All Police Should Be Required By Law To Wear Personal Recorders

[The Annoyed Man]

I didn't say they were the same thing.

I stated that requiring police to have their personal lives recorded would mean a lot less people would volunteer to be police.  And this being the site it is and sister site of THR, I anticipated responses saying "good, I want less police".

And I am saying, no, you really don't want less police.  Even if you think you do.

If there were less police in Chicago, New Orleans, Philidelphia, New York City, and LA -

the crime rate would go down!

uhhmmm  no  not even close

Fewer criminals = less crime.  Besides, its not like Chicago cops have time to do any law enforcement, what with their busy day of planting evidence, committing perjury, beating up bartendresses, watching their buddies beat up bartendresses, conspiring to frame ex-wives, etc.  The N'awlins po-po are too busy stealing cars, confiscating guns, and getting in on the looting.  Not to mention the time honored shake-downs...

i would call that a mite simplistic or myopic, and i'd be guilty of understatement.

in your world having fewer cops equals fewer crooks. kinda amusing philosophy

[Perd Hapley]

Fewer criminals = less crime

Kudos to richyoung for knowing when to use "fewer" and when to use "less."  There's a difference, you illiterates. 


And if I'm not mistaken, folks, he's trying to say those cities have corrupt law enforcement. 

[ArfinGreebly]

All by itself, this would achieve little.

There are accompanying and ancillary actions that might well achieve the "fewer crooks/less crime" objective.

I'm pretty sure, though, that since People In Power ^(tm) really, really need for citizens to be dependent on that power, anything that threatens to actually reduce crime (or criminals) is going to meet with their disapproval.

I do think it would be an interesting exercise to a) reduce cop count and b) change the rules to make the citizenry more responsible for their own defense.

There would be a period of "boil off" during which a certain amount of increased chaos would ensue, after which, I imagine, that a much more civil foundation would be had.

We should limit this experiment to a single (good-sized) state to begin with.

Who would like to volunteer their state for this?

[The Annoyed Man]

i think rich wants to. the boil off might not be all that some folks imagine. less fun than those fevered dreams

[MicroBalrog]

in your world having fewer cops equals fewer crooks. kinda amusing philosophy

Crime dropped like a stone when they stopped busting people for selling whiskey and fired the cops that were responsible for it. Funny how it goes.

[The Annoyed Man]

did they fire those cops? reaLLY? you got a link to the white paper on that?

while you are looking read this
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1348.html

[MicroBalrog]

did they fire those cops? reaLLY? you got a link to the white paper on that?

while you are looking read this
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1348.html

No cops =/= less cops.

[The Annoyed Man]

read more carefully

and the link to that white paper didn't work  couldn't even see any reference to them firing the cops after prohibition.  as opposed to making something not a crime reducing crime being what caused "crime" to fall

[richyoung]

i think rich wants to. the boil off might not be all that some folks imagine. less fun than those fevered dreams

In defense of my local law enforcement, they did dismiss one of the local gendarms when he attempted to shoot a compliant suspect in handcuffs.  Of course, he had already killed at least one other person....

[HankB]

There already are cameras on all police cars.

Many, not all.

When there are allegations of police misconduct, clear videos are usually available which almost invariably support the cop's position.

When the videos don't support the cop's version of events . . . usually, it's "what videos?" The camera was broken. The lens cap was still on. The K-9 officer chewed up the tape. Etc.

[The Annoyed Man]

could you support your allegation of the missing tapes?


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_/ai_18170339
that one won't help ya

[taurusowner]

When the videos don't support the cop's version of events . . . usually, it's "what videos?" The camera was broken. The lens cap was still on. The K-9 officer chewed up the tape. Etc.

Citation needed.

[The Annoyed Man]

My personal thoughts:

I agree that your average cop is a well-intentioned individual trying to do their job.

However, a few bad apples IMO warrant using technology in a non-invasive manner to monitor the actions of police officers as well as the people they deal with.  If nothing else, it would make the he-said/she-said issues in criminal law easier to deal with, and it would keep the few bad apples mindful that somebody is watching.

Do I wish that this was necessary?  No.  I hate the thought of it in fact.  What I hate even more is how the good cops have to suffer because of the bad cops.  Unfortunately, just as how doctors and lawyers try to cover their asses, I think that electronic means should be implemented as fully as possible to help officers cover their ass, as well as keep the few bad ones in line.  If nothing else, the good cops have nothing to worry about.

I find it moronic that some cruisers still don't have dash-cams..... at the very minimum that should be universal.  Wearing personal recorders - I don't know about.  The issue should be how there can be a record of events in the most non-invasive way possible.

[MicroBalrog]

read more carefully

and the link to that white paper didn't work  couldn't even see any reference to them firing the cops after prohibition.  as opposed to making something not a crime reducing crime being what caused "crime" to fall

And murders. And robberies. And overall violent crime.

[HankB]

could you support your allegation of the missing tapes?


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_/ai_18170339
that one won't help ya

When the videos don't support the cop's version of events . . . usually, it's "what videos?" The camera was broken. The lens cap was still on. The K-9 officer chewed up the tape. Etc.

Citation needed.

Thirty second's search disclosed this: http://digg.com/politics/Update_The_tape_from_the_abusive_cop_s_dashboard_cam_is_missing

And this:  http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/awards/almost_everyone_is_a_winner_38593.asp if you scroll about 2/3 of the way down you find: 

BROADCAST CATEGORIES ⬠IN TELEVISION
General News

First -- Gordon Peterson, Pete Hakel and Andrea McCarren - WJLA - Prince George's County Police Investigation -- Efforts to document whether Prince George's County police resources were being misallocated led to reporter McCarren and photojournalist Hakel being swarmed by police cruisers and officers with guns drawn. Mysteriously, the dashboard camera tape from all nine police cars is unavailable. The WJLA team documented the underlying story and the police activity it spawned.

And also this:   http://www.dailynewscaster.com/2008/06/16/abu-ghriab-coming-to-a-town-near-you/   

which includes:

While the video below shows enough misconduct by police trained to abuse citizens there is more tape missing. Such as the dashboard cam of the arresting officer and a hand held camera seen in the hands of an officer.

And of course, there were several cameras running when the Branch Davidians were attacked at Waco, but only a little videotape was ever made available.