[My other posts on the DOJ reports, 1 & 3.] The DOJ’s report of Ferguson isn’t just about police or just about race. A large part of the report — to me the more disturbing part — is about a whole system of government using the criminal justice system as a tool to legally steal from its residents. It’s feudal,…
Tag: police culture
DOJ: Blaming the Cops
[My other posts on the DOJ reports, 1 & 2.] I have read (most of) the incredibly damning DOJ’s report on the Ferguson P.D. I tried to read it a bit as Thomas Jefferson edited the Bible. Thomas Jefferson thought that even if Jesus isn’t the son of God, even if there are no supernatural events, there’s still something good…
“Frozen Wieners”
I know there’s probably more important police stuff to write about, but I can’t stand when cops get in the jackpot for joking. A NJ cops is getting heat for making jokes about a dead dog. It’s in the Daily News. It shouldn’t be. The only story is about an idiot, Andrew Mayer, who “was spinning doughnuts on the frozen…
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (1)
Here are the “recommendations” and “action items” from the Interim Report. (I guess the “action items” are how to go about achieving the “recommendations”? I’m not sure.) I’ve removed all the other text and explanations. Just trying to boil this down to its essence. The whole report is here. Once I digest this I’ll have a few things to say.…
The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing
It’s out. You can download the 115 page PDF here. I haven’t read it yet. I’d be happy to hear any comments from those have about what in it is relevant/important/surprising.
Body Cams and the mean streats of Basingstoke
The BBC has a short (2 min) and surprisingly informative clip on body cameras. But the real reason I’m posting this is because this attack on a police officer took place in Basingstoke, England. Now you may know Basingstoke for its roundabouts (traffic circles)… actually you probably have never heard of Basingstoke. And that’s OK. But I know Basingstoke because…
“If you don’t like the politics here, then leave”
Ron Smith ain’t your average police union president.
Stop lying! (and free Doug Williams)
“You’re a fool if you go into a lie detector test thinking that telling the truth is good enough.” – Peter Moskos, John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I’ve written about this before. Here I am saying much of the same… but this time it’s on NPR. What I find crazy is that the defenders of the test, the American…
Blue Flu (II): Arrest “only when you need to”
Conor Friedersdorf has a excellent piece in The Atlantic, “The NYPD’s Insubordination—and Why the Right Should Oppose It.” [And just for the record I did scoop the New York Post, albeit only be a few hours.] There’s lot here that doesn’t fit in our normal political divide. And I love that cognitive dissonance! You’ve got union blue-collar workers, and the…
Blue Flu
Word on the street is that NYPD summonses are down almost 95% and arrests by two-thirds since officers Ramos and Liu were killed (and the PBA was vocal with their opinion). Let’s see what impact this has on crime. It would be interesting if the answer were zero. But since I believe police matter, I don’t think this is good.…