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How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

economist.com

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Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#21

Post by DanBC »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #10
drglitch wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that a lens flare photoshop filter is still a rite-of-passage in design just like it was back in late 90s :) Joking aside, this will have same terrible bias as BBB - bad reviews will be the only ones making it in. I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds but this is treating a symptom not the root cause.

> I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds... Really? Are you sure this isn't just because the bad ones are reported often and hardly any good ones? I mean, there are a LOT of officers in the U.S. Surely they aren't all overstepping. One thing to remember about officers; they see the worst of US day in and day out, every single day. I'm sure it colors one's view of the wo…

> One thing to remember about officers; they see the worst of US day in and day out, every single day.

US police kill very many more people than other first world police forces. It's not surprising that gets a lot of press coverage.

The US police forces seem to do a poor job of getting rid of the bad officers. Someone who is sacked from one force for being emotionally unstable should not be able to get a job with a gun on another force without jumping through considerable hoops. There are very many examples of this - officers with more than normal numbers of complaints for aggressive behaviour, with disciplinary action for aggressive behaviour, who then go on to murder the public.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#22

Post by coldtea »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #10
drglitch wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that a lens flare photoshop filter is still a rite-of-passage in design just like it was back in late 90s :) Joking aside, this will have same terrible bias as BBB - bad reviews will be the only ones making it in. I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds but this is treating a symptom not the root cause.

> I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds... Really? Are you sure this isn't just because the bad ones are reported often and hardly any good ones? I mean, there are a LOT of officers in the U.S. Surely they aren't all overstepping. One thing to remember about officers; they see the worst of US day in and day out, every single day. I'm sure it colors one's view of the wo…

>Really? Are you sure this isn't just because the bad ones are reported often and hardly any good ones?

There shouldn't be that many "bad ones" to report, period. It's supposed to be a professional police force, not amateur hour of bigots, wannabe Rambos and trigger-happy Harry Callahans.

And since the casualty statistics across the board are awful, and a true shame compared to any other western country, it's not a matter of "reporting" bias either.

[added]

>One thing to remember about officers; they see the worst of US day in and day out, every single day.

They also represent some of what is worst about the US, day in and day out, every single day. Along with the prison system, the gun laws, and the often joke of a justice system, they help perpetuate and increase the criminals rather than reduce them (even if there are year over year decreases in crime rates, that are touted as big successes, the numbers are still ludicrous compared to any western european country).

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#23

Post by saturdaysaint »

rrmm wrote: post #11
drglitch wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that a lens flare photoshop filter is still a rite-of-passage in design just like it was back in late 90s :) Joking aside, this will have same terrible bias as BBB - bad reviews will be the only ones making it in. I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds but this is treating a symptom not the root cause.

There still needs to be visibility. Only the recent ubiquity of cell phone cameras has allowed the public at large to see interactions between citizens and police. Before this it was easy to dismiss or just be ignorant of how often police abuse occurred to certain groups of people. It was the officer's word against these "thugs". Getting everyone to admit a problem exists and getting our heads around how frequently i…

"It's crazy that once personal video recorders became ubiquitous UFOs stopped visiting Earth and cops started brutalizing people all the time" -@stephenjudkins

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#24

Post by nkoren »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #10
drglitch wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that a lens flare photoshop filter is still a rite-of-passage in design just like it was back in late 90s :) Joking aside, this will have same terrible bias as BBB - bad reviews will be the only ones making it in. I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds but this is treating a symptom not the root cause.

> I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds... Really? Are you sure this isn't just because the bad ones are reported often and hardly any good ones? I mean, there are a LOT of officers in the U.S. Surely they aren't all overstepping. One thing to remember about officers; they see the worst of US day in and day out, every single day. I'm sure it colors one's view of the wo…

I'm an American expat living in the UK, so I am interested in judging things on comparative rather than absolute terms.

In the UK, the police are on track to have killed 3 people in 2015[1]. In the US, the police are on track to have killed 1,200 people[2]. Adjusted for population, the US has a police homicide rate that is 79 times higher than in the UK. In some places, police violence is now the no. 1 form of homicide, ahead of gang violence, petty crime, domestic violence, child abuse, and any other category of violence.[3]

Actual homicide is just the tip of the iceberg, of course, but if this doesn't qualify as "significantly and often" then I'm not sure what does.

This is not just a civilian attitude. There are plenty of (ex-) police who feel this way too.[4]

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforc...

2: http://killedbypolice.net/

3: http://www.sltrib.com/news/1842489-155/killings-by-utah-poli...

4: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/06/...

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#25

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

Gracana wrote: post #15
drglitch wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that a lens flare photoshop filter is still a rite-of-passage in design just like it was back in late 90s :) Joking aside, this will have same terrible bias as BBB - bad reviews will be the only ones making it in. I am right up there with thinking cops significantly (and often) overstep their bounds but this is treating a symptom not the root cause.

What's the root cause, and how do you get people thinking about it? What do people do in the meantime? We're talking about people with the authority and ability to ruin or end your life.. that they should face a little pressure and perhaps be enticed to find ways to fix their own system seems pretty reasonable to me.

> What's the root cause

The development of police forces as paramilitaries which went into overdrive after Iraq 1.0.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#26

Post by RankingMember »

zomg wrote: post #9

the best way to police the police is to be aware of your local wire tapping laws and roll video.

This is my thought, too. Video, unless thoroughly chopped up (which tends to be obvious), doesn't lie. I've had an idea for a "RateMyCop" app for a bit, but it looks like these kids have basically created it already. The only problem with such an app is the natural human bias to be motivated to report negative interactions over positive, as someone else mentioned in these comments. Straight-up video recordings don't have this issue.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#27

Post by coldtea »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #19
rrmm wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Significant and often are clearly a matter of perspective: what's significant and how often is too often? Realistically, there will always be some incidents. Ideally, they should be as few as possible such that law enforcement is still effective (for whatever value of effective that society chooses). The severity also factors in: No one will probably care all that much if a cop screws up the exact wording of a mirand…

As the poster I was replying to didn't set any constraints, its clear they meant generally. I disagree that generally officers significantly overstep their bounds.

Even if just 10% of US officers "overstep their bounds", whereas in the UK or Germany only 1% do, it's still a huge problem.

That it's not the "general case" it's hardly any consolation.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#28

Post by coldtea »

bitJericho wrote: post #8
Namrog84 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do wonder if the app becomes popular and then an officer recognizes the kid in a pull over or situation how it will influence the interaction.

A cop's going to mess with a couple of kids because he might recognize them as having created an app? That makes no sense at all.

Well, people who speak up against cop brutality, corruption, etc have a big possibility of being targeted for harassment and intimidation, especially in they live in a small town, or they know who they are in their neighborhood etc.

Of course people without experience with the police force, and without historical knowledge of other incidents and their frequency, often have no idea that this things even happen.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#29

Post by jacquesm »

This is the kind of impact that start-ups rarely have, in spite of the 'make something people want' and 'lets go and improve the world' mission statements.

Kudos to these three, it's the kind of development one would be proud to be a part of. Watching the watchers is badly needed, not just in America, elsewhere too.

Re: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

#30

Post by coldtea »

zomg wrote: post #9

the best way to police the police is to be aware of your local wire tapping laws and roll video.

Except if they confuse (or "confuse") the cellphone/camera with a gun, and shoot you.

Don't try it if black or in places without much people and in relative darkness.

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