Wednesday, February 1: "Hot-Spot" Policing
Every day these pigs come up with new ideas to abuse people
What is “hot spot” policing?
If you talk to a “blue lives matter” advocate, the idea is to focus police resources on high-crime neighborhoods or city blocks or even individuals (such as repeat offenders). This would give police the ability to zero in on specific crimes, like shootings or drug trafficking, if they had an ounce of competence or good intention. However, many of the ~special units~ of police that are assigned to these roles actually wind up doing more harm than good. Shocking, I know.
Most police departments ignore important tenets of the concept of “hot spot policing”, often resulting in abuses and the deaths of innocent civilians. For example, the Louisville, KY police unit that investigated Breonna Taylor’s ex-boyfriend was also allegedly following a hot-spot model. (You’ll recall that officers shot Taylor to death in her home in 2020.) In some hot-spotting efforts, officers just try to make their presence known, to intimidate or produce a kind of scarecrow effect, as people might be less likely to commit crimes in their presence. Of course if you visit most subway stations on a cold day, there are litters of piglets scattered in the train station, but they’re just watching out for the dangerous threat of fare-dodgers.
These “hot spot” officers often aggressively enforce the law with as many stops and arrests as possible. “Hot-spot” policing might call for a balancing act between maximizing the threat of officers’ presence and minimizing the social costs of hassling, stopping, arresting, and often killing more people. The problem is, this is in direct conflict with the line of thinking of most officers, who want nothing more than to hassle, stop, and arrest folks. Consider that at least a few of the officers who fatally beat Tyre Nichols last month were wearing cameras that were recording their actions. The fact that they punched and kicked Nichols anyway indicates that they considered themselves above the law and could get away with it. That’s policing today.
Side Items
Florida Back In the Toilet: Sometimes I wonder why the poor state of Florida has its reputation bullied endlessly by the other 49 states. Then their governor does something like ban diversity programs in state colleges and I remember that it’s all for good reason. In a statement, the governor’s said his proposal “raises the standards of learning and civil discourse of public higher education in Florida” We’re getting dangerously close to becoming a newsletter focused on bullying Floridian politicians
New Coach: UNC Chapel Hill’s new women’s field hockey coach is Erin Matson, a 22-year-old former star player. Matson graduated last month as the most decorated player in UNC’s history, playing on four NCAA championship teams, three of which were undefeated. She replaces former head coach Karen Shelton, who retired after a 42-year tenure that saw the Tar Heels win a record 10 NCAA titles and 25 ACC championships
Strikes in France, England: Things are happening in the UK and France! Thousands of schools in the U.K. closed their classrooms, train services were suspended and delays are expected at airports on the biggest day of industrial action Britain has seen in more than a decade. Unions stepped up pressure on the government this week to provide better pay amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis
Bonus News! They found the radioactive sensor in the Australian wilderness!!