Words fail me.

Let us try to keep it simple. I used to teach criminal justice courses (I am now retired). One of the things that was difficult to convey to my students who were on their way to becoming law enforcement was when to or not to enforce the law.

They always seemed to come in with the weird idea that all laws should be enforced. Absolutely not. I started explaining that some laws were not really workable. For instance, one state has a blasphemy law that said denying the divinity of Jesus Christ was a crime and defining that crime as a felony. So, I enquired as to whether the class once they were in law enforcement wished to round up all other religious believers besides Christians and charge them with felonies. The class would decide that this was a bad idea.

Then we discussed adultery laws. Many states have laws forbidding sex between consenting adults. I point out that many serious crimes happen. There are murders, rapes, robberies and other assorted mayhem. Is it a good used of your law enforcement resources to be peering in bedroom windows at two A.M. to see if people are having sex? The class will agree that some offenses deserve more attention than others.

Then we discuss “puppycide.” This is a slang criminal justice term for cops blowing away people’s beloved pets. This happens a lot more often than is well known. I have done some research on the subject. I explain that if you want to bring the reputation of your department or state down to truly pitiful and despised level killing a beloved pet for the most minor of reasons is just how to do it.

And thus, we come to the case above.

The proper action of a state agency confronted by the facts above is to do nothing. It is a simple matter of exercising intelligence and judgment.

Sending a raiding party of armed men to murder a squirrel and raccoon is not an intelligent law enforcement decision.

Doing something like this makes your agency the subject of criticism and ridicule.

And it is completely deserved.

Changes of leadership and personnel are required. You cannot have fools running agencies. There is simply no telling what other nonsense these idiots have perpetrated that have fallen below the radar. They just got caught this time. Does this agency need to exist? Does it require these resources or these personnel?

Give a fool a gun and bad things happen. Give a fool or a collection of fools a federal, state or city agency and many, many bad things happen.

Someone need to stand up and take action.

Accountability is important.

James Alan Pilant

A Borderline Tragedy

On April 26, 2024 By southwerkIn business ethics

I’m sure most of my kind readers are of the law abiding type. I would like you to imagine what it would feel like to be surrounded by heavily armed policemen who believe that you are a dangerous felon right in the middle of committing a crime. Watch the film below to get the details of what happened to Jamie Rodgers in that same situation. God forbid anything like this should ever happen to you!

Rodgers’ car was in the shop at the dealership. He was given a loaner car so he could drive to work. The dealership mislaid his paperwork and reported the car as stolen. The police stopped him on the highway, surrounded his car with heavily armed officers. He was finally released when the situation was clarified. It is only a matter of chance and luck that he wasn’t killed or seriously injured.

I’m flabbergasted at this error. Is it just routine to report cars as stolen? I did some internet searches looking for dealerships who had reported loaners as stolen but all I got were references to the current case. So, apparently this is far outside the norm.

In my opinion the dealership is liable for pain and suffering. It was a very serious error and they have to be responsible for what they did.

The more I thought about the case, the more I saw the similarities to “swatting.” A bad actor can use the police to harm enemies with this kind of report. Fortunately, there was none of that here. But the strategy of “lets you and him fight” has been a regular ploy throughout all recorded history. Of course, I’m just a cynic. Let’s hope that nothing like this every happens again.

https://hoodline.com/2024/04/orange-county-man-sues-huntington-beach-dealership-after-mistakenly-held-at-gunpoint-by-deputies-over-stolen-car-report

Rodgers, who was on his way to his job as an athletic trainer, told KTLA, “I’m thinking I’m going to get shot. I’m a Black man being pulled over in Orange County. … I’ve heard too many stories of this happening.” A fleet of sheriff’s patrol cars had tailed him, leading to suddenly being stopped and faced with about a dozen officers aiming their guns at him, as they had been mistakenly informed that Rodgers was armed and dangerous.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-sues-dealership-loaner-car-130202906.html

Bus Aide Fired

On April 10, 2024 By southwerkIn business ethics1 Comment

https://www.yahoo.com/news/littleton-bus-aide-fired-students-230200317.html

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/littleton-colorad-school-bus-aid-charged-assault-students/5308980

https://apnews.com/article/autistic-boy-bus-abuse-aide-f20f6454e0de0d2698c873ee81ede735

Assault and battery is a serious crime. Adults can be permanently scarred and even killed in such attacks. But what about children and in particular what about helpless children? In this case, the children were non-verbal autistic children. You get the impression that this savagery was carried out with the expectation that getting caught and being held responsible for these crimes was unlikely.

The story listed second above has a video of the crime. It shows a small child repeatedly pummeled by a full size adult without discernable reason much less a provocation.

From the article:

Jess (the child’s mother) said she noticed strange bumps and bruises on her son months ago, dating back to September 2023. She brought her concerns to staff at The Joshua School, who confirmed with her Dax did not suffer those injuries while in their care. Jess said she then brought her concerns to LPS, but they told her there was nothing to be concerned about. Then, Jess said, her son’s injuries became worse, and she demanded answers from the district.

It seems apparent that the abuse went on for quite some time. The parent began complaining in September. While it was quickly evident that the child had not been abused at school, the black eye, bruises and abrasions should have been enough evidence for the school to have looked further into the matter.

The mother went on to say:

“Although it’s hard to watch, that’s what my child has endured for months due to inaction by Littleton Public Schools,” she said. “He had to live through that every day. The least we can do is bring awareness to a situation that is unfortunately more common than you would think. There needs to be change.”

There are current charges filed but I think we are at the very beginning of the case. I assume they will be reviewing the bus videos back as far as they can and when they do, they will find out how many victims there were and what kids of abuse were inflicted. It is also possible that abuse may have happened elsewhere. So, the final charges are likely to be much more numerous and serious.

However, I believe the school district’s apparent failure to investigate the injuries in a timely manner makes them civilly very vulnerable.

Author’s Note: Ordinarily I would do a business ethics analysis of the case. But this isn’t a case where honest observers differ. This clearly monstrous behavior, a savage assault on a number of children doesn’t fall into any sort of a gray area. When the ethics problem is right in front of you and enraging, there is little need for further comment.

James Alan Pilant

Ban the Box Picking Up Momentum?

On October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 By southwerkIn Capitalism

CRIME Suicidal Tendencies by Yaia (Photo credit: YAIAGIFT™)

Ban the Box Picking Up Momentum?

“Ban the Box” is a movement in States and communities to have employers eliminate questions about whether or not an applicant has a criminal background. These questions keep millions of people from even being considered for employment.

America’s passion for imprisonment driven by the “war on drugs” has resulted in a truly incredible proportion of the population with a criminal background.

So, we as a nation are confronted with a policy decision, “Do we make them unemployable as former criminals with all the costs that entails or do we facilitate re-entry into society?” It’s an important decision. The productivity, the potential, of millions of Americans is huge. Equally, the loss in tax money and social disruption of creating a permanent underclass is also huge.

I worked in criminal justice for some years. When I’m teaching my classes, I tell my students that it’s okay to tell me if they have committed a crime but never tell their classmates. I get that people who commit crimes have to re-enter or be some kind of pariah. Most people don’t. Media stoked fear of the other is a vicious ratings builder.

If someone has done their time and paid their penalty, they should have a second chance. Second chances are in a real way what America is about.

James Pilant

Target Will Stop Asking People Their Criminal Histories On Job Applications | ThinkProgress

The big box retailer Target will stop asking prospective employees about their criminal records on job applications, the company announced over the weekend. The decision signals an important move toward helping former inmates who struggle to find work because of employment discrimination.

Advocacy groups for ex-offenders’ rights have pushed for years to “Ban the Box,” a phrase referring to the box on an employment application that asks about someone’s criminal past. The question, administered before a person has a chance to even land an interview, can disqualify otherwise eligible candidates off the bat.

But, starting at the beginning of next year, Target will wait until making a provisional job offer before inquiring about a prospective employee’s criminal record, giving candidates the chance to make their case before an employer passes judgement. The company’s decision comes just a few months after Minnesota — where Target is headquartered — approved a “Ban the Box” statute.

“The Box” can be one of the main barriers of re-entry for people with a criminal past. When an employer sees that box checked, it can be an automatic disqualifier. And the practice is so widespread that it can really hurt the chances for employment for ex-offenders. Surveys show that%

via Target Will Stop Asking People Their Criminal Histories On Job Applications | ThinkProgress.

From around the web!

From the web site, Out and Employed ( I recommend this site – quite good. jp)

http://outandemployed.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/ban-the-box-update/

As I noted in my last post, this week is devoted to checking on the status of legislation affecting ex-offenders.

One of the more effective strategies — and one that seems to be gaining steam — is the ”Ban the Box”
grassroots campaign. The box, of course, is that section of the
employment application that asks about whether you have a criminal
record. The question can come in a variety of forms as blogger James Walker notes in his very comprehensive post. Sometimes
it’s even a series of questions, as I discovered when my son recently
applied at our local grocery store for a job as a bag boy. These are
usually yes/no questions, typically followed by a space where you’re
asked to explain any charges in further detail.

The problem is that once you check ”Yes,” your application often
goes no further. One human resources professional recently told me
that in cases where someone answered yes in an online application at
his former employer, the application was automatically deleted.

Since 2003, some 30 cities states and counties have eliminated the box and the question from applications.

Target Bans the Box (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
Target Bans the Box! (rootrebound.wordpress.com)

Rape is Wrong

On October 17, 2013October 17, 2013 By southwerkIn Editorial

English: Stylized handcuffs. Português: Algema... — English: Stylized handcuffs. Português: Algemas estilizadas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rape is Wrong

If you go down the page you will see a article from the Huffington Post in which an attorney suggests, I suppose the best way to put it, is that in the current case of the Missouri teen, that she was to blame. This makes me very angry. Bizarrely enough, I think you shouldn’t take advantage of 14 year old girls.

I think that it is obvious that rape is wrong but it apparently in many people’s minds carries a lot of caveats. Apparently that caveated definition always begins with the phrase: “What did she expect…”, which I have been hearing now for a good thirty years. This is often followed, in no particular order – when she dressed like that, – when she got into the car with him, – when she drank that much, – when she flirted like that, – when she went to his apartment at two in the morning, etc. You can probably think of a few I missed.

Raping women is wrong. Let me throw a little radical thought your way. Rape is a crime. It is not punishment for women’s misbehavior. It is a crime for which the perpetrator should go to prison. It is not a crime of passion, it is an assertion of power by a male without character or breeding.

And let me add these little thoughts –

A gentleman does not have sex with an unconscious woman.

A gentleman does not get a woman drunk to avoid getting her consent.

A gentleman realizes that no matter how a lady is dressed, how late it is, how drunk she is, that his duty is to protect and honor, all the time, every time.

James Pilant

Joseph DiBenedetto: ‘I’m Not Saying She Deserved To Be Raped, But…’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/joseph-dibenedetto-rape-missouri-teen_n_4118899.html

“What did she expect to happen at one in the morning after sneaking out?” attorney Joseph DiBenedetto said on Shephard Smith Reports. “I’m not saying — assuming that these facts are accurate and this did happen — I’m not saying she deserved to be raped, but knowing the facts as we do here including what the prosecutor has set forth, this case is going nowhere and it\’s going nowhere quick.”

Shep Smith immediately jumped in and refuted his claims.

“What you’ve done, Joseph, is taken an alleged victim of rape and turned her into a liar and a crime committer,” he said. “That’s a far jump from a 1,000 miles away.\”

via Joseph DiBenedetto: ‘I’m Not Saying She Deserved To Be Raped, But…’.

From around the web.

From the web site, Rape in the Military.

http://rapecultureinthemilitary.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/rape-in-the-military/

I call this an epidemic in our military because the numbers are staggering. It is estimated that 1 in 5 women in the military are sexually assaulted. (McDonough) A March 26 report by the Institute of Medicine said sexual assault and rape have “been occurring at high rates throughout U.S. armed forces, including the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.” (Maze) The DOD (Department of Defense) estimated that last year around 19,000 service members are sexually assaulted each year. Thousands of our brave soldiers are being assaulted by their fellow brothers and sisters. The psychological damage of being betrayed by someone you are supposed to trust with your life has to be incredibly scarring.

The military even has a term for those who are suffering from the effects of sexual assault; it is called MST (Military Sexual Trauma). The military has reports done every year, and they have a division SAPRO (Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office) that handles policies and training around sexual assault crimes. So why are the numbers so high? “Only a small fraction of the incidents, 3,192 in 2011, are reported, and a mere 10 percent of those cases proceed to trial — hardly enough to create meaningful deterrence to criminal behavior and establish accountability.”(NYT Editorial)

Smart on Crime

On May 31, 2013 By southwerkIn Opinion

Smart on Crime

Oregon Prosecutors Vie For Reduced Drug Sentences | ThinkProgress

Increasingly, conservatives who have historically followed a “tough on crime” mantra are embracing a “smart on crime” approach that reallocates resources to move away from over-criminalization and towards more efficient, effective criminal laws. Earlier this month, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed two laws that embrace alternatives to incarceration to nonviolent drug and property offenders, and eliminate jail time for juveniles who merely misbehave. And ten bipartisan members of Congress have formed a committee devoted to over-criminalization.

Oregon Prosecutors Vie For Reduced Drug Sentences | ThinkProgress

A few years ago, it was not clear whether or not America’s preoccupation with long prison sentences for even minor crimes would even be possible of change. But now, there is a definite away from such policies as “three strikes,” etc. It is one of the most historically important changes in the history of criminal justice in the United States.

Over the past forty years, we went from a nation that relied much more heavily on rehabilitation to a nation with the highest incarceration in the world. That high incarceration emasculated state budgets causing cuts in all kinds of traditional services and made it impossible for states to deal with long term problems like deteriorating infrastructure.

I am delighted that these policies are changing. The freed up human potential and the enormous sums of money available because of these changes will make American a better place to live.

James Pilant

Live in Prison Everywhere?

On May 11, 2013 By southwerkIn Opinion

Live in Prison Everywhere?

Why does Norway have a 21-year maximum prison sentence?

There are essentially five goals of sentencing: retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, restoration, and rehabilitation. The last of these, rehabilitation, is probably one of the most controversial. In the U.S., for example, rehabilitation is considered a secondary goal, after retribution. Americans want their prisoners punished first and rehabilitated second.

This appeals to a societal sense of justice and fair play that has considerable cultural inertia in our country. Any talk of prioritizing rehabilitation ahead of retribution very typically generates complaints about how doing so will endanger public safety, ignore the needs of crime victims, and—most damning of all—coddle criminals.Never mind that certain forms of rehabilitation have been shown through research to reduce the risk of future offending, we want our pound of flesh first and foremost.

The same is not true the world over, though. Norway, by contrast, has a very progressive approach to sentencing that prioritizes rehabilitation as a primary strategy for reducing future criminal behavior. That doesn’t mean they don’t use prisons, it just means that the conditions of confinement are geared toward reducing the risk that an offender will return to a life of crime after release

Why does Norway have a 21-year maximum prison sentence?

As the author well notes, not everyone shares American’s passion for punishment. As I often tell my students, one of the reasons we should become familiar with other cultures is that any system that has functioned successfully over a long period of time has to have some good ideas, and every culture needs thought renewal and the occasional shake up to develop. This is one of those ideas that deserves examination.

James Pilant

Prison Population is Falling

On April 23, 2013 By southwerkIn Opinion

Prison Population is Falling

The Washington Monthly – Ten Miles Square – Why The Prison Population is Falling

The number of people incarcerated went up every single year from the mid 1970s until 2009. Over that more than 30 year period, there have been economic booms and contractions, changes in the relative strength of the major political parties, alterations in the demographic makeup of the US general population, the waxing and waning of drug epidemics, and countless other changes in American life. What that should tell us is that any simple explanation for why America has the prison policy it does at any given time is wrong or at least incomplete.

Pew notes that over the past 5 years, incarceration fell in 29 states (ruling out another simple explanation: that this is all due to the court order to reduce overcrowding in California prisons). …

The Washington Monthly – Ten Miles Square – Why The Prison Population is Falling

Religion is a Ethical Double Edged Sword

On March 15, 2013 By southwerkIn Opinion

Religion is a Ethical Double Edged Sword

Faith-based prison programs: New study suggests religion may help criminals justify their crimes.

A new study in the academic journal Theoretical Criminology (hat tip to the Vancouver Sun) suggests that, far from causing offenders to repent of their sins, religious instruction might actually encourage crime. The authors surveyed 48 “hardcore street offenders” in and around Atlanta, in hopes of determining what effect, if any, religion has on their behavior. While the vast majority of those surveyed (45 out of 48 people) claimed to be religious, the authors found that the interviewees “seemed to go out of their way to reconcile their belief in God with their serious predatory offending. They frequently employed elaborate and creative rationalizations in the process and actively exploit religious doctrine to justify their crimes.”

First of all, many interviewees had only a vague notion of the central tenets of their faiths. Take, for example, an 18-year-old robber whose “street name” was Que:

Que: I believe in God and the Bible and stuff. I believe in Christmas, and uh, you know the commitments and what not.

Int: You mean the Commandments?

Que: Yeah that. I believe in that.

Int: Can you name any of them?

Que: Ahhh … well, I don’t know … like don’t steal, and uh, don’t cheat and shit like that. Uhmm … I can’t remember the rest.

Faith-based prison programs: New study suggests religion may help criminals justify their crimes.

Religion has not been a consistent force for morality. Savage wars, greed, theft and torture have all been favored by Christianity at various points in history. Other religions have similar checkered pasts. It is not surprising that prison preaching is not having the quite the effect expected.

It doesn’t help that the Bible is a complex work whose division into single verses complicates understanding. (I promise you that if you read the bible organized as paragraphs and books not verses, you will find that it is a much more consistent and eloquent document than when it is organized into brief comments – that get tossed like missiles by varying denominations and zealots of all stripes.)

It might do well to conduct studies to find out what religious systems are most effective in curbing recidivism.

I doubt that will happen. The results could be very dangerous. After all, what would people say if the Muslim Brotherhood was most effective in curbing later crime.

James Pilant

From around the web –

From the web site, Thoughtful Faith:

The United States keeps no official statistics on religious beliefs of inmates. The claim that atheists were under-represented in prisions was seemingly started, by Rod Swift, who wrote it on his website, and publicized the claim through the internet and sceptical magazines. He claims that he received an email from an employee of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Denise Golumbaski. According to this email, 0.2% of those surveyed specifically answered they were “atheist” and 19.8% give no answer. This compares with 0.5% of the US population at the time who identified as atheist, and 4 to 6% (according to Gallop) who gave no answer.

From the web site, The Penal System: (This is an interview with Pete Brook – it’s fascinating – you should read it!)

People have to care about each other. It’s just really bizarre in a country that has professed Christian ideals that when it comes to the prison system people don’t seem to love their neighbour, they seem to hate their neighbour. They seem to have an incredible amount of indifference towards the fortune of their neighbour. I mean I’m not a religious person I’m not saying that you should let these people out because of Christian ideals. It makes it easy when I’m chatting to my parents because they’re catholic and I’m like Jesus is all about visiting people in prison and stuff. But it’s a very easy line of argument to use when you’re dealing with conservatives. You should care because that’s what you talk about elsewhere.

And from the web site, Prison Uncensored:

Our conservative government has also taken away funding for religious groups other than Christians in an effort to save money. Before the government looks at saving nickels and dimes in the prison system perhaps they should look at how much money is wasted by other government departments, maybe our Defense Minister could not waste billions of taxpayer dollars.

Individual Responsibility Except for Banks

On February 24, 2013 By southwerkIn Business Ethics

Individual Responsibility Except for Banks

Justice Department’s New Get-Tough Policy Is, Well, Not | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

I get that regulators are worried about job losses. They should be. But the long-term job losses are going to be much greater when investors around the world lose confidence in the U.S. financial system because they recognize that individuals do not face punishment for criminal activity. The individual incentive not to commit crime on Wall Street now is almost zero. Even the worst of the worst – like, say, a certain unindicted co-conspirator in an evolving insider trading case – is only threatened with individual prosecution after years of monstrous and obvious market manipulation, resulting in massive profits that he’ll almost certainly get to keep most of, by the way, if previous settlements are any guide.

It continually amazes, the way all of these law-and-order types are so willing to pontificate about the importance of taking individual responsibility for one’s actions, until the guy in their crosshairs is someone he/she went to college with, or a former client of his or her law firm. Then, suddenly, their idea of drastic justice becomes maybe yanking the license of a foreign subsidiary.

Justice Department’s New Get-Tough Policy Is, Well, Not | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

Two standard of justice exist in this country. One for those in the government and the higher circles of income and influence and another for the “common” people. If you have been following my blog for the last few years, you will encounter wrong doing among the banking fraternity and the government going unpunished on a regular basis. When there is some justice, it is almost pathetic how little penalty the investment banks and their enablers face.

But study crime in the United States, and you will note vast penalties handed out for very small crimes indeed particularly drug crimes. My personal favorite is the woman doing fifteen years for a third possession of marijuana. This is what passes for justice.

This poem is from the 17th Century.

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose off the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from the goose.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who takes things that are yours and mine.

The poor and wretched don’t escape
If they conspire the law to break;
This must be so but they endure
Those who conspire to make the law.

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
And geese will still a common lack
Till they go and steal it back.

Have things changed all that much?

James Pilant

Pilant's Business Ethics Blog

Tag: crime

Incredible Stupidity, the Death of Peanut the Squirrel

A Borderline Tragedy

Bus Aide Fired