The Criminalization of Everyday Life

[Christa]

I spent 24 hours in the slammer the other day. My crime? Well, the police couldn’t tell me when they locked me up. The prosecutor and judge couldn’t either, when I was arraigned the following day. I found out for myself when I researched the matter a few days after being released: I had been cited for walking my dog off the leash – once, six years ago.

Welcome to the ugly underside of the zero-tolerance era, where insignificant rule violations get inflated into criminal infractions. Here’s how it worked with me: a gaggle of transit cops stopped me after they saw me walk between two subway cars on my way to work. This, they told me, was against the rules. They asked for ID and typed my name into a hand-held computer. Up came that old citation that I didn’t know about and they couldn’t tell me about. I was immediately handcuffed and brought to the precinct. There, I waited in a holding cell, then was fingerprinted (post-CSI memo: they now take the fingers, the thumbs, the palms, and the sides of both hands) and had the contents of my shoulder bag inventoried. I could hardly believe it: I was being arrested without ever having committed a crime.

I was held overnight in the Midtown North Precinct lock-up (shoelaces and belt confiscated, meals courtesy of the McDonald’s dollar menu). In the morning, my fellow convicts and I were led, chain-gang style, to the Manhattan Community Court next door. The judge there dismissed the charge against me – because no one ever does time for that kind of crime. A few days later, at Brooklyn’s central court, my warrant was lifted for “time served” – again because no one is ever locked up for breaking the leash law.

If the cops had simply written me a ticket, I would have paid it, and I would have also had to pay to vacate my outstanding warrant. But by cuffing me and holding me overnight, the city spent quite a bit of money (it took two police officers approximately six hours each just to arrest and process me), while the fines assessed against me were rescinded.

/snip

full article here:

http://allisonkilkenny.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/the-criminalization-of-everyday-life/

[NeedleCast]

1. So much money thrown away at the criminal justice system

I recently found out that I had a warrent issued for my arrest in Texas...10 years ago, for writing a 17 dollar bad check. Before I joined the Army in 97 I had switched from my po-dunk local bank to a large, international chain. I closed my old account, not realizing a check for 17 dollars I had written eight days ago at a local grocery store had not cleared yet.

In 2008, while doing a standard background screening for a new job with a fairly large government contractor, I found out that a warrent for my arrest had been issued in 2007. For whatever reason, it took ten years for the warrent to develop on a 10 year old check. Luckily I had no interatcion with the law in Texas during that period or I would have gone to jail...for a 17 dollar check that I didn't ever realize had been returned.

[Christa]

3. You would think we live in a 3rd world country ... :-/

[tom_paine]

8. We DO live in a Third World country. The richest Third World country on Earth.

(at least for now)

But a Third World country, with a Third World Media, Third World Juciciary, and much, much more.

[Lorien]

13. Well said. nt

[NaturalHigh]

2. This boggles the mind.

Our society is on the verge of absolute insanity.

[slackmaster]

4. Something similar happened to me back in the '80s

A cop stopped to hassle for no particular reason (other than being young and out at night).

Suddenly lots of cops descended on me. They had a dog too. They dragged me downtown to jail, and wouldn't tell me why I was being arrested.

Long story shortened drastically: Someone who had stolen my ID months earlier got busted for grand theft. I "failed to appear" for my own felony arraignment, in another county.

[MindPilot]

5. Cops gotta just love shit like this.

They get to spend their entire shift doing essentially nothing.

[acmavm]

6. Well, obviously walking a dog off a leash can lead to terraist

activities.

Starting wars based on lies to steal a country's oil, no problem.

[aquamarina]

7. Are you serious? You literally spent a night in the pokey because

you walked your dog off-leash! Wow, is there any more evidence that our "law enforcement" is out of control.

[NeedleCast]

14. It's Not law enforcement beign out of control...they're doing their job

It's a justice system that says failing to appear on a charge that should be a small fine is an arrestable offense. Lots of people have no idea they have some random warrent floating around and end up in jail because of it. We need to look at changing the system so that the police aren't put in a situation where they have to arrest someone because of a leash law violation.

[BanzaiBonnie]

9. When policing has to fund itself through fines, tickets and such

for jay walking and walking dogs off leash, your going to see more of this stupidity, not less.

I shudder to think how many laws, rules or regulations I may break each day without even knowing it.

[NashVegas]

10. For Taxpayer Money, We Obtained the Finger-prints of a Non-Compliant Individual

Who is a potential enemy of the state.

Getting it?

[formercia]

11. From now on, every time you get stopped

you will be flagged again for special attention.

Welcome to the Prison Industrial System reserve labor pool.

[gratuitous]

16. Yes, you now have a record; you're "in the system"

Which means that as a dangerous repeat offender, the police will indeed flag you for special attention. If it's a good and decent cop, you will probably get a shrug and "move along." If it's a cop having a bad day, you might get a little extra harrassment. If it's a bad cop, you will be at their mercy and God help you.

[hunter]

12. It makes you appreciate the graft system of some nations, doesn't it?

"Pray tell, I didn't know it was illegal and dangerous to walk between cars!!! Thank you so much for your concern, sir!

(Slips cop $20.)

[tritsofme]

17. Some nations?

As little as 20 years you could still pay off a Chicago cop and drive away from a ticket.

Now we have red light cameras everywhere and they'd probably haul you off to jail if you tried wrapping cash around your ID.

Times change I suppose.

[hunter]

21. We hate petty graft in the United States, and celebrate the big stuff.

Buying a Congressman or a Senator is okay if you follow the polite and proper etiquette, but as an average joe don't ever try to buy your way out of a traffic ticket.

[formercia]

19. La Mordida

The little death.

I remember going through Mexican customs in Nuevo Laredo. The line was long, not moving and it was hot in the Noon-day Sun.
I called over this Corporal, winked and asked him if he knew a way to make things go faster. he left and came back with a Sgt. who marked our bags with chalk and walked off. I slipped the corporal a few pesos for the Sgt., and a few for him.
You should have heard those touristas howl. I laughed and said: "Welcome to Mexico." as we walked off.

I looked back and they were all trying to flag down the Corporal with the big grin on his face.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

22. La Mordida means "the bite." As in, they're taking a bite off your lunch. -nt

[populistdriven]

15. We NEED MORE COPS!

Bill Clinton Accomplishments

Putting 100,000 More Police on the Streets. In 1999, ahead of schedule and under budget, the Clinton-Gore Administration met its commitment to fund an additional 100,000 police officers for our communities. As a part of the COPS Program, the President announced new grants to increase community policing in high-crime and under served neighborhoods. To help keep crime at record lows, the President won funding for the first installment toward his goal to hire up to 50,000 more officers by 2005.

This year, the Clinton-Gore budget includes over $1 billion to continue the successful COPS initiative to hire more officers, hire new community prosecutors, give police the tools they need to fight crime, and to fund community-wide crime fighting efforts.

http://pearlyabraham.tripod.com/htmls/bill-legacy2.html


Barack Obama Accomplishments

Obama's huge stimulus plan includes about $4 billion to resurrect grants that put tens of thousands of police on the streets during the 1990s. The programs were all but eliminated during the Bush administration amid criticism that their results didn't justify the hefty price tags.

The grants are popular with Democrats, and restoring them was central to Obama's campaign plan to combat rising violence. By tacking the money onto the stimulus plan, Obama avoids having to defend the spending during the normal budget process.

The proposal allocates $3 billion for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, a program that has funded drug task forces, after-school programs, prisoner rehabilitation and other programs.

Another $1 billion in stimulus money is set aside for the Community Oriented Policing Services program begun under President Clinton. The program, known as COPS grants, paid the salaries of many local police officers and was a "modest contributor" to the decline in crime in the 1990s, according to a 2005 government oversight report.

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2009/02/386904.shtml


:sarcasm:

[blueworld]

18. Nanny Bloomers 3 term scheme for generating revenue cheaply n/t

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. What Crap. He Had An Outstanding Warrant. He Was Arrested For It. Boo Hoo For Him.

The cops did nothing wrong here. No, the cops don't write a ticket for an active warrant. What kind of ridiculously stupid notion is that?

The cops don't need to know the details of the warrant. All that matters is that there is an active arrest warrant for him. He obviously never paid the ticket and even after getting notices to do so, failed to comply. A bench warrant was issued.

Hey Robert, guess what! When you have an arrest warrant out for you due to failure to appear or failure to acknowledge a violation, you, ya know, get arrested and stuff. Deal with it.

Friggin crybaby whiners. Can't stand 'em.

[Xenotime]

23. This just gives these type of systems a bad name. Sorry for your troubles.