The Law Enforcement Officer Thread

"What do you mean, smuggling and human trafficking? I want my government subsidized personal vendetta!"

There are multiple potential things that could be at play. While in at least some states it is illegal for police departments to have quotas in place, nonetheless they can exist informally anyway. The somewhat infamous case of Adrian Schoolcraft proved that. Schoolcraft was an NYPD officer whose precinct, (NYC term for a police center/base, which I wanted to define just because it is not commonly used in the country) engaged in a number of crooked practices, and because Schoolcraft's attempts to report on these violations went nowhere, Schoolcraft spent over a year recording all the corruption and abusive practices happening at his department with a tiny digital recorder.

Those corrupt/crooked practices included quotas for tickets & fines, (with officers who didn't issue enough of these being punished and/or being assigned unpleasant tasks) underreporting serious crime to screw with the city's criminal statistics and make it look as though crime levels were lower than they were, as well as a variety of racist practices. (One of the most damning moments of Schoolcraft's recordings is when, ahead of Halloween, his immediate supervisor instructs the patrol officers like Schoolcraft to arrest everyone hanging out in a group of more than 3 black men. Paraphrased slightly, the supervisor says "Just arrest them, and don't even bother with the paperwork afterward, just get out there and get back on the streets to keep the streets clear. We'll figure out the paperwork and what to charge them with later.") Further links regarding Schoolcraft. (In the second link, click the audio under "Act Two")

Now in these particular cases there could be a range of motives. The first is political. In areas with crime problems there's always a desire for politicians to make themselves look good by fighting crime, which means visible police actions, crackdowns, etc. In the cities, at least, the mayor picks the head of the local police department, who in turn sets the tone, expectation, and policy for everyone under them. So if the mayor says "I want you making tons of arrests to prove we're doing something and making an effort", that gets passed down the chain of command until you have the everyday, frontline officers using increasingly crazy and scummy tactics to try to fulfill nigh impossible demands.

Next up is the possibility of the city and police force using the people as a source of revenue, something which has been fairly decently documented in recent past, with reports that without being able to push through other sources of increasing revenues like taxes both due to political intransigence and the massive income inequality in American society undermining the base of people who pay taxes. So fines, arrests, court fees, tickets, civil asset forfeiture, etc., all become strategies to keep the lights on and the bills paid. (And look forward to seeing civil forfeiture becoming more a part of police activities in the coming years if the current DOJ gets its way.)

Lastly you have various motives such as cheap power abuse, (whether it be for the same reasons schoolyard bullies get off on pushing around little kids, racism, kicks, etc.) planting stuff on a suspect to try to ensure a conviction, etc.

Take your pick.

Good post dude.

http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2017/08/05/pnp-police-officer-maute-member.html

Another officer from the Philippine National Police has defected to the Maute Group...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/who-mysterious-black-death-organisation-10937511

Law enforcement in Europe rescued a model who was about to be sold off to the Dark Web, although the Black Death Group didn't bother to go after he since they found that she has a 2-year old child.

They also expect her to not badmouth the BDG out of consideration.

A mysterious criminal group, oh joy just what we needed more of.

Black Death Group? That's a name that's so supervillain-esque it's not even funny.

The "War on Drugs" gives yet more "gifts".

Illegal pot farms hidden in parts of the US wilderness are producing massive quantities of toxic waste. While most of these farms are in California's forest land the bulk of the product is going to the other parts of the US.

According to the article, the problem is actually the amount of pesticides and fertilizers used in those plantations (illegal numbers as well, I assume). Ending the "war on drugs" won't stop the farmers' obsession with those products and not disposing of them adequately.

edited 7th Aug '17 5:39:57 PM by Grafite

Here's the communique from the BDG:

It may, those farms are illegal and thus are not regulated. If there were a legitimate market for cannabis then I feel confident that the black market demand that funds these farms would drop if not disappear.

The fact that a group like these openly proliferates in a country like Italy nowadays is just astonishing to me. Hope the police cracks down on them and glad the woman is safe now.

edited 7th Aug '17 5:47:09 PM by Grafite

Wait, they openly proliferate? Is it that bad?

Perhaps the expression was a bit exaggerated, what I meant was they are known by the local forces, and have the manpower and resources to kidnap people and sell them off in the dark web without getting caught in a modern country in Europe.

I see. That's still unacceptable, hopefully the local law enforcement does what is necessary to crack down on such degenerates.

Well these guys operate exclusively in the Dark Web and its associates don't meet face to face and cut off all contact to anyone trying to probe in too much. Journalists/analysts trying to investigate them have this stumbling block.

As of now, North American LE agencies has joined in on the investigation.

Law enforcement in Europe have some ideas on why this happened:

• Some idiot made a mistake in the intel gathering and found out too late that the victim has a child, showing off their Even Evil Has Standards rule.
• Someone's trying to take advantage of the kidnapping for a publicity.
• The dude who got caught wasn't smart enough to cover his tracks.

I don't understand why they even have that standard, if one is willing to engage in human trafficking why would being a parent matter? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

I don't get that either.

The police is still investigating if the BDG really is genuine about that statement.

Fair enough, they're humans so the existence of irrationality makes some sense I suppose.

Grafite: The same article points out the farms are largely producing their marijuana for the rest of the US not regions where it is legalized. You remove the incentive to grow clandestine marijuana crops you also take a good hard jab at the fertilizers and pesticides they use on their crops. It is notable that the market fro said illegal crops is not California where they are being grown but elsewhere in the US. That is why the "War on Drugs" is a notable part of the problem.

It is a bit harder to grow most of the other drug plants in the US but Marijuana grows easily, has a large and far reaching demand, and grows just about everywhere in the world.

PR video of the TMPD, it also shows off the Emergency Response Unit raised in 2016 due to the G7 summit in Iseshima.

Exercises in preparation for 2020 by the TMPD in cooperation with the Fire Department.

Exercise done was in response to a spree killer by using a vehicle and a lone gunman shooting at police with a hostage.

OPFOR's a tad better with the former. They need to add more OPFOR with the gunman scenario to push TMPD resources to the limit, even if gun laws are very strict.

edited 7th Aug '17 9:37:22 PM by Ominae

People can have odd standards.

I just finished reading The Stranger.

Moral of the story: For the love of God, please listen to your lawyer and shut up until s/he says otherwise.

Especially since Mersault is perfectly capable of lying, and did so twice. He writes the letter for Raymond that will persuade Raymond's girlfriend to return, knowing that Raymond only wants her back so he can beat her up; later he lies to the police, backing up Raymond's claim that he didn't hit the girl.

Try reading The Mersault Investigation, if you have the time.

Full display of the TMPD's units. Anti-riot units, EOD specialists, S Ps and the ERT show off their skills.

Also for the first time, they show off on how to take down rogue UA Vs.