OT: Oakland, California – Is it really this out of control?

[paramount]

A glimpse of the future?

[no_such_reality]

I don’t think it’s any worse than any other urban part of Cali. Wasn’t it about three weeks ago that a girl got beat to death in line for a club and the line basically stood there and watched?

Seems like events similar to that happen around most Cali urban areas

[CA renter]

Yes, it’s that bad in a lot of places…which is why we get the “police brutality” videos on youtube, as well. These are the f’ing animals that some cops often have to deal with every day. Is it any wonder why some cops lose control and seem devoid of any empathy? They don’t usually start out that way based on what I’ve seen.

Not making excuses for police brutality because there are too many incidents where it is absolutely unprovoked and unjustifiable. But I do understand why some of them just snap after awhile, especially if they’ve been assigned to areas where dealing with these kinds of “people” is the norm. I could not do their job.

[an]

This is why I have no empathy for “people” serving time. I also wonder why we’re spend so much on them (much more than we spend on our kids’ education). I would be perfectly happy to build a 50′ wall square in the middle of the dessert and have then deal with it. Kind of like what the Brits did w/ Australia :-).

[spdrun]

^^^

You have to differentiate between hard-core crims (armed robbers, rapists, murderers) and people who are in jail for marijuana, being late with traffic fines, etc. The problem with Oakland isn’t that the violent thugs are in prison. It’s that not enough are in prison, or better yet, offered a decent education so they can make a life that doesn’t involve thuggery.

It’s inexcusable that this is happening a few miles from one of the wealthiest cities and tech centers of this country. What’s needed are programs that pick out the promising kids and offer them training in high-tech and software development, etc — imagine GTA XVI being coded by people who actually have experience in this 🙂

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=AN]This is why I have no empathy for “people” serving time. I also wonder why we’re spend so much on them (much more than we spend on our kids’ education). I would be perfectly happy to build a 50′ wall square in the middle of the dessert and have then deal with it. Kind of like what the Brits did w/ Australia :-).[/quote]

Until your kids are sent there.

Prosecution is for a single event that is provable to win a conviction.

If your kid is unlucky and gets caught dealing drugs to his buddies, he will be sent there along with the rest of them. The system doesn’t differentiate. I know some parents who are heart broken. Too bad you may say.

[ucodegen]

And this is from the regional area of California that has stricter gun control, than other areas of California.

The cops should carry something like ‘slime’, use paintballs with indelible ink or should have called in more reinforcements when the bottles flew. Running only emboldens these idiots.

http://www.examiner.com/article/oakland-shootings-show-uselessness-of-gun-control

On ‘slime’
http://beta.slashdot.org/story/23794

The other thing that gets me, is that many of these people are actually youths. Where are their parents in all of this?

[spdrun]

Reinforcements? Hah. Not sure if Oakland has enough cops to support that. Slime and paintballs would likely result in 10 people shooting back with real guns or throwing bricks. Hate to say it, but they did the right thing in getting out unless they were patrolling in a Northern Ireland style armored car — they’re not Royal Ulster Constables and one is paying them enough to be martyrs…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Oakland,_California#Comparative_police_staffing_levels

[ucodegen]

[quote=spdrun]Reinforcements? Hah. Not sure if Oakland has enough cops to support that. Slime and paintballs would likely result in 10 people shooting back with real guns or throwing bricks.[/quote]At that point, a police shooting becomes justified. What happens if there is a gang rape in the middle of that group? Or if there is a gang rape after the cops leave? Or a murder? I have problems when police shoot someone that they ‘think may have’ a weapon, but once a weapon has been confirmed and it is being used to shoot at police, it is a completely different subject.

NOTE: It is very hard to even stand up on a surface once is has been slimed. It is like standing on banana peels on top of teflon.
[quote=spdrun]Hate to say it, but they did the right thing in getting out unless they were patrolling in a Northern Ireland style armored car — they’re not Royal Ulster Constables and one is paying them enough to be martyrs…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Oakland,_California#Comparative_police_staffing_levels%5B/quote%5D
I tend to disagree with your statements here. There has to be a point where they stand up to offense instead of bullying the unarmed. It is also ironic that they seemed to have voted down Armored vehicles:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/No-place-in-Berkeley-for-police-armored-car-3686971.php

As for being paid, there are quite well paid for sitting in cars and issuing tickets. The pay is moe justified if they have to deal with risky situations like this (which don’t occur every day)

It is also possible to drop ‘slime’ from a helicopter, ie like a water drop.

[spdrun]

California is very litigious. I can only imagine the lawsuits if they drop slime from a helicopter, don’t clean it up adequately, and some innocent older lady slips and cracks her head the next morning.

As far as your example of a gang rape, if there’s a shooting gallery, you’d probably end up with a dead or wounded officer, maybe a dead person in the crowd, a lot of anger in the community, and the gang rape would probably still happen.

BTW- your armored car article is about Berkeley, not Oakland. The former isn’t exactly a hotbed of criminality, and I fully agree with them voting down a porkbarrel purchase like an armored car.

[an]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=AN]This is why I have no empathy for “people” serving time. I also wonder why we’re spend so much on them (much more than we spend on our kids’ education). I would be perfectly happy to build a 50′ wall square in the middle of the dessert and have then deal with it. Kind of like what the Brits did w/ Australia :-).[/quote]

Until your kids are sent there.

Prosecution is for a single event that is provable to win a conviction.

If your kid is unlucky and gets caught dealing drugs to his buddies, he will be sent there along with the rest of them. The system doesn’t differentiate. I know some parents who are heart broken. Too bad you may say.[/quote]Well, my statement is more directed toward hardcore criminals, not your druggies. If I get my way and legalize drug use, then your argument doesn’t apply.

[CA renter]

[quote=spdrun]^^^

You have to differentiate between hard-core crims (armed robbers, rapists, murderers) and people who are in jail for marijuana, being late with traffic fines, etc. The problem with Oakland isn’t that the violent thugs are in prison. It’s that not enough are in prison, or better yet, offered a decent education so they can make a life that doesn’t involve thuggery.

It’s inexcusable that this is happening a few miles from one of the wealthiest cities and tech centers of this country. What’s needed are programs that pick out the promising kids and offer them training in high-tech and software development, etc — imagine GTA XVI being coded by people who actually have experience in this :)[/quote]

Yes, they need to fully separate the violent criminals from non-violent criminals. There should be a zero-tolerance policy for violence in the “nicer,” non-violent prisons, too.

Violent criminals like these can rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.

[Author]

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