5 ms·

The BBC does not have any discretion over who is prosecuted for a crime though. They can give their opinion but it's up to the police. So a public promise doe

The BBC does not have any discretion over who is prosecuted for a crime though. They can give their opinion but it's up to the police. So a public promise doesn't actually hold any weight.

justinclift 3y ago
Someone would have to tell the police about it though.
fingerlocks 3y ago
They don’t? In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something. Is that not the case in the UK? Can you be charged because the DA read about a hypothetical crime in the bews?
- crooked-v 3y ago
  You can absolutely be arrested and charged for that in the US. The police just generally don't because failure in court is nigh-guaranteed with an uncooperative key witness.
  - fingerlocks 3y ago
    Yeah, sure, you can be arrested for anything or nothing at all. Sorry I wasn’t clear. Do you have any examples of charges and convictions on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good or service from an owner? Or are we just being pedantic?
    - crooked-v 3y ago
      Well, sure, here's a quick example of an uncooperative victim and the state attempting (and in this case failing) to prosecute on robbery charges anyway: https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/crime/2009/03/21/witnesses-stay-silent-robbery-case/64982425007/ https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/crime/2009/03/21/...
      - fingerlocks 3y ago
        “charges and convictions” was not an inclusive-or statement
        ummonk 3y ago
        You claimed “In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something.” Then you shifted the goalposts to “charges and convictions”.
        fingerlocks 3y ago
        Yes I did. Which I clarified because a pedantic ball flew over the first goal post.
        staticman2 3y ago
        You asked "Do you have any examples of charges and convictions on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good or service from an owner?" The real question is do you have an example of a judge ruling that someone can't be charged and convicted on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good and service from an owner? Because I'm pretty sure you are wrong. If you were correct about your belief, I'm sure you can find an example of someone charged with murder and theft, and the theft charges being thrown out because the victim is unavailable to say something was stolen. I guess in your imagination I can steal money from the wallet of a person in a coma in front of a cop, and get off scot free, since the victim can't testify against me?
        fingerlocks 3y ago
        No, because you stole in front of a cop. If you stole from a comatose person in the witness of non-cop, and that non-cop has authority of agency over the comatose, they can can press charges and you can be arrested. Does that help?
- CamperBob2 3y ago
  In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something. Not sure it was that simple in, for example, the case where Aaron Swartz 'stole' articles from JSTOR. JSTOR declined to press charges, but the prosecutor went berserk with self-righteous bloodlust, and well, we all know how that turned out.
  - fingerlocks 3y ago
    He was not charged with theft.
gwern 3y ago
A public promise holds plenty of weight - assuming it's legal in the UK for some police busybody to prosecute on the BBC's behalf without the BBC's consent, it is nevertheless hard to prosecute a crime when your 'victim' is strenuously criticizing you publicly for it and refusing to cooperate. And if you were right that it was so easy and meant so little, then all the more reason to make that public promise, no?

The BBC does not have any discretion over who is prosecuted for a crime though. They can give their opinion but it's up to the police. So a public promise doesn't actually hold any weight.

justinclift 3y ago

Someone would have to tell the police about it though.

fingerlocks 3y ago

They don’t? In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something. Is that not the case in the UK? Can you be charged because the DA read about a hypothetical crime in the bews?

crooked-v 3y ago
You can absolutely be arrested and charged for that in the US. The police just generally don't because failure in court is nigh-guaranteed with an uncooperative key witness.
- fingerlocks 3y ago
  Yeah, sure, you can be arrested for anything or nothing at all. Sorry I wasn’t clear. Do you have any examples of charges and convictions on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good or service from an owner? Or are we just being pedantic?
  - crooked-v 3y ago
    Well, sure, here's a quick example of an uncooperative victim and the state attempting (and in this case failing) to prosecute on robbery charges anyway: https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/crime/2009/03/21/witnesses-stay-silent-robbery-case/64982425007/ https://www.norwichbulletin.com/story/news/crime/2009/03/21/...
    - fingerlocks 3y ago
      “charges and convictions” was not an inclusive-or statement
      - ummonk 3y ago
        You claimed “In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something.” Then you shifted the goalposts to “charges and convictions”.
        fingerlocks 3y ago
        Yes I did. Which I clarified because a pedantic ball flew over the first goal post.
        staticman2 3y ago
        You asked "Do you have any examples of charges and convictions on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good or service from an owner?" The real question is do you have an example of a judge ruling that someone can't be charged and convicted on theft without a prior claim of deprivation to a good and service from an owner? Because I'm pretty sure you are wrong. If you were correct about your belief, I'm sure you can find an example of someone charged with murder and theft, and the theft charges being thrown out because the victim is unavailable to say something was stolen. I guess in your imagination I can steal money from the wallet of a person in a coma in front of a cop, and get off scot free, since the victim can't testify against me?
        fingerlocks 3y ago
        No, because you stole in front of a cop. If you stole from a comatose person in the witness of non-cop, and that non-cop has authority of agency over the comatose, they can can press charges and you can be arrested. Does that help?
CamperBob2 3y ago
In the United States you can’t be arrested and charged with theft without the owner claiming you actually stole something. Not sure it was that simple in, for example, the case where Aaron Swartz 'stole' articles from JSTOR. JSTOR declined to press charges, but the prosecutor went berserk with self-righteous bloodlust, and well, we all know how that turned out.
- fingerlocks 3y ago
  He was not charged with theft.

gwern 3y ago

A public promise holds plenty of weight - assuming it's legal in the UK for some police busybody to prosecute on the BBC's behalf without the BBC's consent, it is nevertheless hard to prosecute a crime when your 'victim' is strenuously criticizing you publicly for it and refusing to cooperate. And if you were right that it was so easy and meant so little, then all the more reason to make that public promise, no?