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LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

lapdhelicoptertracker.com

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Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#151

Post by colordrops »

bigiain wrote: post #114
asdff wrote: post #41

This was circulating recently and is sort of funny: https://old.reddit.com/r/LosAngeles/comments/1oolm68/lapd_he... LAPD flies quite recklessly especially downtown, where they aren't even clearing the buildings. News choppers fly much higher, well over the skyscrapers, and have no problems getting very tight shots on whatever subject there is down there. If you follow them on ADS-B you see they really aren't used tha…

> end up in holding patterns with nothing to do Cynical-me assumes those are the ones running stingrays/imsi-catchers.

I don't see why a realistic theory that happens to point at an unpleasant possibility should be called "cynical".

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#152

Post by seemaze »

wredcoll wrote: post #118
dylan604 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cause of the behavior (as phrased when asked) is not wanting to go to jail. Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases? (assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

Lots of high capacity vehicular infra in LA.. I imagine most places just have ‘chases’.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#153

Post by deadbolt »

dylan604 wrote: post #75
asdff wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, one with a big glob of bubblegum on it then.

What happens when they miss and hit you in the head instead?

Probably the same thing when the police shoot an innocent bystander currently - absolutely nothing.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#154

Post by AnthonyMouse »

twelvedogs wrote: post #102
BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why do you have so many car chases? That seems like an odd problem. There must be a reason.

police will chase in the US for really any reason, kinda dumb when they have your plates they can just mail you a fine john oliver did a whole thing on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ygQ2wEwJw

> kinda dumb when they have your plates they can just mail you a fine

Except that the person trying to get away knows that too, so if all they're doing is buying themselves a bigger fine, why are they doing it?

The answer to that could be because they stole the car, or because there's a body in the back, in which case mailing them a fine doesn't work.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#155

Post by AnthonyMouse »

Aurornis wrote: post #137
hollerith wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could I have damaged the cars even though I saw no signs of damage? It would be nice if someone else with knowledge would chime in here. If this damages cars, then I want to know, so I can stop doing it in the future.

Unfortunately, yes. Dropping a magnet onto a car and pulling it off, especially if not recently cleaned, will damage the paint to some degree. Maybe not enough for an average person to notice, but you really shouldn’t do this to other people’s cars. Some people will get snide about anyone who cares about their car’s paint, but as someone who once bought a car I had to save a long time for and spent a lot of time with…

Also, the paint on cars isn't just cosmetic. It's what keeps the metal from getting wet and then rusting.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#156

Post by Rebelgecko »

zimpenfish wrote: post #144
wredcoll wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases? (assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

> so why do americans have more high speed chases? Off the top of my head: 1) US cops are more likely to harass, maim, kill you than most other places (whether you've crimed or not); 2) US legal system seems a little hinky when it comes to certain people; 3) "three strikes" (not sure if that's countrywide or state-level? pretty sure it's still around tho'?) can mean life for three trivial crimes; 4) car-centric count…

California's 3 strikes law only applies to "serious" felonies. The list is pretty reasonable IMO. No one is getting life in prison for littering or insurance fraud

It's basically a list of violent crimes, the only one that seems out of pocket is selling PCP, meth, or cocaine to childre, which is bad but could arguably be less bad than the others on the list

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#157

Post by domoregood »

twelvedogs wrote: post #102
BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why do you have so many car chases? That seems like an odd problem. There must be a reason.

police will chase in the US for really any reason, kinda dumb when they have your plates they can just mail you a fine john oliver did a whole thing on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ygQ2wEwJw

True, but chases involving stolen vehicles (a non-trivial percentage of all chases) means that mailing a fine to the registered owner wouldn't be a universal solution.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#158

Post by [deleted] »

wredcoll wrote: post #118
dylan604 wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cause of the behavior (as phrased when asked) is not wanting to go to jail. Asking why people are in situations where they are committing crimes that could land them in jail is a totally different question. Typically, poverty. Also common, addiction.

Except that people around the world generally don't want to go to prison, so why do americans have more high speed chases? (assuming they do in fact have more per capita/car...)

[deleted]

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#159

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

throwaway5465 wrote: post #74
0xbadcafebee wrote: post #6

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/audit-says-lapds-use... On average, the city spent an average of $46.6 million on the program, the audit disclosed. It also found that there is limited oversight or monitoring of the division, its policies and practices and whether the program is in line with the city's safety needs. [...] The department has 17 helicopters and over 90 employees. [..] The city operates their hel…

$5 per person per year then. Or, the price of a can of coke per person per month. Much of which flows directly back into the local economy through wages spent and maintnance paid.

That 46 million could be spent on education, transportation, aid for low-income families, the homeless, jobs programs, small business tax breaks, infrastructure renewal, public works, etc. According to the report, not only are they largely not used for anything productive, there's potential harms to both people and the environment. And as many have pointed out, the same work can be done with drones.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#160

Post by nradov »

stefan_ wrote: post #99
TravisLS wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worth noting that many people who run from the police also have fake or stolen plates.

I don't get this gotcha. The license plate scanner associates a plate with a location and time, it doesn't care for who drives it. In a chase, you know the plate, you don't know the location. Seems perfect?

Perfect how? The license plate scanner can only tell that a particular plate number was in a particular place at a particular time. It doesn't know if the plate was fake or stolen, or who was driving the vehicle, or if there was contraband in the vehicle. Stopping fleeing vehicles is one of the most effective ways to catch people with outstanding arrest warrants and get illegal weapons off the streets.
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