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Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

economist.com

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Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#11

Post by argomo »

account-5 wrote: post #5

Pretty sure the police aren't enacting the laws they are obligated to enforce, the government is the ones doing that.

First: "Muddled laws give them wide discretion"

Second: You are responsible for your actions, even if you're just following orders.

Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#13

Post by gotoeleven »

account-5 wrote: post #5

Pretty sure the police aren't enacting the laws they are obligated to enforce, the government is the ones doing that.

Enforcing laws consistently would be great but of course one great tactic of tyrannical governments is to have a lot of laws, but only enforce them against disfavored groups.

One San Francisco flavor of this to get charged for bribing officials to do their jobs.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/three-construction-plan...

Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#14

Post by OgsyedIE »

It's strange that all four examples in the article are people with commonly objectionable right-wing views when the UK has sent arresting officers to people on the basis of online comments across the political spectrum in the last couple years. It isn't merely a partisan issue where a group that are easily written off as racists receive heavy-handed justice, the police have intermittently targeted every view away from the center in their homes, even Quakers, disability advocates and anti-hunting activists.

Does the editorial team of the Economist want to imply that only right-leaning members of the British public are experiencing this?

Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#15

Post by account-5 »

handedness wrote: post #9
account-5 wrote: post #5

Pretty sure the police aren't enacting the laws they are obligated to enforce, the government is the ones doing that.

The article addresses that.

Then the title is misleading and clickbaity then. "Government is restricting speech in worrying ways" is the actual story. Or old laws not fit for purpose in modern contexts. But during the police in the title means more clicks because everyone hates the police.

Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#17

Post by landl0rd »

account-5 wrote: post #5

Pretty sure the police aren't enacting the laws they are obligated to enforce, the government is the ones doing that.

Police have broad discretion over what they enforce and when. In America Castle Rock v. Gonzales affirmed this strongly (although it also had other questionable implications). I believe things are similar in Britain.

Over here we've seen this with various jurisdictions decriminalizing marijuana and other drugs by simply not policing it.

Re: Britain's police are restricting speech in worrying ways

#20

Post by account-5 »

argomo wrote: post #11
account-5 wrote: post #5

Pretty sure the police aren't enacting the laws they are obligated to enforce, the government is the ones doing that.

First: "Muddled laws give them wide discretion" Second: You are responsible for your actions, even if you're just following orders.

Muddled laws are a government issue. And the second goes for the people affected by the muddled laws too, who have way more discretion than the police.
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