>
>they would object to it in this country
> > because of their ideological perspective on social relations and
> > causes of
> > criminal behavior.
> >
> > Again, this is just my impression based on the tone of their
> > posting. I
> > have no way of knowing how indicative that is.
>
>Well, they can all speak for themselves. Anyone?
>
>Doug
Of course I don't think a cop should mirandize someone who's in the middle of a killing spree.
Here's a thumbnail of what I think about the U.S. criminal justice system. I think it's failing because it does exactly what it's being asked to do. Most people caught up in it should be dealt with by some other social service agency that we either don't have or that is underfunded and otherwise neglected.
I'm not anti-cop, but I think what Wojtek says about abuse of authority being minimal and the work of a few bad apples is bogus. It's analogous to what the catholic church says about priest pedophiles. Abuse of authority is a systemic problem and, like someone said here earlier today, it undermines the trust communities want to have in the police.
This conversation started a couple years back when Wojtek said something about liberals who are soft on crime. It was a straw argument then and it still is. I asked him where are all these soft on crime liberals in this country with record numbers of people in custody. I never got an answer.