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Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by rconti on Friday October 20, 2017 @07:47PM (#15519871)
I couldn't disagree more. The police are there to gather evidence. They're effectively tainting evidence if they mistreat people or ask leading questions or the like.

You'd better believe it matters when they come after you for (say) making false statements to the police, and it's their word against yours, and the court always sides with the cops.

Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by BurningFrog on Saturday October 21, 2017 @01:45AM (#15520843)
This discussion about what police tactics work best very likely contain zero actual cops, but several people with certain knowledge.
Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by icebraining on Saturday October 21, 2017 @04:32AM (#15521170)
On that note, I found the book 400 Things Cops Know - written by an actual Sergeant - to be a pretty good read, reasonably informative and occasionally surprisingly candid.
Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by BurningFrog on Saturday October 21, 2017 @12:49PM (#15522464)
Ordered a copy. Thanx!
Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by zaroth on Friday October 20, 2017 @11:09PM (#15520474)
It turns out that the best way to gather evidence isn't actually polite deference to every wild story you hear!

I don't understand your point at all about "tainting evidence" and how that could possibly follow from brusque questioning.

Re:A Test of Police Body Cameras Defies Expectations by matt4077 on Saturday October 21, 2017 @05:40AM (#15521307)
"Brusque questioning" will obviously be applied completely subjective.

Once you start deferring to police officers' immediate judgement, the legal process is tainted to amplify every single stereotype police officers hold.

White victims will obviously be treated with more deference than blacks, Spanish-speaking people will all be assumed to be illegal immigrants etc.

So the young man accused of something will be "brusquely questioned" within the first minutes and confess to the crime. While the old woman is treated with deference, has a chance to talk to a lawyer, and never gets convicted.

And the worst thing is the spiral, self-amplifying nature: start like that, and the sort of people already suspect will be the only ones actually being charged with crimes and convicted, which will reinforce all the ideas the process started out with.