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Good catch. But it's still roundly unenforced, which was the point. One that still is illegal in Cambridge is underage drinking, and here again the police force
by runako 10y ago
Good catch. But it's still roundly unenforced, which was the point. One that still is illegal in Cambridge is underage drinking, and here again the police forces in Cambridge and Boston turn a blind eye instead of making mass arrests every weekend.
The point is that behavior is only effectively legal when it's actually legal and not only made so by convention, because relying on convention leads to selective prosecution.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- eru 10y agoBy law, German police are required to engage with all crime they are aware off. (But prosecutors have more leeway, and even a mandate to consider the interest of the public when choosing whether to prosecute.) I wonder whether removing the decision making from the police, or at least attempting to, helps in getting laws more evenly enforced.
- voxic11 10y agoIn MA jaywalking is a violation of the law and not a crime.
- spennant 10y agoThe concept of "Campus Police" allows for Universities to insulate themselves from local laws. Crimes from underage drinking up to rape are generally dealt with internally, in what seems like understanding between the institution an their host cities.
- koenigdavidmj 10y agoThe University of Washington's campus police are King County Sheriff's deputies with a different paint job on their car. Is this anomalous for public schools?
- a2tech 10y agoNo thats very common. Almost all campus police officers are deputized agents of their host city.
- runako 10y agoWe're in violent agreement. We've decided to create special jurisdictions where certain laws are ignored for certain people. Campus Police are basically this practice codified into law and organization. Your student ID is a pass that gives you immunity from prosecution from certain violations.
- ethbro 10y agoIrony: campuses (at least a vast majority of the ones I've been to in urban areas) tend to border higher-crime parts of town and would thus otherwise likely be subject to the same police jurisdiction.
- jghn 10y agoYeah your point was sound, the example just turned out to be a bad one :) I've literally never seen anyone cited in central square, but I have friends who have been cited in states where jaywalking is still a thing. As a Masshole I've been lucky as I forget it is illegal in some places and will just cross a street if it isn't dangerous for anyone involved.