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U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

nytimes.com

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Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#13

Being a victim of a crime has always meant some loss of privacy. If you are murdered, they will conduct an autopsy of you to determine how you died and possibly a toxicology study to determine what drugs you had in your system. If you were raped, getting a rape exam done is recommended to document injuries and collect DNA samples. If you report your child was kidnapped, the police will likely closely examine your hom…

Valid points that many may disdainfully overlook. But nonetheless, still valid.

But sex crimes do have a stigma in society and there is for many a reason, though mostly though historical injustices and injustices that still transpire today have produced. This the tendency to lean towards guilty until proven innocent, over innocent until proven guilty, can and do play out socially and in a majority of people's mindsets.

Equally there have in the UK, there have been cases of false rape claims, for various reasons and access to all information pertinent in establishing a crime is what the law and justice demand.

Whilst many may feel such actions as a blanket are bad taste, there have been instances in which justice would of been perverted had it not been forthcoming and justice for all is what is needed.

Will this or any of the examples you outline hinder justice - nope. But if those examples are hindered, then justice suffers.

Also worth noting that with this law, it will in instances help support the case and expedite it, think about domestic abuse here. So whilst it may leave a bad taste and for some victims, feel like an intrusion into their life, it is an intrusion that is in there best interest to help bring about swifter justice. If anything it just formalises full-disclosure and supeaner avenues and bureaucracy in courts - hence speeds up justice. Which is in everybody's interest.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#14
post #8

> Mr. Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, acknowledged such concerns in his statement. > “We understand that how personal data is used can be a source of anxiety,” he said. “We would never want victims to feel that they can’t report crimes because of ‘intrusion’ in their data.” > “That’s why a new national form has been introduced,” replacing policies that varied from place to place, “to help police seek informed c…

Don't disagree with you at all but have noticed people using the phrase 'what the actual fuck' a lot lately. I can obviously infer that it's adding emphasis but it just doesn't make sense to me.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#15

Being a victim of a crime has always meant some loss of privacy. If you are murdered, they will conduct an autopsy of you to determine how you died and possibly a toxicology study to determine what drugs you had in your system. If you were raped, getting a rape exam done is recommended to document injuries and collect DNA samples. If you report your child was kidnapped, the police will likely closely examine your hom…

If your car is stolen, it's reasonable that your Google docs are read?

Whilst this law was born out of issues in recent false rape instances and it's intention is with that in mind. You raise a fair point, though I'm sure that use will not transpire - what guarantees does it give that it could be for any reason. Heck, budget cuts, i'd not be supprised if some local regional force mandate its usage just to reduce crime reports, gaming the stats just enough so that can keep their jobs and pension ticking over.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#16
> “Police have a duty to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry,” Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for criminal justice, said in a statement. “Those now frequently extend into the devices of victims and witnesses as well as suspects — particularly in cases where suspects and victims know each other.”

> Most sexual assaults are committed by people who are known to the victims, and there might be electronic proof of friendly communications between them. As a result, according to Victim Support, a nonprofit group in England and Wales, the new policy could discourage victims from reporting, fearing that they will not be believed.

> But the form was criticized because of the possible repercussions for victims who refuse to lay bare their digital lives: The police and prosecutors might drop their cases.

The opposition is just nonsense.

If you complain a crime has been committed, it's always been expected that your property can be searched for evidence, and that if you refuse to cooperate, they might not proceed with your case.

If you claim that an assault happened on your property, but refuse to allow police to investigate because it might reveal exculpatory evidence or unrelated things you don't want found, they're likely to drop your case as well.

I'm tired of these advocates for regressive policies using victims as macabre totems for their causes:

There's a reason we require police to be able to investigate, and it's a good one.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#17
post #8

> Mr. Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, acknowledged such concerns in his statement. > “We understand that how personal data is used can be a source of anxiety,” he said. “We would never want victims to feel that they can’t report crimes because of ‘intrusion’ in their data.” > “That’s why a new national form has been introduced,” replacing policies that varied from place to place, “to help police seek informed c…

Not sure about the UK, but in the US the police have no formal duty to protect you. No matter how much warning/info/evidence they have that someone will be victimized, and no matter how easy/reasonable it is for the police to prevent it, citizens are generically not entitled to compensation for failure to be protected. Rather, the police's mission (both formally and as a functional matter) is overwhelmingly about catching and punishing criminals after-the-fact, and they have wide discretion to choose which crimes to enforce on. So the only protection is in the form of criminal disincentives (which are extremely important, of course).

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#19
post #8

> Mr. Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, acknowledged such concerns in his statement. > “We understand that how personal data is used can be a source of anxiety,” he said. “We would never want victims to feel that they can’t report crimes because of ‘intrusion’ in their data.” > “That’s why a new national form has been introduced,” replacing policies that varied from place to place, “to help police seek informed c…

Not sure about the UK, but in the US the police have no formal duty to protect you. No matter how much warning/info/evidence they have that someone will be victimized, and no matter how easy/reasonable it is for the police to prevent it, citizens are generically not entitled to compensation for failure to be protected. Rather, the police's mission (both formally and as a functional matter) is overwhelmingly about cat…

That’s correct. The extreme percentage of police duties are only to document crime.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#20
post #8

> Mr. Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, acknowledged such concerns in his statement. > “We understand that how personal data is used can be a source of anxiety,” he said. “We would never want victims to feel that they can’t report crimes because of ‘intrusion’ in their data.” > “That’s why a new national form has been introduced,” replacing policies that varied from place to place, “to help police seek informed c…

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