Arrests should be reserved for felonies and acts of violence on persons and properties. The case that stuck in my brain was the arrest of an individual on Tracey Ave for parking his car on the lawn. Com on man, be real. You are not dealing with a harden criminal.
Technically in New York state,, being issued an appearance ticket for something other than a traffic violation is an arrest. Just an arrest without a confinement. I agree with Jeff, the poll question is far too broad.
With regard to Tom's comment, that result wasn't actually for parking the car on the lawn, rather for not paying the associated fine. So I ask you this, if lessor violations are fined and the person refuses to pay the fine, what alternative is there short of arrest?
The question comes from all the times people bitch when somebody is arrested for minor crimes.
It's a frequent occurrence, especially on Facebook.
So, Tom, if somebody stole your garden hose from in front of your house, you wouldn't want that person charged with a crime? What about the person who steals from Walmart?
Should sworn officers of the law pick and choose which laws they enforce? How should they make those decisions?
The Tracy Ave resident wasn't arrested for parking on the lawn. He was arrested during a traffic stop because he had a warrant for failure to appear in court on that charge.
I'm not as concerned with people being arrested for minor crimes such as petit larceny. What I am concerned about is what happens upon conviction or dismissal of charges. I'm not sure if people are aware, but if you're arrested, even if there's no conviction, a record of arrest can and often does remain on permanent file for law enforcement to see. You'll have to apply to have the record expunged.
If you did wrong and held for a few minutes waiting for your ticket, that isn't a big deal. I've had 2 tickets, one of them dismissed, but none the less I patiently waited. Heck I was late both times for where I was going, but it wasn't a major deal.
Now if you're cuffed and hauled off for j-walking, that would be messed up.
Define "minor". All misdemeanors? Punch somebody in the face, and that's "harassment - the same as using an electronic device to alarm or threaten another person.
Doug, what about the person that has multiple petit larceny arrests? Shouldn't they be taken off the street? At least made to post bail?
I believe law enforcement officers should be allowed to exercise some degree of discretion. Will they get it right 100% of the time? Obviously not, but in their job very little is cut and dried.
Bob there really wasn't very much discretion for the officer in this case, he stopped the car on a traffic violation, the ID check showed an active failure to appear or pay fine warrant, the officer didn't decide, the judge who issued the warrant did. A warrant is a court order for law enforcement to arrest.
Arrests should be reserved
Arrests should be reserved for felonies and acts of violence on persons and properties. The case that stuck in my brain was the arrest of an individual on Tracey Ave for parking his car on the lawn. Com on man, be real. You are not dealing with a harden criminal.
The question is very broad,
The question is very broad, I'd like to have some context.
Technically in New York
Technically in New York state,, being issued an appearance ticket for something other than a traffic violation is an arrest. Just an arrest without a confinement. I agree with Jeff, the poll question is far too broad.
With regard to Tom's comment, that result wasn't actually for parking the car on the lawn, rather for not paying the associated fine. So I ask you this, if lessor violations are fined and the person refuses to pay the fine, what alternative is there short of arrest?
The question comes from all
The question comes from all the times people bitch when somebody is arrested for minor crimes.
It's a frequent occurrence, especially on Facebook.
So, Tom, if somebody stole your garden hose from in front of your house, you wouldn't want that person charged with a crime? What about the person who steals from Walmart?
Should sworn officers of the law pick and choose which laws they enforce? How should they make those decisions?
The Tracy Ave resident wasn't
The Tracy Ave resident wasn't arrested for parking on the lawn. He was arrested during a traffic stop because he had a warrant for failure to appear in court on that charge.
Pay the fine or go to court. He did neither.
I've always understood
I've always understood arrests were cuffs & squad car. Which isn't needed for minor offenses.
Nope. When you're stopped,
Nope.
When you're stopped, detained, aren't free to go and charged with a crime, you're under arrest. Cuffs not required.
I'm not as concerned with
I'm not as concerned with people being arrested for minor crimes such as petit larceny. What I am concerned about is what happens upon conviction or dismissal of charges. I'm not sure if people are aware, but if you're arrested, even if there's no conviction, a record of arrest can and often does remain on permanent file for law enforcement to see. You'll have to apply to have the record expunged.
If you did wrong and held for
If you did wrong and held for a few minutes waiting for your ticket, that isn't a big deal. I've had 2 tickets, one of them dismissed, but none the less I patiently waited. Heck I was late both times for where I was going, but it wasn't a major deal.
Now if you're cuffed and hauled off for j-walking, that would be messed up.
Define "minor". All
Define "minor". All misdemeanors? Punch somebody in the face, and that's "harassment - the same as using an electronic device to alarm or threaten another person.
Doug, what about the person that has multiple petit larceny arrests? Shouldn't they be taken off the street? At least made to post bail?
I believe law enforcement officers should be allowed to exercise some degree of discretion. Will they get it right 100% of the time? Obviously not, but in their job very little is cut and dried.
Bob there really wasn't very
Bob there really wasn't very much discretion for the officer in this case, he stopped the car on a traffic violation, the ID check showed an active failure to appear or pay fine warrant, the officer didn't decide, the judge who issued the warrant did. A warrant is a court order for law enforcement to arrest.