Topic: Your Thoughts.

[Ashman]

And my other wonder is....for all of long bladed weapons, why katana as a weapon of crime ? Why not a regular bastard sword (which I presume easier to get than an exotic Eastern bladed weapon)

Actually I do believe that it is easier to purchase exotic weapons, as they are more popular.

CM

[Captain Leonidas]

Actually I do believe that it is easier to purchase exotic weapons, as they are more popular.

But aren't most of them are replicas than real edged ones? I dunno, please enlighten a non Brit here.

Plus....what will a British cop do when they encounter ruffians with long edged weapons ? What countermeasure do they have at hand that they have should these people assault them ?

[Ashman]

But aren't most of them are replicas than real edged ones? I dunno, please enlighten a non Brit here.

Plus....what will a British cop do when they encounter ruffians with long edged weapons ? What countermeasure do they have at hand that they have should these people assault them ?

I have found many websites where you can purchase real edged Katana's and other exotic weapons. However, I have never tried to and so I do not know if you have to enter a registration ID or something in order to buy one.

And I do not know what the Police would do in that situation, as I am not a Policeman.

CM

[Brother Asreus]

Tazers and pepper spray come to mind. Both can be used at a distance to temporarily incapacitate a suspect until you can close with them and beat them within an inch of their lives for "resisting arrest"  . One of the advantages of not having the regular police officers carry guns, is if an officer is assaulted, they can't have their gun turned on them and then stolen. It makes for fewer guns on the streets and helps reduce the odds of it.

[chaos0xomega]

I don't think the Americans in L.A. Or New York,Florida infact many of the American states have a very effective police force and a good reputation to go with them.

The British Police force are next to useless. Many Britts will agree with that statement.



~Raven.

Watch what you're saying. I don't know about other states, but the NYPD is one of the best police forces around.

[RAVEN KRW]

And many Brits read The Sun....that doesn't make their opinions worth listening to.

And I certainly dont read the Sun let alone believe it. Niether does the majority of the Great British population.

I don't agree with the statement and I'm a Brit.
I have witnessed many instances of the usefulness of the British police wheras you cite one instance of uselessness to disparage the entire force.
Dizzy

So basically what your saying is. Its ok for another person male or female to enter some ones home attack that person and walk away free.
Where as the police are doing a good job of not turning up. And ignoring the matter by saying it has to happen more than three times before they'll actaully come out.

Well.
Correct me if I'm wrong but it certainly looks like you agree with that policy. Hmmm.

And I have witness many cases where the british especially Humberside police have failed to do their jobs.
This incident that has risen my back happened on the 21/09/06 thats this month three days ago.




@chaos0xomega I just realised Id missed out a word. Ouch I meant to say the have a very effective police for indeed.
Infact they have and L.A. have one of the most if not the most effective police force in the world. especially with their rapid responce time. So my appologise for typing the word don't instead of do. When I type i type that fast sometimes i forget to re-read what i've written before I post it.


~Raven.

[Ixe]

He didn't say any of those things.  Not a single one.  Please don't start a pointless fight by putting words into someone's mouth.  All he said was the Humberside force does sound crappy, but that they don't represent the whole british police force.  That sounds like a reasonable statement that doesn't deserve a flame for an answer.

[Brother Asreus]

Okay, let's tone it down a notch. While the police response in your area was ridiculous Raven, like it's been said, it's not the same everywhere. I'm sure it varies from city to city as it does here. The Ottawa Police for instance have a 97% case solve rate, but if ask someone in Peterborough what they think of the cops in their town, they probably say they suck. There's probably a lot of different factors that contribute to the poor police service in Hull, one of which can be easily poin pointed to one cause or another.

Have you lodged a formal complaint with the department? You may also want to contact your MP about this as well.

[The GrimSqueaker]

Since Los Angeles, New York, and Florida were mentioned. Are you talking about the City of Los Angeles or the county? New York City or New York State? You throw Florida in there, which as a state, makes the other two ambiguous. Next would be how are you basing this information. Primarily on response time from an emergency call, case closure rate, crime per capita?

As an aside, the LAPD (city) does not have a very good reputation. Brutality, corruption, racism, all the standards are there. NYPD have pulled themselves up and certainly have a better reputation than even ten years ago. Florida is too large to comment on at this time.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

Since Los Angeles, New York, and Florida were mentioned. Are you talking about the City of Los Angeles or the county? New York City or New York State? You throw Florida in there, which as a state, makes the other two ambiguous. Next would be how are you basing this information. Primarily on response time from an emergency call, case closure rate, crime per capita?

As an aside, the LAPD (city) does not have a very good reputation. Brutality, corruption, racism, all the standards are there. NYPD have pulled themselves up and certainly have a better reputation than even ten years ago. Florida is too large to comment on at this time.

Crime in New York has dropped a lot, but that doesn't mean that the police department are any good. The main reason for this phenomenon is the legalisation of abortion in the US

[The GrimSqueaker]

Crime in New York has dropped a lot, but that doesn't mean that the police department are any good. The main reason for this phenomenon is the legalisation of abortion in the US

Abortion has been legal for quite some time in the US Chuckles. Roe versus Wade was in 1973. I seriously doubt abortion was the main reason for crime in NY.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

Ah so the moment abortion was legalised crime rates would drop? I don't think so, it takes time for the effects to become apparent, as the next generation need several years to grow up. The drop in crime in the 90s was around 20 years after Roe v Wade, at which time the effects of legalised abortions would have finally become apparent.

[The GrimSqueaker]

So how are you isolating the crime drop from legal abortion compared to every other social and political factor of the time?

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I'm not. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I meant that abortion was the biggest single factor in the rather precipitous drop in crime.

[The GrimSqueaker]

I'm not. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I meant that abortion was the biggest single factor in the rather precipitous drop in crime.

I have no idea how you're going to prove that and considering the issues of crime versus poverty, abortion rates amongst different ethnic and social groups and there connections with crime rates, we'd all just end up making a huge mess of things with much ignorance and flaming.

HR - find out whether this three strikes rule is a local, regional, or national guideline. If it's small scale a decent amount of attention, such as notifying your MP, may help change it. If it's national then there should be numerous other cases where the near same situation has occurred.

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I don't have to prove it. It isn't my assertion after all, it's that of Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner in their book Freakonomics. Pick it up and you'll get a large summary of statistical analysis on the subject. However, it makes more sense than any other theory I've heard put forward as to the cause of the drop in crime.

[The GrimSqueaker]

I'll take your word for it as I'd rather continue reading "World War Z" than a book of dry economic and social theory. Just doesn't float my boat in the slightest. 

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I'll take your word for it as I'd rather continue reading "World War Z" than a book of dry economic and social theory. Just doesn't float my boat in the slightest. 

Freaknomics isn't dry in the slightest, it's a funny, interesting and at times startling book about how completely wrong the conventional wisdom can be. Just to give you an example of something the book looks at is why poor families name their children things like "amphetamine parrothead" (pronounced "Shuh-teed"). Another one is how precisely Sumo wrestlers and teachers are similar and why crack dealers still live with their parents. Give it a go, I promise you you won't find it dull.

[The GrimSqueaker]

A meta post

Sometimes the Discussion Board can be very evangelistic. Someone reads a book which they believe explains something or other. They then use this book as proof for discussions without actually stating the evidence within. The book itself is the proof and the burden of rebuttal goes to those who haven't read it. Usually I see this from those of the more conservative bend who like to rely on their favourite author to do their arguing for them while not actually understanding the argument or evidence at hand.

Which is no slight on Chuckles in this instance. I am merely pointing out that all sides of the coin do the same thing be it videos, books, podcasts, and the like. I generally ignore such advice to read the book or watch the movie if the person hasn't taken the time to actually explain what is within it as it pertains to the matter at hand. By explaining what they've read you can actually see if the person has understood what they've read rather than merely parroting it back. As with students, there's a big difference between reading the textbook and understanding it.

Again, no flame intended at Chuckles. This was just the most recent example of "read the book" syndrome. I've done it myself before.

All the same, I'm going to stick with "World War Z' as it has zombies in it. 

[Chuckles, The Space Marine Clown]

I'm well aware that a single book is not proof of anything, it usually needs corroborating by independent evidence. Nevertheless, I think it's a valid point that Giuliani's "Magical Solution" is a little too simplistic to explain the change in NY's crime rate, and that the rise in abortions in poor families may go a long way to explain this.

Which, on a broader riff in an attempt to get back to a semblance of on-topic, is a demonstration that the police force of any area has certain unavoidable limitations on their actions, and using these as a reason to accuse them of incompetence is a little OTT.