 

[Tbone76]

On shows that I watch about crime stats.....insisting that numbers are way down since days of yore.

And that really we are a bit too paranoid.....apparently it's the safest time in history to be alive according to them.

Ok...so if that 's true then:-

(1) Why are more people being incarcerated than ever in the U.S.?

(2) Why have more prisons been built?

(3) Why do more police than ever respond to a single call?

(4) Why do police need more and more highpowered weapons and hi-tech equipment?

(5) Why are laws constantly being put on the table to give the authorities increasing carte-blanche to do what they do, putting aside previous civilian "rights"?

To get on topic and try and answer some of the above:

1-Various reasons, but drug addicts (crack and heroin) are fueling a lot of it, at least, in my area. Incarceration is the immediate answer, but not necessarily the best one.

2-there's money to be made, and also see #1.

3-Safety in numbers. Certain calls dictate a higher response than they did in the past.

4-With weapons and equipment, a lot of smaller departments don't have the manpower or money to fund a full-on SWAT team, so they become the group that has to actively isolate and deal with the threat and need the equipment on hand to do so. It's also better to have the proper equipmentand not use it, rather than need it and not have it. A lot of this has been fueled by some of the active-shooter incidents that have recently occurred, and the training is evolving along with it. That being said, most departments don't need a fleet of Humvees and M/RAPS to patrol.

5-A lot of the current laws that are proposed and sometimes passed, are made as a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived need, rather than an actual one. They are also often packaged with other less-favorable legislation to hopefully pass based on public outrage. I hope I didn't venture into the political side inadvertently with this answer, as that was not my intent.