2 ms·

I'm aware that someone jumping off a balcony under their own steam could theoretically be a murder or manslaughter case. My point is that we don't know if anyth

by foldr 3y ago

I'm aware that someone jumping off a balcony under their own steam could theoretically be a murder or manslaughter case. My point is that we don't know if anything like that actually happened here. If there is no prospect of proving beyond reasonable doubt that it did, then there is not much for the police to do. It's a sad and frustrating situation for the family. But the police are not Miss Marple; their job is to catch criminals, not solve mysteries.

seabass-labrax 3y ago
He might not be the sharpest mind in St. Mary Mead, but Inspector Slack certainly does his fair share of mystery-solving as a police officer. On a serious point though, I think there is some value in purely investigative work by the police even when there's no prospect of a successful prosecution. Unusual cases might lead to better insights into things that affect many more people: revealing well-hidden criminal gangs for instance. Even if the police can't pin the guilt on a specific suspect or accidental cause, the result of an investigation might simply be better public awareness of a risk, which is a good thing.
- 15457345234 3y ago
  > there is some value in purely investigative work by the police Simply knowing that every 'mysterious' death will be thoroughly and exhaustively investigated is a massive deterrent to just wiping out your enemies as happens so commonly in many places that have no form of homicide / cold case department.
15457345234 3y ago
Oddly... well, just odd sentiment. The job of the police is to preserve order and accord. That includes investigating, thorougly, mysteries, especially mysteries that involve people jumping off balconies. To avoid a scenario where 'clever people' wander around the country leaving a trail of bodies in their wake because they keep covering their tracks effectively. Seems odd to suggest so firmly and decisively 'oh well too bad so sad, not a police matter, let's move on!' especially given the way the other relevant parties are described to have behaved.
- foldr 3y ago
  From a practical point of view, the police in the UK are far too starved of resources to investigate mysteries where there is no realistic prospect of prosecuting anyone for a crime. To do this would require dropping higher priority investigations. I also think that it would be overreach for the police to do this kind of thing. The UK is not a police state (in theory at least). The police have no business investigating anyone who they don’t suspect of having committed a crime. In this case, of course, there were reasonable grounds for suspicion and so there was an initial investigation. However, once it became clear that there was no realistic prospect of proving that anyone in the apartment was legally responsible for the young man’s death, there was nothing for the police to do. It's easy to get sucked in by the fascinating story told in the article and forget that legally speaking almost everything turns on the last few minutes before the man jumped – about which we know almost nothing. If he didn't jump in response to an imminent threat to his life, then good luck making any kind of criminal case. >To avoid a scenario where 'clever people' wander around the country leaving a trail of bodies in their wake because they keep covering their tracks effectively. In this case the only person who could realistically be guilty of murder or manslaughter (Sharma) is now dead. So we need not fear that he will kill again.
  - curtisblaine 3y ago
    It always strikes me as odd why they're too starved to investigate unexplained deaths but at the same time they're not too starved to investigate misgendering tweets[1]. There are two explanations I can offer: - misgendering tweets are more important than unexplained deaths - police would be less starved if they allocated their priorities better 1 - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-47638527 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-47638527
    - sparks1970 3y ago
      Don't entirely disagree but the investigation of misgendering tweets most likely doesn't need anyone to actually leave a desk so a "thorough investigation" sounds like the police are doing a lot but really it's a bit of clicking and scrolling. To claim the same level of effort for an unexplained death would take a LOT more effort and expertise - but if (I don't know) they are weighted the same in crime statistics the police are going to go for these easy wins all day long.

by foldr 3y ago

seabass-labrax 3y ago

He might not be the sharpest mind in St. Mary Mead, but Inspector Slack certainly does his fair share of mystery-solving as a police officer. On a serious point though, I think there is some value in purely investigative work by the police even when there's no prospect of a successful prosecution. Unusual cases might lead to better insights into things that affect many more people: revealing well-hidden criminal gangs for instance. Even if the police can't pin the guilt on a specific suspect or accidental cause, the result of an investigation might simply be better public awareness of a risk, which is a good thing.

15457345234 3y ago
> there is some value in purely investigative work by the police Simply knowing that every 'mysterious' death will be thoroughly and exhaustively investigated is a massive deterrent to just wiping out your enemies as happens so commonly in many places that have no form of homicide / cold case department.

15457345234 3y ago

Oddly... well, just odd sentiment. The job of the police is to preserve order and accord. That includes investigating, thorougly, mysteries, especially mysteries that involve people jumping off balconies. To avoid a scenario where 'clever people' wander around the country leaving a trail of bodies in their wake because they keep covering their tracks effectively. Seems odd to suggest so firmly and decisively 'oh well too bad so sad, not a police matter, let's move on!' especially given the way the other relevant parties are described to have behaved.

foldr 3y ago
From a practical point of view, the police in the UK are far too starved of resources to investigate mysteries where there is no realistic prospect of prosecuting anyone for a crime. To do this would require dropping higher priority investigations. I also think that it would be overreach for the police to do this kind of thing. The UK is not a police state (in theory at least). The police have no business investigating anyone who they don’t suspect of having committed a crime. In this case, of course, there were reasonable grounds for suspicion and so there was an initial investigation. However, once it became clear that there was no realistic prospect of proving that anyone in the apartment was legally responsible for the young man’s death, there was nothing for the police to do. It's easy to get sucked in by the fascinating story told in the article and forget that legally speaking almost everything turns on the last few minutes before the man jumped – about which we know almost nothing. If he didn't jump in response to an imminent threat to his life, then good luck making any kind of criminal case. >To avoid a scenario where 'clever people' wander around the country leaving a trail of bodies in their wake because they keep covering their tracks effectively. In this case the only person who could realistically be guilty of murder or manslaughter (Sharma) is now dead. So we need not fear that he will kill again.
- curtisblaine 3y ago
  It always strikes me as odd why they're too starved to investigate unexplained deaths but at the same time they're not too starved to investigate misgendering tweets[1]. There are two explanations I can offer: - misgendering tweets are more important than unexplained deaths - police would be less starved if they allocated their priorities better 1 - https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-47638527 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-47638527
  - sparks1970 3y ago
    Don't entirely disagree but the investigation of misgendering tweets most likely doesn't need anyone to actually leave a desk so a "thorough investigation" sounds like the police are doing a lot but really it's a bit of clicking and scrolling. To claim the same level of effort for an unexplained death would take a LOT more effort and expertise - but if (I don't know) they are weighted the same in crime statistics the police are going to go for these easy wins all day long.