Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

minnesotareformer.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

201–210 of 606 posts

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#201

Post by elcritch »

LiquidSky wrote: post #83
permo-w wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what did Crassus do similarly?

>The first ever Roman fire brigade was created by Crassus. Fires were almost a daily occurrence in Rome, and Crassus took advantage of the fact that Rome had no fire department, by creating his own brigade—500 men strong—which rushed to burning buildings at the first cry of alarm. Upon arriving at the scene, however, the firefighters did nothing while Crassus offered to buy the burning building from the distressed pr…

One could say he was giving the owners a chance at recovering some value rather than nothing. Also, it’s probably a more apt analogy for modern US hospitals: when you’re having say a heart attack you can’t exactly “price shop”.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#202

Post by femiagbabiaka »

claar wrote: post #197
NoMoreNicksLeft wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not envisioning any society in particular. Instead, I would ask you a question. It's a little contrived, so bear with me. Imagine a situation that you could plausibly find yourself in where you would feel the need to contact the police. It need not be a 911 call, though those are fine too. Imagine how that would go down... the time of day you contact them. Where you would be when it happened. How you would descr…

May I assume you don't live in the US midwest Bible belt? A friendly officer drove 10 minutes to pull out a slim jim and unlock my car for me. I thanked him. Normal stuff. A lady's car broke down in an intersection. A police car put their lights on to keep us safe while 3 or 4 random people pushed the car to safety. I often call dispatch to report accidents, debris on the road, or anything else that would warrant pol…

Are your local police people who live in the community? That helps in my experience.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#203

Post by brvsft »

ahtihn wrote: post #180
NickC25 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should be mandated to hire private security. If they are utilizing the majority of the resources available but aren't willing to pay the real costs of that, well, they need to suck it up and pay.

I thought the US was like the most advanced nation in the world? And businesses are supposed to pay for their own security instead of relying on police? What next? Families of murder victims should cover the cost of the investigation?

It's not unheard of in the US. The missing person case of Jennifer Kesse in Orlando, FL comes to mind. Her parents even had to file a lawsuit against the police because they refused to cooperate with private investigators after failing to make progress on the case.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#204

Post by dirtyhippiefree »

vimax wrote: post #66
lagniappe wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only a short amount of time before it devolves into pizza cartels

And here we are in 2023, you can be a contract food courier for the Uber cartel.

One longs for Ad-Hocracy…

I’m the Dirty Hippie Freak and I endorse this message.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#205

Post by NoGravitas »

wolverine876 wrote: post #155
oldpersonintx wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

are you going to risk ten years in prison to defend your employer's inventory in exchange for minimum wage?

Yes, and even your own inventory: Are you really going to kill another human being over a TV?

Plenty of Americans lately seem to have been willing to kill another human being on the grounds of being on their driveway or their porch.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#206

Post by femiagbabiaka »

MattGaiser wrote: post #43
DonnyV wrote: post #30

The DOJ has to start actually doing its job and completely dissolving these corrupt police departments and rebuilding them. Thats the only way we're going to get rid of corrupts cops like this.

Given the shortage of cops, I am not sure there is the appetite for this. Politically, cops shaking down businesses people associate with trouble seems more palatable than exacerbating the police shortage.

Unfortunately, it isn’t just happening to “troublesome businesses.”

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#207

Post by gumby »

ahtihn wrote: post #180
NickC25 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should be mandated to hire private security. If they are utilizing the majority of the resources available but aren't willing to pay the real costs of that, well, they need to suck it up and pay.

I thought the US was like the most advanced nation in the world? And businesses are supposed to pay for their own security instead of relying on police? What next? Families of murder victims should cover the cost of the investigation?

Well, banks hire private security guards, have stong safes (well, back when they handled cash) etc under practical pressure and pressure from their insurers. They don't rely solely on the police.

On the other hand a lemonade stand will generally rely entirely on the police and on peoples' good nature. I sure hope they aren't armed!

So on the spectrum between the two, don't we want a society where almost all interactions don't rely on private security guards?

I feel like there has been an explosion of private security guards over the past 30 years, but I do see them in old movies so I don't know if my impression is correct.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#208

Post by WalterBright »

NickC25 wrote: post #187
ahtihn wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the US was like the most advanced nation in the world? And businesses are supposed to pay for their own security instead of relying on police? What next? Families of murder victims should cover the cost of the investigation?

ITT: people defending the actions of a corporation owned by a family worth over 230 billion USD. Businesses should expect that society protects them, sure. But those same businesses can't then go and bribe the government to cut worker protection laws, labor laws, can't slash wages and expect that the government covers the costs of labor, etc... If Walmart paid their workers lavishly, gave them huge pensions, didn't e…

And provided inexpensive goods to the masses.

Re: Small business owners say they're pressured to hire off-duty cops for security

#209

Post by dirtyhippiefree »

brightball wrote: post #50
bilbo0s wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still a crime if you're not prosecuted for it. That just means the DA's likely in on it and the criminality is systemic. Doesn't mean the activity becomes legal.

If it's not prosecuted, it's defacto legal. What we really need in this country is a way to prosecute which bypasses the DA since this type of thing seems to be becoming more common.

Your term for today is Selective Enforcement.

They want you to think like that because it’s good for business…and since our prison population exceeds that of Russia or any other country (per capita), it appears that business is good…

Post reply on HN