4 ms·

> In one case, law enforcement didn't pay their bill, resulting in the person being wiretapped having the wiretap connection show up on their bill, blowing the

> In one case, law enforcement didn't pay their bill, resulting in the person being wiretapped having the wiretap connection show up on their bill, blowing the case. In the fictional world of The Wire, one of the "wires" were blown when the guy checked on his mobile bill to find out his account was flagged to not be disconnected. I'm sure this was art imitating life or inspired by type of thing

inigyou 2mo ago
The Wire is allegedly one of the more realistic crime shows in how incompetent it portrays the police.
- semiquaver 2mo ago
  You’re doing my boy McNulty dirty.
  - Henchman21 2mo ago
    At least they’re not drinking Protestant whisky
    - dylan604 2mo ago
      That's the kind of thing that makes you wake up in the wrong town.
- walrus01 2mo ago
  That, and the alcoholism
- newsomix9xl 2mo ago
  In their defense their target was amazingly adept. Many criminals even today don't engage in basic counter measures like you see on that show. And I'd call them "dysfunctional" more than inept. Bad leadership stymied by political goals overcomes even good policing.
  - Lord-Jobo 2mo ago
    Criminals with competence still operate in big numbers today, but LE very rarely targets them. The soft targets are just so abundant and easy, and the LE incentive system does not reward choosing hard targets at all. Doesn’t help that a big chunk of the competent criminals have fully or partially internationalized their operations which acts as a very strong shield against LE.
    - cindyllm 2mo ago
      [dead]
    - leonidasrup 2mo ago
      "According to political scientist Marie Gottschalk of the University of Pennsylvania, since the 1970s while the prison population of the United States was rapidly increasing as the U.S. was targeting mostly poor and working class people by harshly punishing street crimes, drug crimes and immigration offenses, there was a simultaneous mass deregulation and decriminalization of white collar and corporate crime "despite a tsunami of elite-level criminal activities by leading banks, accounting firms and major corporations." Sociologist Loïc Wacquant writes that during this time period neoliberalism has not shrunk government but instead set up a "centaur state" with little governmental oversight for those at the top and strict control of those at the bottom." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_collar_crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_collar_crime
      - newsomix9xl 2mo ago
        This is a very high level "class war" analysis by academics that suggests that the poor are being oppressed while the rich go free. It's a nice morality tale, and I'm sure there are instances where it is absolutely true. But that it is true as a rule, or even that they are comparable levels of analysis (one are "white collar" crimes and the parallel would be "blue collar" crimes, no? But street crimes and immigration offenses aren't working mans crimes - these are "no collar" crimes: anyone can commit an immigration offense, even rich people. And street crimes are often drug driven. This analysis by Gottschalk and Wacquant suggests a "conspiracy" tone within a class war context. I would want to know if they didn't have some class war bias in their analysis before I accept their analysis from authority without examination.
- thisoneisreal 2mo ago
  It was created by a journalist and a cop, who both had long careers in Baltimore before working on the show. Not surprising how realistic it is. (Also a beautiful work of art beyond the realism.) If you find the show interesting, David Simon's book "Homicide" is a great read.
  - pimeys 2mo ago
    And a few of his other series, such as Treme, The Deuce, and Generation Kill are all fantastic.
  - mrbombastic 2mo ago
    "The Corner" is also a great read by him.
- Lord-Jobo 2mo ago
  Digital forensics examiner here; it’s extremely accurate especially for the tech involved at the time. I think I spotted a very small handful of things it had to kick under a rug for the plot to work, which is unbelievably small for a show like that. It’s easily the best LE show that exists, but not just because of its accuracy; it’s incredible in its pure honesty. Some of the cops are total worthless shit bags, worse than the best of the criminals easily. Allowing that overlap, one that exists in real life, injects a whole lot of nuance into the story that is basically nonexistent outside of the show. And allows characters to grow and improve. It takes writers with actual LE experience (which they had) and a lot of talent to write that kind of thing without totally blowing it.
  - leoqa 2mo ago
    I’m interested in forensics, is it worth getting a cert? I barely see jobs show up on USAJOBs in the Bay Area, do you have any recs on finding roles?
- fitsumbelay 2mo ago
  Perspective shift: whether positive or negative, have there ever really been any unapproved, rogue media portrayals of law enforcement?
  - Animats 2mo ago
    "Training Day"
Ccecil 2mo ago
Never watched the wire...but I remember back 25+ years ago some people joking about not paying their phone bill to see if the phone was tapped. They claimed that since it never got shut off when they didn't pay it must be tapped. Possibly correct I suppose...
DANmode 2mo ago
Or that bit wasn’t true to begin with. The billing accounts never would have crossed the same desk, let alone been crossed. The lines also weren’t terminated at the suspects’ homes. So, again, no vector for the bill to be sent there. I’d lean towards “myth” on that - until a more convincing story appears.
- TZubiri 2mo ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics)

inigyou 2mo ago

The Wire is allegedly one of the more realistic crime shows in how incompetent it portrays the police.

semiquaver 2mo ago
You’re doing my boy McNulty dirty.
- Henchman21 2mo ago
  At least they’re not drinking Protestant whisky
  - dylan604 2mo ago
    That's the kind of thing that makes you wake up in the wrong town.
walrus01 2mo ago
That, and the alcoholism
newsomix9xl 2mo ago
In their defense their target was amazingly adept. Many criminals even today don't engage in basic counter measures like you see on that show. And I'd call them "dysfunctional" more than inept. Bad leadership stymied by political goals overcomes even good policing.
- Lord-Jobo 2mo ago
  Criminals with competence still operate in big numbers today, but LE very rarely targets them. The soft targets are just so abundant and easy, and the LE incentive system does not reward choosing hard targets at all. Doesn’t help that a big chunk of the competent criminals have fully or partially internationalized their operations which acts as a very strong shield against LE.
  - cindyllm 2mo ago
    [dead]
  - leonidasrup 2mo ago
    "According to political scientist Marie Gottschalk of the University of Pennsylvania, since the 1970s while the prison population of the United States was rapidly increasing as the U.S. was targeting mostly poor and working class people by harshly punishing street crimes, drug crimes and immigration offenses, there was a simultaneous mass deregulation and decriminalization of white collar and corporate crime "despite a tsunami of elite-level criminal activities by leading banks, accounting firms and major corporations." Sociologist Loïc Wacquant writes that during this time period neoliberalism has not shrunk government but instead set up a "centaur state" with little governmental oversight for those at the top and strict control of those at the bottom." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_collar_crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_collar_crime
    - newsomix9xl 2mo ago
      This is a very high level "class war" analysis by academics that suggests that the poor are being oppressed while the rich go free. It's a nice morality tale, and I'm sure there are instances where it is absolutely true. But that it is true as a rule, or even that they are comparable levels of analysis (one are "white collar" crimes and the parallel would be "blue collar" crimes, no? But street crimes and immigration offenses aren't working mans crimes - these are "no collar" crimes: anyone can commit an immigration offense, even rich people. And street crimes are often drug driven. This analysis by Gottschalk and Wacquant suggests a "conspiracy" tone within a class war context. I would want to know if they didn't have some class war bias in their analysis before I accept their analysis from authority without examination.
thisoneisreal 2mo ago
It was created by a journalist and a cop, who both had long careers in Baltimore before working on the show. Not surprising how realistic it is. (Also a beautiful work of art beyond the realism.) If you find the show interesting, David Simon's book "Homicide" is a great read.
- pimeys 2mo ago
  And a few of his other series, such as Treme, The Deuce, and Generation Kill are all fantastic.
- mrbombastic 2mo ago
  "The Corner" is also a great read by him.
Lord-Jobo 2mo ago
Digital forensics examiner here; it’s extremely accurate especially for the tech involved at the time. I think I spotted a very small handful of things it had to kick under a rug for the plot to work, which is unbelievably small for a show like that. It’s easily the best LE show that exists, but not just because of its accuracy; it’s incredible in its pure honesty. Some of the cops are total worthless shit bags, worse than the best of the criminals easily. Allowing that overlap, one that exists in real life, injects a whole lot of nuance into the story that is basically nonexistent outside of the show. And allows characters to grow and improve. It takes writers with actual LE experience (which they had) and a lot of talent to write that kind of thing without totally blowing it.
- leoqa 2mo ago
  I’m interested in forensics, is it worth getting a cert? I barely see jobs show up on USAJOBs in the Bay Area, do you have any recs on finding roles?
fitsumbelay 2mo ago
Perspective shift: whether positive or negative, have there ever really been any unapproved, rogue media portrayals of law enforcement?
- Animats 2mo ago
  "Training Day"

Ccecil 2mo ago

Never watched the wire...but I remember back 25+ years ago some people joking about not paying their phone bill to see if the phone was tapped. They claimed that since it never got shut off when they didn't pay it must be tapped. Possibly correct I suppose...

DANmode 2mo ago

Or that bit wasn’t true to begin with. The billing accounts never would have crossed the same desk, let alone been crossed. The lines also weren’t terminated at the suspects’ homes. So, again, no vector for the bill to be sent there. I’d lean towards “myth” on that - until a more convincing story appears.

TZubiri 2mo ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics)