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This the correct way to deal with criminals - it's not your call to decide if they're a minor, a psychopath etc.. This way society can deal with criminals, hope

by Paul_S 10y ago

This the correct way to deal with criminals - it's not your call to decide if they're a minor, a psychopath etc.. This way society can deal with criminals, hopefully his parents will make an effort now. Had you not done all this work we'd be guaranteed to have one more criminal to incarcerate in the future.

SamBam 10y ago
It may be the correct way to deal with criminals in some situations, and it sounds like in this case it was. However, as individuals we can still decide that our code of ethics precludes us from involving the state in matters of petty crime, if we think the state's response may be disproportionately harsh. If we think the state is incorrect to classify marijuana was a class I drug, the same as heroine, for example, we have every right to make our own judgement about whether to report every pot smoker to the police. Sometimes, depending on the alleged crime, people may have very real fears that bringing in the state may have lethal consequences. In America, many black people are more hesitant to call the cops, because of excessive risks to the petty criminal, or even to themselves. Here's a homeowner who decided to call the cops who ended up shot, because the cops appeared to assume that any black man emerging from the house must be the criminal: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/24/a-black-homeowner-called-911-to-report-a-carjacking-he-wound-up-getting-shot-by-police/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/2... The point is, we could all be robots and always trust the state to deal with every issue correctly, or we could decide occasionally to trust our own morals and code of ethics, and use our own discretionary powers when deciding what to report.
- tzakrajs 10y ago
  The state is more consistent than our personal ethics and we should regularly exercise the system so that if unfair convictions start happening we can change the law or vote in new judges and district attorneys.
  - triplesec 10y ago
    except that the state is manifestly _not_ more consistent than our personal ethics. See how each state varies in its treatment of punishment? See how in each state, some groups (often black, or minority, or hackers) get a lot worse treatment?

by Paul_S 10y ago

SamBam 10y ago

It may be the correct way to deal with criminals in some situations, and it sounds like in this case it was. However, as individuals we can still decide that our code of ethics precludes us from involving the state in matters of petty crime, if we think the state's response may be disproportionately harsh. If we think the state is incorrect to classify marijuana was a class I drug, the same as heroine, for example, we have every right to make our own judgement about whether to report every pot smoker to the police. Sometimes, depending on the alleged crime, people may have very real fears that bringing in the state may have lethal consequences. In America, many black people are more hesitant to call the cops, because of excessive risks to the petty criminal, or even to themselves. Here's a homeowner who decided to call the cops who ended up shot, because the cops appeared to assume that any black man emerging from the house must be the criminal: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/24/a-black-homeowner-called-911-to-report-a-carjacking-he-wound-up-getting-shot-by-police/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/2... The point is, we could all be robots and always trust the state to deal with every issue correctly, or we could decide occasionally to trust our own morals and code of ethics, and use our own discretionary powers when deciding what to report.

tzakrajs 10y ago
The state is more consistent than our personal ethics and we should regularly exercise the system so that if unfair convictions start happening we can change the law or vote in new judges and district attorneys.
- triplesec 10y ago
  except that the state is manifestly _not_ more consistent than our personal ethics. See how each state varies in its treatment of punishment? See how in each state, some groups (often black, or minority, or hackers) get a lot worse treatment?