Abusive policing, and what can be done about it

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The police unions are beyond the pale. It would be like asking the wolf to protect the sheep. It does have to come from the public, and it's true that people who live in wealthier neighborhoods are not seeing the constant harassment and the frequent brutality that many others witness. I think it's pretty hopeless.

All we can do is keep pressing for reforms, some of which will likely need to be drastic. We also need to keep pressing for a better social safety net, so that fewer people will be impelled to commit crimes for economic reasons. We should also press to get rid of unjust, draconian laws.

But, regarding the police, I think the focus needs to be on specific issues and specific evidence-based (or at least well thought out) remedies, NOT on trying to abolish or "defund" the police. I do not believe that a modern civilization can exist without police.

Also, it seems to me that "defunding the police" would result in much MORE police brutality, not less. On the previous page I gave the example of how foot patrols (IF done right!) can be good for "police-community relations," though labor-intensive, hence expensive. Another example is that real, honest detective work is time-consuming and expensive. It is MUCH cheaper and easier to "solve" crimes by grabbing random "suspicious characters" off the street and beating them until they "confess" (probably falsely). And that is why slogans like "defund the police" really scare me.

^^^^ Send them to a Mental Hospital ^^^^^^
for examination ?
Pray for a healing ?

How bad is DWB* in america? What are the chances of this happening to black people?

*Driving while black and getting harrassed

DWB.

Last edited by Jakki on 29 Oct 2024, 6:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

DWB. are these DWB on your record now ? Wait those are DWIs. ..was just having fun with a very serious topic .
Because. the intensity of it scares me .
DWB is very much alive and currently going on , at least in the midwest . Obviously the South too ..
Places on the Coasts , maybe be alittle less enforced. .....And hopefully some places might be more advanced than others . But most officers in bigger cities . Get put through their depts jail wards . Where the crazy mentality of prison type ethics are a big thing for their police training . Do the extra research , if you plan on a extended stay here. On the place you visiting or even hoping just to live. Have have a few friends that appeared to be of Af r i c a n descent .
And honestly , their atitudes have been diminished even towards the own own racces .to quote them both . in very different parts of the country . am quoting them here " i dont trust other DWB people ." that saddened me quite abit .
My good friend said the same thing about the DWB people he worked with in the civil service for years . And oddly enough the majority of NT w h i tt e people ,I have had to interact with even professionals are not very worthy of trust.
But do not like to have that reputation either ..IMHO

Last edited by Jakki on 29 Oct 2024, 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

One way to do something about it is to film the abusive behaviour. Send the footage to Cloud storage so the police can't destroy it.

911 Call Analysis: Junk Science that Imprisons Innocent People by Rebecca Watson, Mar 7, 2023:



An example of how too much of "forensic science" is on an outdated, less-than-scientific footing.

Techniques like the one described here are especially dangerous to autistic people.

The Rebecca Watson video, above, refers to articles by Brett Murphy in Pro Publica. Googling, I found the following:

- They Called 911 for Help. Police and Prosecutors Used a New Junk Science to Decide They Were Liars., Dec. 28, 2022
- How Jessica Logan’s Call for Help Became Evidence Against Her, Nov. 20, 2022

Fortunately, it appears that significant progress has been made in challenging this practice:

- Prosecutors and Judges Push for Conviction Reviews, Ban on Junk Science of 911 Call Analysis, Feb. 24, 2023

It wouldn't surprise me, though, if some police departments still use it.

An example of why "defunding the police" (or, in this case, defunding the prosecutor's office) is NOT a good solution to the many problems with police:

Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and DUI Cases Are Being Dismissed en Masse in Anchorage by by Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, co-published with Anchorage Daily News, Oct. 13, 2024.

I won't quote the whole article, just the summary:

One word: anarchy

I was impressed by the video. One further reason why I wish critical thinking and scientific method were taught more extensively in schools, though in the short term that won't help. And it looks like those prosecutors knew full well their "evidence" didn't hold water. I wonder whether they were ever brought to justice for that?

Also rather a shock to see that cop badgering and cussing at that innocent man. The interview footage isn't the result of a hidden camera the police didn't know about, it's (I suppose) the official recording. I had been rather hoping that such bullying only happened in fiction. Bizarre what's considered normal and acceptable. What's the need? What's wrong with some of those cops, that they can't calm down and do their jobs in a civilised, objective manner? Don't they see any difference between a suspect and a convicted sociopath?

So, it looks to me like a set of true horror stories, and I only hope they're the exception rather than the rule. But they're still wrecking innocent people's lives.

Unfortunately I am under the impression that that kind of behavior is standard operation procedure in many police departments. One of the many things wrong with police culture.

Basically it's the modern, toned-down version of the age-old practice of torturing the suspect into confessing. They're no longer allowed to torture the suspect physically (except by not allowing the suspect to go to the bathroom), so they torture the suspect verbally instead.

What needs to be gotten rid of is any reliance on confessions whatsoever, in favor of pure honest detective work. Unfortunately, detective work is expensive.

Well , excuse my pragmatism con Mona P s post ... but based on first hand knowledge , and realising that Mona is correct about . Not being willing to afford the manpower...These days , as it shows in the Vid Was to check his cellphone location history ..Should have been done before the interrogation . Sitting at a desk for a few minutes and getting logs from the phone service provider . This is Police officers trying to justify their hourly pay . Whilst destroying a person.
who might look to be alittle stressed or vulnerable to interrogation. Worse , he was not ecperienced enough to just lawyer up . So the power crazed psychopaths had free reign to terrorize this person .Appropriate response under these situations, is " Quote" : YOU DO NOT Look like my Lawyer ." All aspies should taught to use this in response to ANY sort of interrogation by members of the Police dept or Prosecuetors office . No matter how innocent you think you are.
Then next question is ," Are you charging me with something . or allow me to leave. Am sorry to say this is looking more & more like a Police State. And people need to be taught to react in accordance with being accosted by any cop.
IMHO.
Example: When I was on the phone back many years ago,With prosecuetors office, in the weeks after my late husbands homicide .I asked that they check with the local mobile phone services that provide cell towers in that same area. To
check the location of of the man and his phone , whom actually did the shooting, "They straight out refused to do this" . The man had even called me up , thinking I did not know , he had done this . All circumstancial evidence strongly point to this guy .
And he has told the homicide detectives. He was not there. But in his phone call to me he described his desperation to leave the property the night of the shooting . In great detail . Not being aware that the firearm used was his exclusive gun. And He had been a associate of myself and my late husband. And told me for 6 months he had been practicing with it to get the exact location of the bullit and type that was used.In order not to make someone suffer. A lingering death. And a instant kill shot . We knew this guy was a gun nut. But he was never prosecueted or caught . They would not even allow to test for time of death ,judged by rate of rigormortise,or by blood coagulation rate.This told to me by their same coroners office. To this day have been through at least one lawyer a year,for 15 years that will not take the case.To reopen or examine the facts.
Hardworking Law enforcement ..(not ). old saying "was to work smart and not hard"
In the above situation. There was no call for detectives to behave as such. No excuses for lazy detective work especially in Capitol Crimes

Innocent Man to be Executed over Junk Science by Rebecca Watson (SkepChick)