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"Only the stupid".. what about " the desperate" instead? I believe many may engage in illegal activities because their situation (be it financial or otherwise)

"Only the stupid".. what about " the desperate" instead? I believe many may engage in illegal activities because their situation (be it financial or otherwise) is so dire that they themselves see no other option (even if there are options). Most petty crime is not orchestrated by some super intelligent super criminal like depicted in a heist movie.

sudhirj 3y ago
Stealing bread to feed your starving family is one thing, planning a heist doesn’t feel like the same thing. Isn’t shoplifting not really the kind of case for which Google data would be requested?
hilbert42 3y ago
"Most petty crime is not orchestrated by some super intelligent super criminal like depicted in a heist movie." Right, that's the problem, it's why strict safeguards have to apply. Given half a chance law enforcement would welcome a real-time connection to Google's location data. If it ever reaches that stage then we'd be in Orwell's world.
arghwhat 3y ago
Note that desperation does not preclude a degree of planning, nor does intelligence rule out desperation. Considering how long phone tracking has been part of movies about crime, I imagine "turn off your phone" would be in the same category as "don't leave blood stains", "don't fire a traceable fire-arm", etc. ... But maybe we should try to avoid accidentally making this thread read like a how-to for committing crime.
- hilbert42 3y ago
  Agreed, but it's curious it's still so effective. Perhaps much of the population thinks differently to many posting here and law enforcement relies on this.
- sureglymop 3y ago
  I agree, funnily enough though a period where the phone is turned off may be used to prosecute if there is otherwise a consistent location history. Planning aside, it's actually a hard challenge so I still personally think most criminals probably don't intelligently overcome it.

sudhirj 3y ago

Stealing bread to feed your starving family is one thing, planning a heist doesn’t feel like the same thing. Isn’t shoplifting not really the kind of case for which Google data would be requested?

hilbert42 3y ago

"Most petty crime is not orchestrated by some super intelligent super criminal like depicted in a heist movie." Right, that's the problem, it's why strict safeguards have to apply. Given half a chance law enforcement would welcome a real-time connection to Google's location data. If it ever reaches that stage then we'd be in Orwell's world.

arghwhat 3y ago

Note that desperation does not preclude a degree of planning, nor does intelligence rule out desperation. Considering how long phone tracking has been part of movies about crime, I imagine "turn off your phone" would be in the same category as "don't leave blood stains", "don't fire a traceable fire-arm", etc. ... But maybe we should try to avoid accidentally making this thread read like a how-to for committing crime.

hilbert42 3y ago
Agreed, but it's curious it's still so effective. Perhaps much of the population thinks differently to many posting here and law enforcement relies on this.
sureglymop 3y ago
I agree, funnily enough though a period where the phone is turned off may be used to prosecute if there is otherwise a consistent location history. Planning aside, it's actually a hard challenge so I still personally think most criminals probably don't intelligently overcome it.