"It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it works out for them"
December 25, 2020, 10:23 PM
chongosuerte
Is this a wish list? Or a “what is standard” question?
Shot locators don’t really turn into much help if you don’t have enough officers to get to a given spot within a couple of minutes. I’ve worked in both environments...effective as hell if you can get multiple officers at an activation in a minute.
I’ll expectantly add trauma kits. You’d be surprised at how many officers still don’t have them.
(Wish) I’ve never used one of the field finger print verification thingies, but I’ve heard they can be cool.
Portable breath tests.
Helicopter. With enough pilots (Wish) to be available 24/7.
(Wish) Decent entry tools (and training).
Some type of state or regional shared database.
Digital cameras for pictures of scenes.
Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.
Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard. -JALLEN
"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
December 25, 2020, 11:23 PM
bendable
I was just wondering about frustration levels, in depts w/o funds or training to get the job done.
How about funds for rape kits and forensic testing ?
Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency.
Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first
December 25, 2020, 11:29 PM
Rightwire
Robocop
Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys
343 - Never Forget
Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat
There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive.
December 25, 2020, 11:58 PM
jsbcody
Fingerprint scanner. Great identifying bodies and suspects.
December 26, 2020, 12:37 AM
Haveme1or2
There's a site you can go out your city in and see what they have. Most have tag readers, shot locators and ring door bell ability.
December 26, 2020, 01:43 AM
ftttu
A DA that isn’t a social justice warrior.
Retired Texas Lawman
December 26, 2020, 01:51 AM
DaBigBR
quote:
Originally posted by bendable: I was just wondering about frustration levels, in depts w/o funds or training to get the job done.
How about funds for rape kits and forensic testing ?
I've posted somewhat extensively about the sex assault kit thing in the past. Here is what I posted:
quote:
Originally posted by DaBigBR:
quote:
Originally posted by smschulz: How wonderful they have the time and energy to test bullets and cases but no time to test rape kits of women.
This is essentially fake news.
There was a huge expose on all of this in the last year or two and like most things, the "whole story" gets glossed over in the interest of sensationalism.
First of all, sexual assault kits in Iowa or ALL tested by the state crime lab. I am aware of no agency that has the resources, facilities, or personnel to do this on their own, so they all go to one place whether you are arrested in Davenport or Des Moines or Mount Ayr. The state crime lab is a very good facility and fairly well funded, but there is always going to be more work than there are people. There are also problems with retaining staff - this is true of most government run labs - it's hard to compete with the private sector. A lot of the tenured criminalists working in government labs are playing for the love of the game...they believe in the mission. You cannot overstate how important that is.
Second, when testing sexual assault kits, victims' wishes are important. A lot of victims have kits done because they are concerned about injury, infection, pregnancy, etc. Many do not want to have somebody prosecuted. Many do not know if they want somebody prosecuted. The kits are still completed and stored, but many are not tested because the victim does not want them tested. There is a major ethical dilemma if you test every kit and then potentially identify a suspect with multiple victims where maybe your strongest case is a victim that does not want prosecution. Victims decide how to proceed on these cases, and they should. So a lot of kits sit for that reason.
And then there's the question of what you're actually going to "get" out of a kit. In a large number of cases (the majority), the suspect is known to the victim. Sending the kit in to have it processed serves no real purpose in identifying the suspect, at least not inasmuch as their identity is unknown at the time of the exam. If a case is heading to prosecution, of course DNA confirmation would be important, but that DNA confirmation is not absolutely vital in cases where the parties are known to each other.
I also hate to open this can of worms, but I think there is a disconnect between terms like "rape" and "sexual assault" in peoples' minds and what these cases actually are, by and large. I am NOT saying that any of them are less significant, at all, and I cannot overstate that, but I think the public hears those terms and pictures a stranger in dark clothing pulling a woman into an alley and disappearing into the night. Cases like that make up such a small percentage of cases that you pretty much hear about every one.
Part of the response to the news stories that kicked all of this off was the development of a form, used statewide, where the victim states their wishes in writing when the kit is taken. There are options to have the kit processed and to state that they are seeking an investigation by LE and prosecution, an option stating that they want to the kit processed but are not requesting prosecution right now, and an option to basically store it and request no investigation. I can only speak for my agency and those around me when I say that these are filled out on every single kit, period. We have a good sexual assault response team that includes nurse examiners, advocates, other social organizations, and law enforcement. I virtually guarantee you something similar is in place in Davenport.
And finally, let's not pretend that gun crime including shootings, robberies, and murders is somehow expected to take a backseat. It's not like it's not serious...
So please, consider the facts and not just the news.
Disregard the parts that were irrelevant to this post.
December 26, 2020, 09:02 AM
jljones
^^^^^^^^^^ Hahahahaha that was a fun thread of paranoia and misinformation.
"It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it works out for them"
December 26, 2020, 09:06 AM
RogueJSK
Forget fancy toys and gadgets... I'll take twice as many officers, please.
December 26, 2020, 10:13 AM
car541
All of this depends on what you want to stop.
Most criminally chargeable deaths in this country result from DWI (about 15000 vs 6000 from all other criminal causes combined) so to save lives, get more guys working highway traffic, and have no refusal prosecutors, judges and nurses on call at night.
Shot spotter systems are useless, in a place where anyone is willing to be a witness, they call anyway. In places where nobody saw nothing, you all drove there really fast with your emergency equipment activated to be told that nobody saw nothing.
Mobile AFIS is actually pretty useful.
Something more effective at ending pursuits than spike strips and PITs would also save alot of injuries and deaths associated with suspect hitting other vehicles while running.
Other than that, properly training officers who are supported by their community to the point where they are not afraid to do their job.
***************************** "I don't own the night, I only operate a small franchise" - Author unknown
December 26, 2020, 10:17 AM
MikeinNC
My former department had ten guys working the street for 50k population......
I’d have given anything for ten more working the street at a time...
Ten couldn’t keep up with the calls for service...20 would mean that we could have accomplished things and proactively fought crime, not just respond
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
December 26, 2020, 10:44 AM
stylophiles
quote:
Originally posted by ftttu: A DA that isn’t a social justice warrior.
THIS!!
Just got the dispo back from our county prosecutor on a case...
17 year old arrested on a traffic stop (he had a bottle of alcohol visible on the back seat) got a search warrant for the car, found half pound of pot, scales, baggies, and oh yeah, a gun under the front seat. Stolen gun.
Possession with Intent, Unlawful Possession of Firearm, Possession of Stolen Firearm...Dismissed on all charges.
Hey, they did give him a deferred on the Minor in Possession of Alcohol charge.
Bill R
December 26, 2020, 11:16 AM
MRBTX
If you don’t have a mayor, council and as stated above a DA, whose priority is a city without chaos, all the plate readers, MRAPS, and gadgets are just stuff.
December 26, 2020, 11:40 AM
Voshterkoff
I’m surprised more cops don’t wear safety rated glasses.
December 26, 2020, 12:50 PM
sleepla8er
quote:
Originally posted by jljones: Rifles and plate carriers for all armed sworn personnel.
