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We should measure a police department response to reporting a stolen mobile device with active localization. How eager is the police to fight a real crime. I h

We should measure a police department response to reporting a stolen mobile device with active localization. How eager is the police to fight a real crime. I have a personal hypothesis that that some small locations depend too much on traffic fines and pay for productivity pluses. Most of those fines will be from outsiders. Probably it all started with an unexpected income, a proud politician announcing tax reductions and traffic fines become a real need for this location

wahnfrieden 3y ago
These are primarily pretext stops, not revenue generating ones. They profile based on their perceived likelihood of escalating to a more severe crime - that is, the crimes they're interested in pursuing with the people they're interested in. (If they actually prioritized crime severity, they would prioritize visibly rich business owners over the poverty-stricken or marginalized populations given that wage theft is by far the largest category of theft)
- halostatue 3y ago
  In the U.S., they mostly profile based on skin colour, even if they claim otherwise. (In Canada, it’s also mostly on skin colour, but depending on the region, they’re probably looking far more for Indigenous peoples, and it’s just as wrong as American policing.)
quickthrower2 3y ago
I remember someone on HN said (and I believe it) that in SF they wont come out for a burglary. Because there is too much more problematic crime than that.
drewbug01 3y ago
> I have a personal hypothesis that that some small locations depend too much on traffic fines Your personal hypothesis has substantial basis in fact: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-money-funding.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-m...