TSWTK: have tech advancements made police less inclined to exercise discretion?

[The Saint]

Inspired by this comment in another thread:

Cops should have given him a talking to about time and place, possibly warned him they would take away his esky if he kept it up.

End of story.

Cast your mind back, say, 25 years. 1986.

Email technology in its infancy.
Laptop computer only just released.
Mobile phones the size of a housebrick with no video capture functionality.

If a dude was caught pissy riding his motorised esky around backstreets, it's possible he would have got a stern talking to and told not to do it again. If the cops had any sense they would have driven past 15 minutes later to make sure he'd pulled his head in. If not, bye bye esky. Come pick it up from the station in a week, where you can enjoy another earbashing.

And if they had, what of it? "Ahhhh yeah cheers mate, you're a good a bloke hay nah serious hay you're a top bloke hay yeah cheers cobbers orright seeya." Who would he have told of his good fortune? His mates, assuming they were there? Who would they have told? Presumably each other, being mates. It wouldn't have gone far. If it had got out that he'd been driving on a road while intoxicated and the police had not properly charged him, what would corroborate his story? He was drunk, so maybe his recollection of events was flawed. So were his mates. The police log recorded no incident. Without evidence the whole thing would just go away.

Contrast with today, where people can record their interactions with police and post to YouTube. Esky dude can post in real time to Facebook or PSB that he was "riding his esky while pissed and the cops did fucken nothing hay lol". Everything's date and time stamped. Everything's tracked via GPS. Everything's investigatable, verifiable. Cops have to be squeaky clean, they're under constant scrutiny.

So! Does the fact that police are arguably more accountable, by virtue of technological advancements, mean they are more process-driven and robotic? Bureaucratic in their approach?

Has this meant the death of good community policing and police relations with the public?

Does the fact that such scrutiny reduces (theoretically, in any event) the incidence of criminality by police such as brutality and corruption mean that we have to take the bad with the good - super strict policing is the price we pay for a police force with a higher level of integrity?

Should we be concerned that it appears to be the possibility of getting caught, rather than any underlying sense of morality or lawfulness, that has reduced police impropriety?

Thoughts to the usual address.

[devolved]

Absolutely agree.

[kapyong]

The older ones of us that are will agree........ not sure about Gen Squid though!

[Lefty]

Empathizing with the police plight?

I think you'll find you sound like Ryv-never mind.

[The Saint]

Subtle, but I spotted it.

Much love.

[chew]

All depends on the cop attending, it was not all beer, skittles and a kick up the arse in the good ol' days. (Have you seen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Murder_(mini-series)?)

I suspect it is more the political football of "Tuff on Crime" that has reduced tolerance levels more than anything albeit with a spattering of high tech gizmo's.

Did I mention I loathe speed cameras?

[RIPLEY]

its a bit like the use of computers with cut off dates, in the olden days some things had leway from human involvement, for instance perhaps if you didnt pay your rego and begged and pleaded your case to a supervisor at traffic someone could manually change it and let you pay it with a stern lecture.
Thats impossible now it would seem? if the cut off is gone its gone and no one can over ride the computer.
Im not saying it was a common occurence it just seems technology has taken alot of our decision making power away with its lack of flexibility.
Isnt there something in our justice system that says the "spirit" of the law must be examined as well as the letter?

[mekon]

They have discretion, they just choose not to use it, Popo "Look son you're being a fool you could wind up dead at that speed."
Biker "Sorry officer, I let it get away from me."
Popo "Look by rights (shows read-out on handheld) I should take your bike and do you under section 60"
Biker "Oh noes, what'll I do? I've been a dick, I'm sorry."
Popo "I can see you've made a mistake, look I'll drop it down to 6 demerits and $750, this time ok? Just slow down."
Biker "Oh thanks mate, you're a life saver. I'm really sorry."

Biker goes away tells forum "There's some good cops out there you guys."

Instead reality is mekon someone gets section 60'd, serves his punishment goes out speeding again, but now fucking hates any potential interaction with cops, due to him being reasonable at the time but getting no fellow man lee-way from the TEG guy. Says "Fuck the police! Don't expect me to ever fucking help out if you want some common courtesy. I'll be as obnoxious as I fucking can be without being tasered." Excessive punishment does not fit the crime. They all have the ability to make a decision. None of this "...but that's what the reading says, I can't do anything else."

Farknle warkle pigs scum barkle

[kale]

There's a lot of big words in there, and they're too close so when i get my head around one, there's another one right there which makes me forget what the first one was.

I've had 3 dealings with police excluding the occasional booze bus.

-2005 just got my license and was tailed. They got me doing 75 in a 60 zone with no P plates. Called it 59 and told me to put my plates up.

-2007 unmarked car pulled me and a mate over riding our pushies up Canning Highway, heavily intoxicated and naked. Lights came on, pulled us up, had a quick word, told us no more of that and on ya way.

-2010 caught by Highway Patrol heading along Albany Highway somewhere past Williams towing a trailer doing 115. Pulled me over and copped the fine for 115. I had an unpaid fine which had led to license suspension I wasn't aware of, so they told my mate to drive and no harm done there. Also had a mates trailer which WAS licensed, but due to a DIP cock up, wasn't registered on the Police system. My mate had the receipt for the rego but wasn't there. I explained this to him but he didn't believe it. Tooke the plate off the trailer, and told me I can't drive it now it's unlicensed. Turned his little voice recorder thing off and said something like "I'm heading to Perth now, what you do from here is up to you, but you are not supposed to have that on the road unlicensed".

So I'm going to lock in No.

Unless they were even easier going in 1986. Then I'll lock in Yes.

[Wedge]

TBH While I think technology has a part to play in the difference's between, say 1986 and present policing discretionary tactics. I think the bigger factor is population. How often in smaller rural towns are the Police more likely to say time and place (Except for those buggers down along Albany Hwy), or send you off with a warning compared to a city officer?
The population of Perth has essentially doubled since 1986, this I think has more of an impact then technology..

[typical_bloke]

cops used to be able to kick your arse if you played up. now days they are not allowed to and have instruction to enforce any and every offence possible. Revenue to the govements and a total lack of police avalible to deal with real policing makes everytime you get booked by a traffic cop you see the whole force as the problem.

we all know cameras dont improve things except for less police visibale on the roads and a fine in the mail some 2 weeks later.

[Taylor]

The cause of this problem is the correlation between recordable KPIs and funding.

Sorry.

[Spartacus]

Troll.

Being a new Australian, I find the comparison with Blighty quite amusing. Back in the YUK I found the donut munchers showed more integrity, but the public showed them less respect. Here in Oz the citizenry seem to be much more respectful for laws and their enforcing officers, and the dogs outnumber the pigs.

[Tannhauser]

So uh... death to Twitter?

Destroy social media, receive leniency from the police when caught behaving like a fuckwit all-round top Aussie bloke?