Yeah, but the post I'm replying to suggests that police are demoralized when the original charge is not what prosecutors actually bring in court. Ultimately, t

Yeah, but the post I'm replying to suggests that police are demoralized when the original charge is not what prosecutors actually bring in court. Ultimately, the prosecutor needs a charge that they can prosecute (get a plea bargain, or convince 12 peers of the defendant) and I think the cops understand that. In the case of Capone, it was just easier to prosecute tax evasion; "here's his bank balance, here's the tax we think is due, here's the tax he paid". In the case of shoplifting, plea-ing out a misdemeanor is probably easier than convincing a jury of a felony charge. Like, all they probably have is a grainy video of the suspect. Are you convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that that's the person sitting in the defendant's chair? If one juror thinks "no, I'm not sure", then everyone who commited the crime goes free. Also, realistically, $950 shouldn't be the threshold between a felony and a misdemeanor. That can't be a number that was adjusted for inflation. $950 isn't much money these days.