tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post117821440490243078..comments2024-01-26T11:44:59.433-05:00Comments on The Invisible Visible Man: A street drug arrest, a crackdown on cyclists - and why Broken Windows is a bustInvisible Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-28947725255763979622014-09-03T13:02:22.475-04:002014-09-03T13:02:22.475-04:00Steve,
I guess one point in all this is that poli...Steve,<br /><br />I guess one point in all this is that police forces feel, like many parts of the US public sector, that they don't have enough resources to do the job. So free stuff becomes that bit more attractive.<br /><br />One issue in Ferguson seems to have been that a very high proportion of the city's revenue came from fines for misdemeanours - and a very high proportion of the spending was on the police. There's often a very unhealthy relationship between the police and any given municipality's financial imperatives.<br /><br />At least in your damp air up there, the MRAP should rust fairly fast.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-82779661482040365462014-09-03T12:56:09.863-04:002014-09-03T12:56:09.863-04:00"I hope Pacific County's MRAP gathers dus..."I hope Pacific County's MRAP gathers dust and is then scrapped." We can only hope and pray - for the moment. Hopefully, someone will come to account someday. Just because the Feds offer something ridiculous is no excuse for people to completely abandon common sense...I hope Pacific County's MRAP gathers dust and is then scrapped.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-37207676425260700082014-09-01T23:12:10.255-04:002014-09-01T23:12:10.255-04:00Steve,
There was an incident near my apartment a ...Steve,<br /><br />There was an incident near my apartment a while ago where the police shot dead an emotionally-disturbed man who had stabbed his uncle, with whom he shared an apartment. The stabbing was sufficiently undramatic that the uncle needed no hospital treatment - yet they pumped seven bullets into the poor, mentally ill young man. There is consistent exaggeration of the risks that police officers face and a consistent downplaying of the risks and moral issues related to officers' deployment of force. If armoured vehicles make it easier for police forces to deploy armed force with impunity, it can only be a bad thing.<br /><br />I hope Pacific County's MRAP gathers dust and is then scrapped.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-34957700753230886592014-09-01T22:18:16.874-04:002014-09-01T22:18:16.874-04:00I think the rationale of the recipients is pretty ...I think the rationale of the recipients is pretty easy to understand - "cool and free." From there, justifications are created. For example, Pacific County cited a recent standoff in an RV Park as a case where the MRAP would guarantee officer safety, forgetting that distance would accomplish the same objective.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-4000931168035724792014-09-01T16:39:49.378-04:002014-09-01T16:39:49.378-04:00Michael,
I've heard theories about crime reduc...Michael,<br />I've heard theories about crime reduction related both to abortion and the eradication of lead in drinking water. The common factor in all of them is that the fall in crime associated with broken windows might well have happened in any case. It's certainly time to re-examine how well the concept is working in a world facing very different challenges from those of 1989.<br />All the best,<br />Invisible. Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-51933529138691371642014-09-01T16:32:01.873-04:002014-09-01T16:32:01.873-04:00Steve A,
You're right it's a good thing if...Steve A,<br />You're right it's a good thing if the mad programme of sales of armoured vehicles to police forces ends. It would be nice if the mentality that made the police think they needed the vehicles died along with the programme. <br />All the best,<br />Invisible. Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-19714445753649661512014-09-01T14:37:32.001-04:002014-09-01T14:37:32.001-04:00I don't know if there is clear proof of the &...I don't know if there is clear proof of the "broken windows" approach reducing the crime rate in NY as apparently the crime rate also reduced in other US cities at the same time, and they had a different approach to policing.<br /><br />There is a (controversial) theory that the reduction of crime rate in the 1990s was a consequence of the legalisation of abortion in the 1970s.<br /><br />http://freakonomics.com/2005/05/15/abortion-and-crime-who-should-you-believe/<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12826498172261997737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-21003429207186109122014-09-01T14:20:28.493-04:002014-09-01T14:20:28.493-04:00On a positive note, recent events have caused the ...On a positive note, recent events have caused the current administration to reconsider the wisdom of delivering armored vehicles to rural police agencies such as the one recently delivered to Pacific County, WA. What next? Attack helicopters?Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.com