4 ms·

U.S police corruption and cases of brutality are very real, but the scope of criminal collusion, violence, kidnapping and other awful things among police in Mex

U.S police corruption and cases of brutality are very real, but the scope of criminal collusion, violence, kidnapping and other awful things among police in Mexico are on a completely different scale of danger to residents. Your whataboutism is absurd in general and badly lacks context. If you call the police in the U.S. because of a crime or threat against you, chances are overwhelmingly large that they will at least try to do their job. In Mexico, there is a constant, active threat of the police being the people who commit crimes or vigorously cooperate with criminal groups. Never mind their actually bothering to effectively handle a call for help form the public.

femiagbabiaka 4y ago
I have no doubt that this is the case, or rather, no proof that it is not, but all of the things you’ve described are paralleled in U.S. police departments. I wonder if in Mexico as in the U.S. the responsiveness and trustworthiness of police is not highly dependent on where you live and how much money you have.
- bsedlm 4y ago
  do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? in mexico we do, the police are as likely to rob you as any criminal. though it's not technically a robbery, it's actually extortion; they look to create a scenario in which they can extort a bribe out of you; i.e. they try to get you to bribe them (to the point that if you are willing to waste the rest of your day and go the the 'police station' they often just drop it and let you off with "a warning"). it's essentially same as a robbery but they're wearing uniforms.
  - s5300 4y ago
    > do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? BS civil forfeiture cases are pretty common.
    - whatshisface 4y ago
      It is common to read about them in the news, not as common to have one happen to you. In countries with a lot of corruption, police stealing from you is something you plan for day-to-day, not an abstract civil rights concern that you have to deal with to stay away from the former situation.
  - femiagbabiaka 4y ago
    I’ve had money stolen from me by police before, but admittedly my life experiences are not the norm in the U.S. (AfAm, involved in protest movements)
  - ruined 4y ago
    there is a wide spectrum of experience at the hands of police, mostly distributed along class and racial lines. many people in the US fear being robbed by the police, many fear being assaulted and killed, but most of the people here on this website will not fear or experience those things.
  - jjav 4y ago
    > do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? Yes. The only difference is that in the US they give it a legal-sounding name of civil forfeiture and the courts protect them.
- helloworld11 4y ago
  Nothing I said denies the danger of corruption among U.S. police, but truly, as someone who has lived in Mexico since nearly two decades ago, I can concretely, with no doubt in my mind say that police departments and officers down here (as well as the military, though to a lesser extent) regularly, actively engage in levels of corruption, violence, criminal collusion and ineptitud that would put American police to shame even at some of their worst. If you're an American resident, you really don't know of the privilege you have, even with your police at their most mediocre. Sure, they could improve enormously and some departments or officers are deeply, dangerously corrupt, but for the most part, in most places, they're at least not actively criminal in their conduct. Here they are, with rare exceptions to the contrary, even for very basic public security responsibilities. Just two weeks ago in my city a woman known to my circle of friends was beaten and threatened with murder for no reason other than parking next to a patrol vehicle and being questioned by the officers about whether she'd been drinking or not (she hadn't, she was just on her way home and wanted to buy some snacks at a store). This isn't even close to an isolated case. It happens with a frequency that goes way beyond the typical among U.S. police departments of any kind.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - helloworld11 4y ago
    For a basic metric of police performance, just look at the comparative metrics of homicide resolution among U.S. police vs. their southern counterparts. In the U.S it sits at a not so great 61.6 percent, including non-negligent manslaughter. Even if we account for cases of police framing of innocent suspects, the number is inside modestly normal ranges. In Mexico, the homicide clearance rate is at less than 2%, and this includes many cases where police simply torture or frame someone into confessing something they had nothing to do with. This isn't to shit on Mexico, I love this country in many ways and police corruption is equal or worse in many other countries, but perspective is important if you're living in the U.S.

femiagbabiaka 4y ago

I have no doubt that this is the case, or rather, no proof that it is not, but all of the things you’ve described are paralleled in U.S. police departments. I wonder if in Mexico as in the U.S. the responsiveness and trustworthiness of police is not highly dependent on where you live and how much money you have.

bsedlm 4y ago
do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? in mexico we do, the police are as likely to rob you as any criminal. though it's not technically a robbery, it's actually extortion; they look to create a scenario in which they can extort a bribe out of you; i.e. they try to get you to bribe them (to the point that if you are willing to waste the rest of your day and go the the 'police station' they often just drop it and let you off with "a warning"). it's essentially same as a robbery but they're wearing uniforms.
- s5300 4y ago
  > do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? BS civil forfeiture cases are pretty common.
  - whatshisface 4y ago
    It is common to read about them in the news, not as common to have one happen to you. In countries with a lot of corruption, police stealing from you is something you plan for day-to-day, not an abstract civil rights concern that you have to deal with to stay away from the former situation.
- femiagbabiaka 4y ago
  I’ve had money stolen from me by police before, but admittedly my life experiences are not the norm in the U.S. (AfAm, involved in protest movements)
- ruined 4y ago
  there is a wide spectrum of experience at the hands of police, mostly distributed along class and racial lines. many people in the US fear being robbed by the police, many fear being assaulted and killed, but most of the people here on this website will not fear or experience those things.
- jjav 4y ago
  > do you ever worry about being robbed by the police in the USA? Yes. The only difference is that in the US they give it a legal-sounding name of civil forfeiture and the courts protect them.
helloworld11 4y ago
Nothing I said denies the danger of corruption among U.S. police, but truly, as someone who has lived in Mexico since nearly two decades ago, I can concretely, with no doubt in my mind say that police departments and officers down here (as well as the military, though to a lesser extent) regularly, actively engage in levels of corruption, violence, criminal collusion and ineptitud that would put American police to shame even at some of their worst. If you're an American resident, you really don't know of the privilege you have, even with your police at their most mediocre. Sure, they could improve enormously and some departments or officers are deeply, dangerously corrupt, but for the most part, in most places, they're at least not actively criminal in their conduct. Here they are, with rare exceptions to the contrary, even for very basic public security responsibilities. Just two weeks ago in my city a woman known to my circle of friends was beaten and threatened with murder for no reason other than parking next to a patrol vehicle and being questioned by the officers about whether she'd been drinking or not (she hadn't, she was just on her way home and wanted to buy some snacks at a store). This isn't even close to an isolated case. It happens with a frequency that goes way beyond the typical among U.S. police departments of any kind.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- helloworld11 4y ago
  For a basic metric of police performance, just look at the comparative metrics of homicide resolution among U.S. police vs. their southern counterparts. In the U.S it sits at a not so great 61.6 percent, including non-negligent manslaughter. Even if we account for cases of police framing of innocent suspects, the number is inside modestly normal ranges. In Mexico, the homicide clearance rate is at less than 2%, and this includes many cases where police simply torture or frame someone into confessing something they had nothing to do with. This isn't to shit on Mexico, I love this country in many ways and police corruption is equal or worse in many other countries, but perspective is important if you're living in the U.S.