TresSugar

Stranger Than Fiction: Policewoman Moonlighted as Prostitute

TresSugar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Claiming that she couldn’t survive on her policewoman’s salary, Victoria Thorne, 29, became a $170-hour call girl for the Notorious Girls escort agency in Sunderland, England, for years before being caught. Not being particularly discreet about this second job, Thorne posed in her underwear on the agency’s website.

In addition to flouting the law she was supposed to uphold, Thorne also accessed confidential police files to get information on Notorious Girls’ rivals. After a months-long investigation, Thorne was arrested and sentenced to 15 months in jail.

You hear about the occasional rogue police officer who confiscates, say, a cocaine stash from dealers, only to be caught later selling the stuff for profit. I wonder if Thorne’s case will be viewed on par with something like that - or if the sexual nature of her criminal behavior will bring harsher reproach from her fellow officers.

Aside from her rifling through sensitive police files and the fact that prostitution is illegal (yeah, I know, that's pretty bad) - do you think prostitution is as bad as drug dealing?

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Criminals Fighting Crime? Atlanta Police Grads Have Records

LibertySugar — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:36 -0700

Over one-third of police academy graduates in Atlanta, Georgia have a criminal record. The eye-opening number of newly minted law enforcers have either been arrested or cited for crimes ranging from shoplifting to assault.

Just like the US Army, the Atlanta PD has to make some concession if it wants to meet its recruitment goals. The city has had a tough time filling the ranks for the admirable, but tough job of a police officer.

Considering a recent survey found that the average person breaks the law at least once a day, perhaps it's impossible to find perfectly innocent police officers. Still, disobeying traffic lights or talking on a cell phone while driving won't necessarily get you a criminal record. When police officers have a rap sheet is it a sign that our laws cast too wide a net, or that the city needs to revamp its recruitment efforts?

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Troopers Riding in Big Rigs to Nab Drivers: Smart or Sneaky?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:30:13 -0700

Over a two days this week, Oregon State Police and sheriffs (perhaps better known by their CB radio code, "Boy Scouts") hitched a ride with big-rig truckers on the hunt for aggressive drivers who wouldn't suspect a "Smokey" ride along and wouldn't have time to "brush their teeth and comb their hair" (shout out for a radar trap ahead.)

Leaving the "bubble gum machine" (cop car) at home, the troopers were able to nab 38 drivers in just two days. From their shotgun perches, most of the drivers were ticketed for driving over a "double nickel" (55 mph) and never saw it coming.

The ODOT safety manager says "Research shows that most truck vs. car crashes could be avoided if drivers knew how to steer clear of unsafe situations. With this campaign, we hope to increase awareness, encourage safer driving practices and make a positive change in the risky driving behaviors of motorists - all of which will lead to fewer crashes, fatalities, and injuries on Oregon's roadways."

Is planting troopers in a big rig a creative solution - or a little bit like a speed trap taken too far?

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Police Chaplains Resign Over Generic Prayer Policy

CitizenSugar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:00:56 -0700

The line between church and state became a little more blurry when six of the 17 chaplains for the Virginia State Police resigned over new restrictions on prayer. In an effort to comply with the concept of a government free of church recognition, the chaplains were asked to offer only non-denominational services for public events and ceremonies.

According to one chaplain, he believed that this meant that using the name Jesus Christ was forbidden - a claim that a police spokesperson denies: “There was no written directive nor were chaplains specifically told in their meetings with the executive staff and colonel that they could not use ‘Jesus Christ’ in their prayer.” Even though the police issued this statement, many on the force still believed this violated their conscience. Says one chaplain, "There were several of us who felt that because of our convictions about what the Bible says, we couldn't agree to go along with a generic prayer policy."

To see what's being done about it, read more.

Republican lawmakers in the state legislature are arguing that this is a restriction on the First Amendment. Their House Majority leader said, “For those of us who understand the importance of religion in American life and value the free expression of religion as one of our essential rights, the Kaine administration’s directive is disappointing and disheartening.” The state chaplain program, created in 1979, was designed to offer department employees consolation and spiritual guidance. The chaplains are putting together an online petition to get police departments to rescind the new rule. Should they?

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Does Civil Disobedience Like "Critical Mass" Inspire Change?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:03:45 -0700

If you live in a city, chances are you know to avoid the streets during the last Friday of every month. That's when the event, Critical Mass, takes over with hoards of bicyclers all gathered together to ride the streets, snarling traffic, and calling attention to the plight of the two-wheeled rider. Some call it a social movement, a celebration, some a protest ride, and others, the mildly creative, "Critical Mess." Whatever the nomenclature, it's a happening that inspires passion - like this video taken at last Friday's Critical Mass ride in New York City.

In the video - especially in the slow-motion replay - it appears as though the police officer approaches the bicyclist and shoves him over. The officer has since been placed on desk duty pending investigation of the incident, but the video fully encompasses the conflicting viewpoints of mass disobedience as a means to enact change. The riders intend to disrupt order. That's the means by which they make their message heard - the thought is if enough people, a critical mass of people, follow suit and subjugate the norm, the norm will be questioned. However, from those on the other end of the "conversation," the disruption caused by these methods does more to denigrate the cause than to gain followers.

To those questioning why the police don't do more to control the event, and perhaps stop events like the one captured in the video, the Seattle Post Intelligencer had this to say yesterday: "police don't exactly have a hands-off policy, but they're not going to devote significant resources to the regular act of civil disobedience."

Is Critical Mass the perfect example of change-inspiring civil demonstration, or is the emphasis really on "disobedience?"

Sante Fe's "Robin Hood" Tax, Rich to Pay For Police Housing?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00:16 -0700

If you have a fancy mansion in Santa Fe, NM, you might be asked to foot the bill subsidizing more affordable housing for local public servants like police officers and nurses. The Santa Fe City Council voted this week for a special election next Spring to decide on a one percent fee to be added to house sales that top $650,000. If that sounds like a lot, it's not an uncommon price tag for houses in the area, and it's keeping those who serve the community, from living there.

The mayor says, "More than half of our police force doesn't live in Santa Fe. They can't afford to buy a house in Santa Fe. The thinking is that it's a reasonable fee that helps us meet a very, very important goal in Santa Fe."

The funds raised would help workers make down payments or pay rent. Opponents worry that the extra tax on spendier homes would trickle down to all homeowners later making real estate even more expensive, not to mention that the plan won't generate the revenue the mayor thinks it will. A local realtor says, "We support affordable housing as well as a rich, diverse and sustainable economy."

Is this a great plan to have the wealthiest with the best living conditions directly help those with the opposite problem? Is this Robin Hood run amuck in real estate? Is it important to have local public servants live in the communities they serve?

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Denver Police Stock Up on Protest-Quelling Pepper Guns

CitizenSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:00:33 -0700

Summertime in an election year means convention cities are stocking up on confetti, balloons, and. . . pepper guns? Denver police hoping to prepare against disorder are stocking up on guns that fire a peppery powder instead of bullets in case they need to disperse crowds at the Democratic National Convention.

The department recently ordered 88 Mark IV launchers and projectiles at a cost "in the low six figures," spending a mere portion of the $50 million federal security grant. The hushed details of the budgeting have the American Civil Liberties Union filing a civil lawsuit alleging the city is violating the Colorado Open Records Act.

Denver authorities say releasing the information is "contrary to the public interest" because it could compromise important tactical information hampering security.

Some organizers of protest groups think police are amassing an arsenal of extended-range tasers and weapons that cripple people with high-intensity sound. The bullet balls ordered up are filled with powder "that's like a combination of cayenne pepper and baby powder" and can incapacitate a person like pepper spray.

Should Denver have to disclose how they're dishing out their security dough - or does that defeat the purpose? Do you expect violence or protests at the conventions?

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DC Institutes Police Checkpoints to Combat Bad 'Hoods

CitizenSugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:00:18 -0700

Where's the line between keeping people safe and a police state? In Washington DC the line just got a lot finer. They're implementing a new plan to seal off entire troubled neighborhoods and establish security checkpoints to monitor who comes and goes and why.

They're calling them "Neighborhood Safety Zones" and will require those entering the area to prove that they work there or have “legitimate reason” to be there - or they'll be sent away or face arrest. The zones are a last ditch effort to quarantine areas thought responsible for the spiraling crime rate plaguing the city.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier has been implementing out of the ordinary programs hoping to reverse the mayhem, but has had to scale back some - like plans for warrantless door-to-door searches for guns and drugs, and "All Hands on Deck" weekends aimed to bump up police presence. To see who's against the move, read more.

Lanier says the "no go zones" have worked in other cities and she's not worried about the Constitutionality of the measure. However the President of the DC ACLU says the plan is "cockamamie" and elaborates

I think they tried this in Russia and it failed,” she said. “It’s just our experience in this city that we always end up targeting poor people and people of color, and we treat the kids coming home from choir practice the same as we treat those kids who are selling drugs.

Is this a creative way to turn around a crime-addled city - or a dangerous move that kills freedom?

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Four Philadelphia Cops Involved in Beating Have Been Fired

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:00:24 -0700

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has announced that following the May 5 beating of three suspects in a drug-related triple shooting, four police officers will be fired. The beating was caught on tape by a news helicopter and shows 15 officers descending upon the car. Two of the four being fired were new recruits on probation; the other two, more experienced.

The most senior officer present has been demoted to the rank of police officer and transferred to another district for failing to stop the beating, though the tape shows he had no contact with the suspects. Three other officers were suspended for up to 15 days and and have been transferred to other districts. To see why the beating happened, the response, and the tape, read more.

At the time of the incident, emotions were running high as a fellow officer had been killed two days earlier during a robbery. The men from the car are in custody on attempted murder, assault and firearms charges. The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, has said he was satisfied by the department’s response to the beating.

However one of the lawyers for the men in the car says, “The only reason these people are not in handcuffs is because they are police officers. They behaved like a pack of wild animals.” Adding to this, the chairwoman of the National Action Network (led by Al Sharpton) said “The position of the citizens of Philadelphia is that the response by Ramsey and Nutter was not enough. We want all the officers prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Is the response enough? Too severe? Did the known danger following the murder of the officer two days prior, inform their response - or send it out of control? Should the officers be treated like civilians, or are cases involving cops inherently different given the situations they face? Since the men in the car are being held on very serious offenses, did they earn severe treatment?

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Faster Than a Speeding Donut! LAPD Gets Tough on Fat

LibertySugar — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:00:12 -0700

Drop the donut and put your hands in the air!! That's what dietitian, Rana Parker, is telling officers in the LAPD. The police department hired her as their full time diet coach.

The Department is cracking down on overweight officers with the hope that it will make them better at their jobs and potentially save more lives. Fit officers can more easily sprint after criminals, feel better about themselves, and help improve the image of the force.

Instead of hitting up a drive-through, Parker suggests keeping energy bars, fruit, or a peanut butter sandwich in the cruiser. She works mostly with recruits, in hopes of in-multi-graining them with good eating habits.

Since police departments across the country are relaxing recruiting requirements, including body fat percentage, this policy might be necessary.

Do you think the LAPD's plan to make sure everyone in Los Angeles has a nutritionist is a good use of taxpayers' money? Could healthy officers slim down the state budgets, since taxpayers pay for their health care?

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