this post was submitted on 26 May 2025
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I actually disagree, because they're a deterrant. "They show up after it happens" is an argument that could be applied to any deterrant, so it's obviously a bad argument. Police are a problem for other reasons than that they literally don't prevent any crime.
They're not a very good one considering how they have a very poor case closure rate for serious violent crimes, and the state and federal justice systems of the US are disturbingly okay with false convictions and excessive retribution.
sure, I don't disagree with you. The police are a moronic institution and ACAB, but this meme's dead stupid in order to farm worthless lemmy upvotes.
c/politicalmemes has a quality standard for memes? Besides which the argument was they might still be useful, and the versions we've seen in the US so far have shown to cost way more than their value (and that's before we get to asset forfeiture).
At this chapter it's long time to start implementing programs with the goal of completely replacing law enforcement in the US with other systems, including enough benefits to assure people aren't driven to crime by desperation.
It's probably accurate to say that police create more crime than they prevent
In addition to that, I'm thinking about all the crimes that can't happen if police aren't around
All kinds of police misconduct isn't happening without police:
Types of Police Misconduct:
Excessive Force: Using more force than necessary to subdue a suspect or make an arrest.
Discriminatory Harassment: Targeting individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion, or other protected characteristics.
False Arrests: Arresting someone without probable cause or legal justification.
Coercive Sexual Conduct: Engaging in sexual acts with an individual under duress or without their consent.
Unlawful Stops, Searches, or Arrests: Conducting searches or making arrests without proper warrants or legal grounds.
Police Brutality: Using excessive force, beatings, or other forms of violence against individuals.
Police Corruption: Engaging in illegal activities like bribery, extortion, or theft for personal gain.
Falsification of Evidence: Tampering with or fabricating evidence to support a false case.
Police Perjury: Lying under oath in court proceedings.
Witness Tampering: Trying to influence or intimidate witnesses.
Racial Profiling: Targeting individuals based on their race or ethnicity for law enforcement actions.
Unwarranted Surveillance: Conducting surveillance without proper legal authorization.
Assault: Physically attacking or harming a person.
Battery: Unlawful touching or striking of another person.
Murder or Manslaughter: Taking a human life, whether intentional or unintentional.
Rape: Non-consensual sexual activity.
I'd upvote that meme.
How does that apply to cameras used as deterrents? They're present the whole time.
A camera literally cannot stop a crime.
I guess that's dependent on how you define stop and whether or not deterring counts as stopping. One could argue that the presence of cameras and the potential for hard evidence against you could be enough of a deterrent to prevent you from committing the crime in the first place. But I bring it up not to argue the actual efficacy, but to propose that as a counterpoint to the suggestion that proactive deterrents do not exist.
It really isn't. A physically-present human being can see a thing happening, and then, make it stop happening. A camera cannot.
... I think you're misunderstanding the conceit of the whole thread. You generally don't call cops your house before you are even suspicious that a crime may happen, and they definitely aren't going to be at your house 24/7 on the off chance that one does. As the meme says, they show up AFTER the crime is committed or maybe while it's happening if you're lucky.
As opposed to a camera always being present, a criminal seeing it and going "Damn. Risks outweigh the benefits if I get caught on that camera. Better move on where I'm less likely to get caught." That's a deterrent. A crime was stopped. That doesn't mean someone needs to physcially take down a criminal while a crime is in progress.
Postponed, supressed or relocated potentially but not prevented and when crimes are postponed or supressed as such the desperation increases resulting in more violent and destructive crimes.
The only way to prevent crime is to deal with the conditions that cause it.
both are true?
It is both true that police show up after it happens and they don't prevent crime? No -- there exist crimes that are prevented by the police. I'm sorry but even if this meme is batting for my team it's in my best interest to shoot it down because it just makes us all look stupid. I agree with the conclusion this meme makes, but the first half is so obviously wrong it is worth negative points in my opinion.