Re:David Simon Made Baltimore Detectives Famous. Now Their C...
by AnthonyMouse on Thursday January 13, 2022 @05:39PM
(#29927988)
This is confusing the law with the system.
The peons exist within the system. The system allows them to ignore mask mandates. It doesn't allow them to issue fewer than the implicit quota number of citations that generate government revenue. The system punishes them for enforcing the law against politically connected people, which keeps bullshit laws on the books because they only get used against poors and dissidents. The system cares more that cases are closed than that suspects are guilty, because "percent prisoners who are actually guilty" is hard to measure and isn't one of the system's target metrics.
The peons can't change these things. The ones who try get punished and lose promotions.
We have to fix the laws. And the social factors that cause the incentive for violent behavior to exceed the deterrent effect of law enforcement.
The peons exist within the system. The system allows them to ignore mask mandates. It doesn't allow them to issue fewer than the implicit quota number of citations that generate government revenue. The system punishes them for enforcing the law against politically connected people, which keeps bullshit laws on the books because they only get used against poors and dissidents. The system cares more that cases are closed than that suspects are guilty, because "percent prisoners who are actually guilty" is hard to measure and isn't one of the system's target metrics.
The peons can't change these things. The ones who try get punished and lose promotions.
We have to fix the laws. And the social factors that cause the incentive for violent behavior to exceed the deterrent effect of law enforcement.