I don't know how it works in the States, but here in Australia NSW ... Recently the papers spoke about the truth on how highway patrol officers had to do a certain number of things per day including heavily on booking motorists for the slightest offence to gain a certain number of "points system" to help in promotion and other personal benefits for the officers. Now ... If you ask me what I feel about this, I would tell you that this is the most corrupt and BS scheme a government can deploy to increase revenue from motorists nevertheless. It's all about taking more money from the average working person which is simply atrocious.

 

But this is not the fault of the cops is it? This is what they are being forced into by the Government, who, at the end of the day, pay their wages. Not that I agree with it, and I also believe that it causes a huge amount of bad feeling amongst the public towards the police, but I don't think that it necessarily makes them bad people themselves....

 

For about five years, my sister worked in the Recruiting section of the Washington, DC police force. This has been at least fifteen years ago, but at the time the DC force paid more than almost any other force east of the Mississippi. Since they paid so well, they could afford to be very picky. They turned down about 90% of the applicants following background checks and psychological tests.

Far too many of the applicants rejected were found to be seeking power. In other words, their motivation for wanting to be a cop was so they could wield power over others - the perfect recipe for a bad cop.

Guess what? According to my sister, most of those would-be DC cops would have been quite acceptable to the vast majority of police departments around the country.

So, I guess what it comes down to is this - why do most policemen decide to join the force in the first place? I sure hope that my sister was full of sh*t, but I doubt it.

My personal observation after thirty years of practicing law is that far too many police officers don't even hesitate to lie under oath. Unfortunately, I've found the same to be true of the civilian population in general, so I don't know if it is fair to bash cops for it.

Sure as hell does not say much for the honesty of our society.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JRM
[B]

 

I salute all cops, even the ones that beat my head in. Really.

Cops are in a sh***y position to begin with. Lax laws, and hidden guns and drugs everywhere. Criminals that have more rights than the police. Working to protect the rights of other people like us to speed and steal and litter and break whatever laws we find too constraining at the moment.
I wish cops had the right to shoot to kill in everyday situations. I don't care if fear of execution is a deterrent or not, I just want all people that think they are above the law in our society rubbed out.
I would personally sacrifice ALOT of personal freedom to get this society in order again, so that I could walk the streets of a major metropolitan area at night with no fear for my personal safety. It's analagous to the security at airports - now that something terrible has happened, the public is finally allowing the Airports to do their job correctly and not whine about it. Too bad the cops and american law doesn't have this support.

America as a society is getting too big and uncivilized for it's own good. We need stricter laws, period. But no, all us goddamn spoiled americans are SElf-CENTERED, worrying about "boo hoo this violates my rights". Well guess what, it's not our individual right to break whatever laws we don't like either, and only follow the ones we think are right. This goddamn arrogance always upsets me. I upset me.

I wish people were held responsible for everything they do. It's the only way. Stop this american babysitting system we have going on.

i.e.:
Run from a cop? he shoots your dumb ass.
Speed off in a car? bazooka shell up your tailpipe.
Steal something? we cut your hands off like India.
Kill someone? You're next.

People have to be retaught to think before they act. Some people will never be able to do this, and these people should become fertilizer.

So give the cops a break because they deal with all the flaws in the whole system - and put their lives on the line for it. I expect them to be pissed all the time.

pat

 

Darknight: "Speed Safe."

I wrote this up in a hurry last night and was not thinking i would run into such illogical hosility so i ommitted details. didn't think anyone would say i lied about it for kicks cuz that's just lame. ok, let me try to get to everyone...

Details first. CHP officer Garcia was at the Santa Monica Mall ground floor at a CHP "stand" not really sure why there was a "stand." he was with 2 other men. one CHP and one SM PD. this was at 8 36 pm a few nights ago. iam 20 yrs old, do not have a s2k but am well experienced with them. i have a Acura TL, lowered, 17 rims, low profile s03 tires, xenon fogs, japanese tails, medium smoke tint all the way around, things like that. i am a student at UCLA, asian, not "gangsta like" clothes or hair. I approached the officers like this: can i ask you guys a question that will make you immediately not like me... they said sure and smiled. i said, what can i do to protect myself in case a corrupt cop pulls me over... than he said there was no such thing...

ok. i never meant to say that ALL cops were bad. i know good cops, but in LA, we got serious issues with truthful cops. for example quickly, the Perez guy in the news stole 2 mill in cocaine evidence and planted evidence that put a kid in jail. he is only going to get 2 yrs jail for that. HE PLANTED EVIDENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

does it get any worse than that? imagine going to jail and not have done anything wrong. i meant to say that there are some really bad ones and that if they happen to intersect with you by coincidence, than what can you do to protect yourself? to address the psychological tests i relate it to the idea of a poor person getting really rich. no power=great personality, humble. police power=corruption, fun to exercise it without consequence. they pass, than they play, not planned, but it can easily happen. Oh, i have been intensively studying human psychology for about 5 years, so i might, just might know a thing or two.

 

I meant to reference Darknight: "Speed Safe." i do whatever i do, but i make sure i am being safe and not hurting anyone else (hence the s03 stopping power).

alright, to address the "poor cop" people... everyone CHOOSES their profession. they are paid friggin dandily for sitting in v8 car and cruising around, turning on sirens, asking for registration. the shootouts, which do not happen very often, are not nice, but no one is FORCING them to do that job. there is no further argument than this. the guy who said that cops serve a purpose but need to be held to a higher standard is correct. It's like this: would you like to be a cop, yes or no? if yes, you will have to adhere to higher standards because you have the power to really mess with people but you might be in danger at times. YES I WILL NOW CHOOSE to be a cop. damn. "poor cop" my a$$. that's like saying poor lawyer or poor janitor or whatever. they CHOSE it.

getting back to me. i have gotten a ticket 2 yrs ago for making a left turn in Downtown LA when there was a sign that i did not see that said i shouldn't do that. i made the turn SAFELY, no one was hurt or even close at all. they gave me a ticket for that, my medium tinted windows and no front license plate. now, i was just trying to pick my gf up and go eat food. am i criminal? i was 18. i had to ask the cops, don't you guys have some real bad guys to go catch...

the next ticket was when i was 19. i was on Lincoln Blvd for those who are familiar in the Venice area. i saw 5 cars stopped at various places in a 3 block stretch. it was some sort of detail trap by the cops. sure enough they pulled me over for my front plate. now i know that the law says i am supposed to have one. i had it in the windshield. you might be able to critique me for this, but my car is so ugly with that plate. the point in this instance is that they were pulling over people who were just driving normally. these people including me were not criminals. the cops were making trouble and boosting revenue. once again, aren't there real dangerous bad guys out there...

my last ticket was a few days ago at LAX. security was tight cuz they were looking out for terrorists with potentially FATAL consequences. my fogs are bright enough for me to see and are bluer than the lo beams so they are less intense on the eye. i was trying to ease the crowded situation for everyone else. than a cop in front of me tells me to pull over. i roll down my window and smile. i have my UCLA jacket on, if that's a factor. he looks at me with disgust and says, "You know your healdlights aren't on, only those stupid driving lights." than he reach into my cabin and jerked the light stalk violently without asking my permission. what right do they have to touch other people's property? i could just tell by all the sign that by "stupid lights" he meant xenon lights. it is obvious that xenon creates jealosy. almost no one has it and they are bright and not to mention very high tech looking. than he told me my fogs were illegal when they are perfectly lega. they are FOG lights not driving lights. i did not argue, i apologized and he gave me a ticket for not having my headlight on. NOT A WARNing, but a TICKET. than gave me a warning for my front plate. LISTEN TO ME, THERE ARE TERRORISTS TRYING TO BLOW STUFF UP AND HE IS GIVING ME A TICKET FOR NOT HAVE MY LOW BEAMS ON, ONLY FOGS. is his time and tax payer money not better spent looking for actualy danerous people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! am i losing it here. i may be in technical violation and for some of you square people, that may be enough to indict me on murder in the first... couldn't he just say nicely, sir, your lights are not on. please FLICK the switch yourself...

 

ok, so all of these citations have branded me a criminal. correct?

the dude in Australia knows what i mean. cops here have quotas too. i asked before. HOW MESSED UP and wrong is that? and for the people who say its the government at fault not the cops. what the.... if the law is obviously immoral or incorrect, the cop is NOT obligated to follow it. he can say, that's messed up, too.

look, i know i am young, but i look extremely conservative. i do not have an exhaust or stickers or neon lights. i am not from the fast and the furious. i am neither of those things. i realize that my question to the chp hit close to home and he was being defensive, but once again, higher standard of behavior. he is not just human. like in CONAIR, nick cage was a ranger and killed a guy. he was sentenced to prison.

so what should i have done? not asked the question. maybe. what should i do? i have never gotten a speeding ticket, never been in an accident. i don't even drink for fun. DAMN IT!!!!!!! please can i find support somewhere? I WANT CORRUPT AND POWER ABUSING COPS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST AS GUILTY AS ANYONE ELSE IF NOT MORE SO TO THE DETRIMENT OF OUR SOCIETY. i did not hate cops, but i do now. something is wrong with that and it's not my damn front license plate!!!!!!!!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bobatimez
[B]i meant to say that there are some really bad ones and that if they happen to intersect with you by coincidence, than what can you do to protect yourself?

 

i am not here to woo you with words. this is an I-n-t-e-r-n-e-t forum, remember? albiet a serious one. i spent all that energy explaining and that dribble is all you reduce me to. thankx man.

i don't break many rules but when i do its like this and i think its how it is for the mjority. most of those "rules" are semantics. like 45 mph in a 35 zone. i don't condone drinking of ANY age. most adults are morons too. the point is that semantics are negligible in terms of effect. the purpose of police is to make a DIFFERENCE. hopefully a meaningful one. okay, let me spell fo you, ok. negligible not equal to big difference. 70 mph in a 35 might be something to talk about. 40 when people are in the road, etc.

you have just argued in my favor. the point is that the guy is still messed up. luckily he doesn't have more power, but cops already have too much. i don't understand why you bothered to write anything if you wern't going to make CLEAR sense. you could have just backed me up.

im not sticking my nose out there to say i know everything. i mean that i am young, but might know a thing or two just like a said. besides, what's wrong with exclamation marks? they worked didn't they...

bottom line, no one is effectively watching the potentially corrupt watcher.