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LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

lapdhelicoptertracker.com

211–220 of 317 posts

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> 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.

Except it's almost never that. The answer is that people are stupid and impulsive.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#212
post #209

To those not familiar with LA or the USA, here’s a cultural time capsule from 2Pac circa 1996: “ It's the, City of Angels and constant danger South Central L.A., can't get no stranger Full of drama like a soap opera, on the curb Watchin' the ghetto bird helicopters, I observe” Pretty much still sums it up.

Well the danger part has decreased a lot. It peaked at almost 100 per 10k people in the 90s, and now it's closer to 25. Still very high, but a lot of progress.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are trivial matters in that the penalties are minor, not that they are optional.

Of course they're not optional, but you shouldn't be starting a high speed pursuit over a seat belt violation, or for someone going 5 over the speed limit. Principle of proportionality should apply, you shouldn't be risking the lives of the public over anything but the most serious offences where them getting away poses a greater threat to the public than potentially killing a bystander.

> you shouldn't be starting a high speed pursuit over a seat belt violation, or for someone going 5 over the speed limit.

That's the thing: normal people don't. Violent criminals, people with active arrest warrants, and people carrying highly illegal/dangerous things in their vehicles are the types that run from traffic stops.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#214
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Same reason that nearly every police response in the US is an armed response. Same reason police kill more Americans than terrorists do. US police culture is toxic and deadly. Several cities tightly restrict high-speed chases. That should be the norm.

My home town of Hamilton, Ontario (population 560k) recently made the news because a guy stole a bus, with passengers onboard, and started driving it through the city. It was newsworthy because he also dropped people off at their stops, and even rejected someone who tried to board with an expired bus pass. But what stood out for me in addition to all that was the police response. They quietly followed the bus, intentionally not using sirens to avoid “spooking” the guy. They waited for the right moment, boarded the bus and arrested him peacefully and without incident.

I recognize my little city is not like LA (which I’ve visited twice) - the types of crimes, the types of criminals and the prevalence of weapons are far different, although we also have our share of gun violence and murder. But we have also not militarized our police, and there’s very much a police culture of service to the community. Here, when a cop uses their weapon, it’s seen as a failure. This was a situation handled properly, and it made me proud.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#215
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Same reason that nearly every police response in the US is an armed response. Same reason police kill more Americans than terrorists do. US police culture is toxic and deadly. Several cities tightly restrict high-speed chases. That should be the norm.

Exactly, unless someone is in imminent danger there's basically no reason to do a high speed chase. Get the plate, track it on the thousands of ANPR cameras that exist, look up the owner and just knock on their door later on.

Like 99% of high speed chases only end when the culprit crashes their car, and often that's into someone else's car risking harm to innocent civilians.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#216
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Same reason that nearly every police response in the US is an armed response. Same reason police kill more Americans than terrorists do. US police culture is toxic and deadly. Several cities tightly restrict high-speed chases. That should be the norm.

That may be - it should be noted that criminals in the US are also much more violent and brazen then most of the rest of the planet. If your criminal population is packing heat the response tends to be much more aggressive. Its a bit cat and mouse.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are high speed police chases (100mph+) in Los Angeles — no exaggeration — on an almost daily basis. Air support is the primary defense tool for law enforcement. It's so bad that the local TV stations have their own choppers and a dedicated on-screen UI tailored for the chases with GPS-based tracking and speed. If you're lucky you can catch one of the many YouTube live streams. Here's one from....two days ago: h…

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

American police just like it. They start chase for any reason, even for a broken tail lamp. Also not a simple chaise, but one where they intentionally provoke a car crash, often with fatal results for innocent people.

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#218
post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The report is wrong. If you bother to watch LA news you'll see they are used a few times a night to track vehicles from the air. This frees up ground units and avoids high speed chases which saves lives. It's fun to call this a waste of taxpayer dollars until you watch a carjacked vehicle recovered with kids inside.

Are you asserting that the report is lying, and that a majority of the flight hours aren't actually being used for all those mentioned low priority purposes? If so, is your assertion based on the helicopters being used a few times a night per television reports?

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#219
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same reason that nearly every police response in the US is an armed response. Same reason police kill more Americans than terrorists do. US police culture is toxic and deadly. Several cities tightly restrict high-speed chases. That should be the norm.

That may be - it should be noted that criminals in the US are also much more violent and brazen then most of the rest of the planet. If your criminal population is packing heat the response tends to be much more aggressive. Its a bit cat and mouse.

Crime is down. Not because we have aggressive cops that shoot people a lot. https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-mid-year-...

Re: LAPD helicopter tracker with real-time operating costs

#220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Greater LA areas has 34k square miles of area. Germany, the whole country, has 128k square miles. In other words, the LA area alone is a quarter the size of all of Germany.

A huge chunk of that is national parks and deserts. It's not all inhabited. Only about 25% is classified as urban with the overwhelming majority of that being concentrated in Los Angeles and it's surrounding cities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Los_Angeles#Urban_area... This isn't a size measuring contest. I think Europeans forget how _young_ America is. That's the only unique part of this country. Give us a…

Well, and we always have to shit on the younger (and now bigger) brother
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