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Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

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Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#11

Post by GuiA »

legacy2013 wrote: post #4
Shenglong wrote: post #2

Interesting. Increased security, faster response times, and public image at such a cheap rate is probably a no-brainer for large tech companies like Facebook. I feel like we're going to see more private funding for public positions in the (perhaps distant) future, but I suppose the obvious question is: at what point does private funding of public officials become theoretically troublesome? Some would call this the st…

If they want to make a donation to the city with a stipulation that it goes towards a new officer being hired that's fine. It becomes unsettling if they begin being able to dictate what that public official is supposed to do

It's a very fuzzy line though. One moment they can be making regular donations to the city, and at another moment they can say "oh you know those donations we've been making, we'd probably have to stop because we can't afford them anymore... Unless of course law X gets passed, wink wink"

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#12

Post by Argorak »

bane wrote: post #3
Shenglong wrote: post #2

Interesting. Increased security, faster response times, and public image at such a cheap rate is probably a no-brainer for large tech companies like Facebook. I feel like we're going to see more private funding for public positions in the (perhaps distant) future, but I suppose the obvious question is: at what point does private funding of public officials become theoretically troublesome? Some would call this the st…

There's a movie about this exact subject called Robocop .

Privatized police forces are also one of the standard topics of cyberpunk.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#13

Post by kiiski »

yeukhon wrote: post #5

Facebook has committed to provide up to $600,000 over three years, enough in the city's estimate to cover the salary and benefits of a full-time officer. According to this http://jeffwongdesign.com/2010/03/nypd-officers-can-make-6-f... , NYPD can make 91K after 6 years in the service. Is Facebook paying less? I don't know the cost of benefit and insurance. I really doubt a single police officer will receive more than…

>In the case of bomb threat or shooting, I am damn sure a 911 call is enough to get 100 county officers from MP and nearby county. A single officer will not help much.

A single officer in the right place is far more usefull than 100 in a nearby county. Breivik was just one man. He could have been easily stopped by a single officer.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#14

Post by zaroth »

I find the negative responses quite interesting. From watching The Wire, I assume there typical way of getting this done would be simply Facebook contributing to members of the City Council.

Of the two, I might like the open proposal for direct funding of the position more than an envelop of cash passed under the table at Alexander's.

While Facebook is free to donate funds for this to the city, or not, I doubt that accepting the contribution creates any kind of enforceable contract, rather a mutual expectation which if the city renegs they simply won't be seeing any more deals like this in the future. I think from the city's perspective it's free money for a cop who is going to be at the new substation anyway.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#15

Post by enraged_camel »

bane wrote: post #3
Shenglong wrote: post #2

Interesting. Increased security, faster response times, and public image at such a cheap rate is probably a no-brainer for large tech companies like Facebook. I feel like we're going to see more private funding for public positions in the (perhaps distant) future, but I suppose the obvious question is: at what point does private funding of public officials become theoretically troublesome? Some would call this the st…

There's a movie about this exact subject called Robocop .

Why do you think Google is investing so much into robotics? ;)

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#16

Post by zaroth »

This was in one of the comments;

> Get the gang activity under control, and it actually would be > quite nice. The irony is, if it became safe, it probably would > gentrify rapidly, housing prices would go up, and the poor people > who rent would have to find somewhere else to live.

Is it just me who thinks it's terribly sad there are people apologizing for decreasing crime and therefore increasing property value?

The real answer is that housing should NOT be so scarce that the only thing hat makes the price affordable is weekly gang shootings. Supply should be fostered until housing can be both 'safe & affordable' using the myriad tools cities have to foster new construction.

An increase to property value is a great service to every property owner (53% owner occupied) in the city, but it's an attack on renters (41%). Another way to put it, cities should be doing great things like this to increase property value, while simultaneously fostering new construction, as a balanced approach to serve their constituency.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#18

Post by erichurkman »

enraged_camel wrote: post #15
bane wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a movie about this exact subject called Robocop .

Why do you think Google is investing so much into robotics? ;)

To ensure technology and robotics advance quickly enough such that Robocop 3 is eventually undone from all timelines past, present, and future.

Obviously.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#19

Post by jcc80 »

"The sworn officer would focus on helping local schools increase their safety and prevent student truancy and on working with the area's large businesses to improve their security"

This really means harassing and arresting problem students and undesirables who are loitering near businesses. I say that because if you want to address the underlying issues and really "solve" the problem, you wouldn't do it with police. It sounds like they want their own private security but one that has police powers.

What comes to mind is cities that try and fix issues related to the homeless with police because it's a complex human problem that some people & businesses try to solve with punishment/enforcement. At the least, I'll venture to say there's more effective ways to combat truancy than unleashing police on them.

Re: Facebook offers to pay Menlo Park $600k to hire a cop

#20

Post by sliverstorm »

GuiA wrote: post #11
legacy2013 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they want to make a donation to the city with a stipulation that it goes towards a new officer being hired that's fine. It becomes unsettling if they begin being able to dictate what that public official is supposed to do

It's a very fuzzy line though. One moment they can be making regular donations to the city, and at another moment they can say "oh you know those donations we've been making, we'd probably have to stop because we can't afford them anymore... Unless of course law X gets passed, wink wink"

Or even more subtly, "You know that cop whose salary we are basically paying? We were just thinking, it would be really nice if he did X more often and Y less often. Don't you agree?"
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