5 ms·

There should be penalties for false arrests; mandatory payouts to victims for starters. If the state suddenly has to start paying out $150,000 a pop every time

There should be penalties for false arrests; mandatory payouts to victims for starters. If the state suddenly has to start paying out $150,000 a pop every time someone is falsely arrested, then they will fix these tests.

shalmanese 7y ago
In America, there really isn't a concept of false arrests. There is a "not guilty" verdict but not an "innocent" verdict. If you're forcing states to pay out in the case of not guilty verdicts, then you're introducing a whole new host of bizarre incentives.
- kgwxd 7y ago
  Then we'd need laws for scamming the false arrest system. But people snorting bird shit would be hilarious.
  - all2 7y ago
    This reminds me of the cat urine South Park episode : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GIiOsuDRFk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GIiOsuDRFk I don't know why...
- snagglegaggle 7y ago
  There are already incentives to arrest as many people as possible.
  - squarefoot 7y ago
    Exactly. Prisons are just like hotels: keep them constantly full and money will keep coming, no matter from where.
- ulucs 7y ago
  That is akin to not being able to accept the null hypothesis in statistics, as we assume innocence ant try to prove guilt (with the p-value of "a reasonable doubt"). While we should not explicitly disincentivize negative results, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't penalise p-hacking.
- SamReidHughes 7y ago
  America has that concept encoded in the fourth amendment and the law built up around it.
valley-green 7y ago
Hold your horses, commie. We already legalized drug possession. Ideas like this are why the state is bankrupt and can’t care for its 60,000 homeless.
pstuart 7y ago
Police unions should be self-insured, backed by their pensions. Without direct incentive there is no incentive.
mindslight 7y ago
It doesn't even need to be a punitive like $150k. An equitable $5k to compensate for time wasted, legal fees, and emotional stress from being kidnapped would suffice to realign incentives.
- Simulacra 7y ago
  Good point. Just enough so that it smarts but doesn't have to be punitive.

shalmanese 7y ago

In America, there really isn't a concept of false arrests. There is a "not guilty" verdict but not an "innocent" verdict. If you're forcing states to pay out in the case of not guilty verdicts, then you're introducing a whole new host of bizarre incentives.

kgwxd 7y ago
Then we'd need laws for scamming the false arrest system. But people snorting bird shit would be hilarious.
- all2 7y ago
  This reminds me of the cat urine South Park episode : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GIiOsuDRFk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GIiOsuDRFk I don't know why...
snagglegaggle 7y ago
There are already incentives to arrest as many people as possible.
- squarefoot 7y ago
  Exactly. Prisons are just like hotels: keep them constantly full and money will keep coming, no matter from where.
ulucs 7y ago
That is akin to not being able to accept the null hypothesis in statistics, as we assume innocence ant try to prove guilt (with the p-value of "a reasonable doubt"). While we should not explicitly disincentivize negative results, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't penalise p-hacking.
SamReidHughes 7y ago
America has that concept encoded in the fourth amendment and the law built up around it.

valley-green 7y ago

Hold your horses, commie. We already legalized drug possession. Ideas like this are why the state is bankrupt and can’t care for its 60,000 homeless.

pstuart 7y ago

Police unions should be self-insured, backed by their pensions. Without direct incentive there is no incentive.

mindslight 7y ago

It doesn't even need to be a punitive like $150k. An equitable $5k to compensate for time wasted, legal fees, and emotional stress from being kidnapped would suffice to realign incentives.

Simulacra 7y ago
Good point. Just enough so that it smarts but doesn't have to be punitive.