4 ms·

So a traffic stop shouldn't involve a check for outstanding warrants?

by throwaway201103 6y ago

ceejayoz 6y ago
There are a variety of different opinions on the matter. Don't check at all. Check, but report without pursuit. Some have issues with traffic stops entirely, given the racial biases involved in who to pull over. (Demonstrated most effectively in this study, where the disparity disappears when the sun goes down: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inside-100-million-police-traffic-stops-new-evidence-racial-bias-n980556 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inside-100-million-poli... / https://news.stanford.edu/2020/05/05/veil-darkness-reduces-racial-bias-traffic-stops/ https://news.stanford.edu/2020/05/05/veil-darkness-reduces-r...) There's also the fact that the scary "normal cops being executed by unhinged drivers" scenario is a vanishingly rare scenario. The rate of murders of police officers matches roughly the rate in the general population. https://www.newsweek.com/it-has-never-been-safer-be-cop-372025 https://www.newsweek.com/it-has-never-been-safer-be-cop-3720...
- NoOneNew 6y ago
  Dont persue? Dude the reason the cat with the warrant hasn't been caught is because they dont show up to their known residence. They are EVADING. Their home isnt a safe space from warrants. You just effectively nullified the entire reason to have a warrant out for someone's arrest, let alone reason for bail so someone shows up to court. And no, it's not safer in the sense they aren't shot. Body armor has gotten better and the likelihood of surviving a few rounds to the chest has gone up. The shootings haven't changed, just the body armor. Get out of your sick fantasy world. Better yet, go be a cop to help reform. See for yourself before you think you have an opinion.
  - TeaDrunk 6y ago
    > Better yet, go be a cop to help reform. See for yourself before you think you have an opinion. Cops who attempt to turn in bad cops get fucked up by other cops, so this is a no-go. Otherwise I generally agree with your point that not checking for warrants has a really bad consequence of potentially letting go of people who have warrants out for committing heinous, heinous crimes. (Admittedly, often times cops have let go of people during traffic stops without checking for warrants. Several serial killers for example.)
- daenz 6y ago
  > The rate of murders of police officers matches roughly the rate in the general population. And they wear body armor, can call for backup, and can engage threats with deadly force. I would imagine a job with those tactical advantages would have a much much lower murder rate than the general population.
krastanov 6y ago
Of course it should not! Traffic stops should not be a dragnet.
- throwaway201103 6y ago
  OK, so then you're going to have some explaining to do when someone with a warrant commits another violent crime, and it turns out that the week prior he was pulled over for some traffic violation and was let go.
  - ceejayoz 6y ago
    If only we had a similar expectation of "explaining to do" when the opposite happens, and an innocent person winds up dead because of an armed traffic stop? Philando Castile serves as a good example.
    - throwaway201103 6y ago
      Well, since there was an investigation, criminal charges, and a jury trial, it sounds like it was "explained" as much as our system is capable of.
      - ceejayoz 6y ago
        Given that the cop was acquitted of all charges, perhaps the system should be capable of more here?
        throwaway201103 6y ago
        Maybe so. Neither you nor I were on the jury though. We don't just get to ignore a jury decision and impose our own personal justice because from the outside it doesn't seem fair. There were two blacks on the jury, according to what I read on Wikipedia.
    - daenz 6y ago
      This is a really bad faith response. Truthfully, out of all the traffic stops, which do you think happens at a higher rate: instances like Philando Castile, or instances where someone pulled over has a warrant for a violent crime and goes on to commit more violent crime? If you have to stop and think about it for an extended amount of time, then to me, that suggests you have a strong bias in one direction.

So a traffic stop shouldn't involve a check for outstanding warrants?

There are a variety of different opinions on the matter. Don't check at all. Check, but report without pursuit. Some have issues with traffic stops entirely, given the racial biases involved in who to pull over. (Demonstrated most effectively in this study, where the disparity disappears when the sun goes down: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inside-100-million-police-traffic-stops-new-evidence-racial-bias-n980556 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/inside-100-million-poli... / https://news.stanford.edu/2020/05/05/veil-darkness-reduces-racial-bias-traffic-stops/ https://news.stanford.edu/2020/05/05/veil-darkness-reduces-r...) There's also the fact that the scary "normal cops being executed by unhinged drivers" scenario is a vanishingly rare scenario. The rate of murders of police officers matches roughly the rate in the general population. https://www.newsweek.com/it-has-never-been-safer-be-cop-372025 https://www.newsweek.com/it-has-never-been-safer-be-cop-3720...

NoOneNew 6y ago
Dont persue? Dude the reason the cat with the warrant hasn't been caught is because they dont show up to their known residence. They are EVADING. Their home isnt a safe space from warrants. You just effectively nullified the entire reason to have a warrant out for someone's arrest, let alone reason for bail so someone shows up to court. And no, it's not safer in the sense they aren't shot. Body armor has gotten better and the likelihood of surviving a few rounds to the chest has gone up. The shootings haven't changed, just the body armor. Get out of your sick fantasy world. Better yet, go be a cop to help reform. See for yourself before you think you have an opinion.
- TeaDrunk 6y ago
  > Better yet, go be a cop to help reform. See for yourself before you think you have an opinion. Cops who attempt to turn in bad cops get fucked up by other cops, so this is a no-go. Otherwise I generally agree with your point that not checking for warrants has a really bad consequence of potentially letting go of people who have warrants out for committing heinous, heinous crimes. (Admittedly, often times cops have let go of people during traffic stops without checking for warrants. Several serial killers for example.)
daenz 6y ago
> The rate of murders of police officers matches roughly the rate in the general population. And they wear body armor, can call for backup, and can engage threats with deadly force. I would imagine a job with those tactical advantages would have a much much lower murder rate than the general population.

krastanov 6y ago

Of course it should not! Traffic stops should not be a dragnet.

throwaway201103 6y ago
OK, so then you're going to have some explaining to do when someone with a warrant commits another violent crime, and it turns out that the week prior he was pulled over for some traffic violation and was let go.
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  If only we had a similar expectation of "explaining to do" when the opposite happens, and an innocent person winds up dead because of an armed traffic stop? Philando Castile serves as a good example.
  - throwaway201103 6y ago
    Well, since there was an investigation, criminal charges, and a jury trial, it sounds like it was "explained" as much as our system is capable of.
    - ceejayoz 6y ago
      Given that the cop was acquitted of all charges, perhaps the system should be capable of more here?
      - throwaway201103 6y ago
        Maybe so. Neither you nor I were on the jury though. We don't just get to ignore a jury decision and impose our own personal justice because from the outside it doesn't seem fair. There were two blacks on the jury, according to what I read on Wikipedia.
  - daenz 6y ago
    This is a really bad faith response. Truthfully, out of all the traffic stops, which do you think happens at a higher rate: instances like Philando Castile, or instances where someone pulled over has a warrant for a violent crime and goes on to commit more violent crime? If you have to stop and think about it for an extended amount of time, then to me, that suggests you have a strong bias in one direction.