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police are also known to intentionally downgrade or even discourage crime reports to improve statistics. this can either be overt ("do you really want to file a

police are also known to intentionally downgrade or even discourage crime reports to improve statistics. this can either be overt ("do you really want to file a report for that?) or the result of no one giving a fuck the last time you bothered to report a crime. I'm sure there are a lot of misunderstandings or flat-out fabrications that make it onto citizen. I'm also quite certain there are a lot of crimes that are observed but don't get officially documented. maybe this is a wild thing to say, but I'm actually not 100% sure who I trust less between official police records and random community members.

ClumsyPilot 5y ago
Police is meant to use reasonable discresion, or our crime statistics will drown in jaywalking and antisocial behaviour
- leetcrew 5y ago
  I don't agree. police should use discretion when deciding whether to make an arrest or write a ticket, and prosecutors should use discretion when deciding which cases to prosecute. we don't need to aggressively seek penalties for jaywalkers. but the crime statistics should represent, as accurately as possible, the actual amount of crime that occurs. otherwise, what is the point?
  - joe_the_user 5y ago
    but the crime statistics should represent, as accurately as possible, the actual amount of crime that occurs.otherwise, what is the point? Crime statistics are somewhat arbitrary and pointless. A large amount of things considered crimes, including things that are sometimes prosecuted, are "in the eye of the beholder". A significant portion of prosecutions involve interpersonal conflicts that slowly escalated. It's very to say when the threshold of crime starts given that American laws are quite flexible. The crime of "riot" is a group of people wandering around in a fashion that makes other people feel unsafe. Disorderly conduct includes being at a place of business without intending to make a purpose. People sometimes good to jail for such. But given you also have, in this fine nation, a population of people ready to scream and call the cops about just about anything, if you record every single thing that these people report, you'll have a certified stream of garbage. The thing is, while crime statistics are indeed somewhat arbitrary, they are sort of intended to be "how unsafe does the average person actually feel" which is different than "how unsafe does the occasional angry wingnut feel?" Moreover, this nation counts among it's citizen

ClumsyPilot 5y ago

Police is meant to use reasonable discresion, or our crime statistics will drown in jaywalking and antisocial behaviour

leetcrew 5y ago
I don't agree. police should use discretion when deciding whether to make an arrest or write a ticket, and prosecutors should use discretion when deciding which cases to prosecute. we don't need to aggressively seek penalties for jaywalkers. but the crime statistics should represent, as accurately as possible, the actual amount of crime that occurs. otherwise, what is the point?
- joe_the_user 5y ago
  but the crime statistics should represent, as accurately as possible, the actual amount of crime that occurs.otherwise, what is the point? Crime statistics are somewhat arbitrary and pointless. A large amount of things considered crimes, including things that are sometimes prosecuted, are "in the eye of the beholder". A significant portion of prosecutions involve interpersonal conflicts that slowly escalated. It's very to say when the threshold of crime starts given that American laws are quite flexible. The crime of "riot" is a group of people wandering around in a fashion that makes other people feel unsafe. Disorderly conduct includes being at a place of business without intending to make a purpose. People sometimes good to jail for such. But given you also have, in this fine nation, a population of people ready to scream and call the cops about just about anything, if you record every single thing that these people report, you'll have a certified stream of garbage. The thing is, while crime statistics are indeed somewhat arbitrary, they are sort of intended to be "how unsafe does the average person actually feel" which is different than "how unsafe does the occasional angry wingnut feel?" Moreover, this nation counts among it's citizen