[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]

Breaking News - kurtster - Mar 28, 2024 - 7:08pm
 
Derplahoma! - Red_Dragon - Mar 28, 2024 - 5:11pm
 
Wordle - daily game - n4ku - Mar 28, 2024 - 5:08pm
 
NYTimes Connections - n4ku - Mar 28, 2024 - 5:03pm
 
Uploading Music - macadavy - Mar 28, 2024 - 4:18pm
 
Baseball, anyone? - zevon - Mar 28, 2024 - 4:17pm
 
Oldest Rock song on RP - johkir - Mar 28, 2024 - 4:07pm
 
USA! USA! USA! - R_P - Mar 28, 2024 - 3:28pm
 
Live Music - oldviolin - Mar 28, 2024 - 3:10pm
 
Ukraine - R_P - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:41pm
 
Orbiting Earth - oldviolin - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:19pm
 
YouTube: Music-Videos - oldviolin - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:17pm
 
• • • The Once-a-Day • • •  - oldviolin - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:13pm
 
Lyrics that strike a chord today... - oldviolin - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:06pm
 
Israel - R_P - Mar 28, 2024 - 2:03pm
 
Photos you have taken of your walks or hikes. - NoEnzLefttoSplit - Mar 28, 2024 - 12:21pm
 
Irony 101 - MrDill - Mar 28, 2024 - 12:21pm
 
Photography Forum - Your Own Photos - MrDill - Mar 28, 2024 - 12:15pm
 
RP automation with iOS Shortcuts App - pradler4kant - Mar 28, 2024 - 11:57am
 
The Obituary Page - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 28, 2024 - 11:31am
 
Talk Behind Their Backs Forum - VV - Mar 28, 2024 - 11:27am
 
March 2024 Photo Theme - Many - NoEnzLefttoSplit - Mar 28, 2024 - 11:07am
 
Bug Reports & Feature Requests - Beaker - Mar 28, 2024 - 9:30am
 
NY Times Strands - geoff_morphini - Mar 28, 2024 - 8:37am
 
Radio Paradise Comments - pilgrim - Mar 28, 2024 - 8:19am
 
Business as Usual - black321 - Mar 28, 2024 - 8:09am
 
Trump - rgio - Mar 28, 2024 - 7:29am
 
Outstanding Covers - thisbody - Mar 28, 2024 - 5:51am
 
Today in History - DaveInSaoMiguel - Mar 28, 2024 - 4:28am
 
Little known information...maybe even facts - haresfur - Mar 27, 2024 - 6:21pm
 
RightWingNutZ - R_P - Mar 27, 2024 - 3:48pm
 
Please Don't Post Here - Red_Dragon - Mar 27, 2024 - 11:02am
 
Motivational Office Cliches... - NoEnzLefttoSplit - Mar 26, 2024 - 10:20pm
 
(Big) Media Watch - Red_Dragon - Mar 26, 2024 - 6:18pm
 
Solar / Wind / Geothermal / Efficiency Energy - islander - Mar 26, 2024 - 8:00am
 
Is there any DOG news out there? - Beez - Mar 26, 2024 - 7:24am
 
Food - Steely_D - Mar 26, 2024 - 1:41am
 
Vinyl Only Spin List - kurtster - Mar 25, 2024 - 6:56pm
 
Frequent drop outs (The Netherlands) - kingen - Mar 25, 2024 - 2:43pm
 
China - R_P - Mar 25, 2024 - 11:59am
 
Musky Mythology - R_P - Mar 25, 2024 - 11:20am
 
Play history seems to indicate that I"m streaming 24/7, b... - jarro - Mar 25, 2024 - 10:44am
 
April 8th Partial Solar Eclipse - Coaxial - Mar 24, 2024 - 6:22pm
 
New Music - KurtfromLaQuinta - Mar 24, 2024 - 5:07pm
 
Dental Floss Tycoons, and other Montana Myths, Facts, and... - Red_Dragon - Mar 24, 2024 - 12:32pm
 
Basketball - oldviolin - Mar 23, 2024 - 2:50pm
 
What Makes You Laugh? - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 23, 2024 - 1:54pm
 
Joe Biden - kurtster - Mar 23, 2024 - 11:17am
 
Technical Streaming Note for Nerdy RP DIYers - sjagminas1 - Mar 23, 2024 - 10:16am
 
Museum Of Bad Album Covers - Proclivities - Mar 23, 2024 - 8:56am
 
Other Medical Stuff - Antigone - Mar 22, 2024 - 3:06pm
 
Country Up The Bumpkin - oldviolin - Mar 22, 2024 - 11:06am
 
Pernicious Pious Proclivities Particularized Prodigiously - Red_Dragon - Mar 22, 2024 - 9:17am
 
Memorials - Remembering Our Loved Ones - Bill_J - Mar 21, 2024 - 8:54pm
 
Can you afford to retire? - DaveInSaoMiguel - Mar 21, 2024 - 2:15pm
 
Mixtape Culture Club - KurtfromLaQuinta - Mar 21, 2024 - 11:10am
 
What Did You See Today? - KurtfromLaQuinta - Mar 20, 2024 - 5:13pm
 
Annoying stuff. not things that piss you off, just annoyi... - ScottFromWyoming - Mar 20, 2024 - 4:31pm
 
Upcoming concerts or shows you can't wait to see - Antigone - Mar 20, 2024 - 3:10pm
 
Russia - NoEnzLefttoSplit - Mar 20, 2024 - 11:44am
 
2024 Elections! - Lazy8 - Mar 20, 2024 - 7:26am
 
Economix - R_P - Mar 19, 2024 - 4:36pm
 
Name My Band - DaveInSaoMiguel - Mar 19, 2024 - 10:53am
 
Delicacies: a..k.a.. the Gross Food forum - DaveInSaoMiguel - Mar 19, 2024 - 10:12am
 
New Forum Member on "What Makes RP Great" - miamizsun - Mar 19, 2024 - 4:38am
 
Cache stopped working on old Android Phone - Eisenwindel - Mar 19, 2024 - 1:50am
 
Cryptic Posts - Leave Them Guessing - Bill_J - Mar 18, 2024 - 8:23pm
 
Damn Dinosaurs! - oldviolin - Mar 18, 2024 - 8:16pm
 
One Partying State - Wyoming News - geoff_morphini - Mar 18, 2024 - 3:58pm
 
Great guitar faces - skyguy - Mar 18, 2024 - 3:33pm
 
Despots, dictators and war criminals - R_P - Mar 18, 2024 - 12:41pm
 
Media Matters - thisbody - Mar 18, 2024 - 10:03am
 
NASA & other news from space - miamizsun - Mar 18, 2024 - 4:13am
 
MEALTICKET - drinpt - Mar 17, 2024 - 4:13am
 
What makes you smile? - Steely_D - Mar 16, 2024 - 7:31pm
 
Index » Regional/Local » USA/Canada » Jails, Prisons, Incarceration Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, 4 ... 18, 19, 20  Next
Post to this Topic
oldviolin

oldviolin Avatar

Location: esse quam videri
Gender: Male


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 12:35pm

 miamizsun wrote:
a lot of public schools look (and act) like prisons {#Wink}

conform or be drugged!

 
if you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding...
miamizsun

miamizsun Avatar

Location: (3283.1 Miles SE of RP)
Gender: Male


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 10:00am

 sirdroseph wrote:


You know they really do.  I always call the new schools I see that are constructed prisons because they really do look just like them, it is scary!{#Eek}

 
watch Cevin Soling's "The War on Kids"

some great stuff in there
sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 9:35am

 miamizsun wrote:
a lot of public schools look (and act) like prisons {#Wink}

conform or be drugged!

 

You know they really do.  I always call the new schools I see that are constructed prisons because they really do look just like them, it is scary!{#Eek}
miamizsun

miamizsun Avatar

Location: (3283.1 Miles SE of RP)
Gender: Male


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 9:30am

a lot of public schools look (and act) like prisons {#Wink}

conform or be drugged!
Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Dumbf*ckistan


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 8:32am

 meower wrote: 
money money money...
meower

meower Avatar

Location: i believe, i believe, it's silly, but I believe
Gender: Female


Posted: Jun 7, 2013 - 8:26am

http://www.alternet.org/philly-closes-23-public-schools-generously-builds-400-million-prison-where-kids-can-hang-instead#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled&id=I0_1370618254551&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alternet.org&rpctoken=51411951

Philly Closes 23 Public Schools, Generously Builds $400 Million Prison Where Kids Can Hang Instead
Ah, PA. How disgraceful


ErikX

ErikX Avatar



Posted: Apr 11, 2013 - 2:54am

See how GREAT privatizing (or PROFIT-izing) the Commons is?  

Over 18 Months, Nation’s First Privately Owned State Prison Has Declined Rapidly



In an unprecedented experiment fueled by budget concerns, Ohio sold a state prison to Corrections Corporation of America, one of the largest private prison corporations in the country, in 2011. Within a year, a state audit of Lake Erie Correctional Institute, the nation’s first privately owned state prison, found rampant abuse and abysmal conditions well below state standards. The CCA prison was given another chance to pass, but flunked another inspection four months later.Independent reports continue to illuminate filthy, broken facilities, as well as much higher rates of crime and violence in and around the prison. On Tuesday, the ACLU of Ohio sent Ohio lawmakers a comprehensive timeline of the prison’s decline since CCA took over.

The Lake Erie prison is now reportedly overcrowded at 130 percent capacity, with single-person cells holding 3 inmates each, according to internal documents obtained by the ACLU. Assaults on guards and other inmates have skyrocketed by 40 percent.

In fact, on the same day the ACLU released their timeline, the Lake Erie prison had to tamp down a series of inmate fights that lead to the confinement of 500 inmates.

Private prison companies have been repeatedly caught cutting corners on space, sanitation, and staff in order to maximize their profits. As a result, deadly riots frequently break out at these facilities, sparked by poor food quality, lack of health care access, and unsanitary conditions.....................................................




RASPUTIN

RASPUTIN Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 3:23pm

  sirdroseph wrote:

Trust me, you don't want that. I may solve the Marijuana criminal problem, but it is what else I would do that you gotta worry about!

 





*laughing* like I said, I'm retired. Go for it, I gave at the office.
sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 3:07pm

 RASPUTIN wrote:
  sirdroseph wrote:

Surely you must see you answered your own question. How many gangs selling alcohol are there on the streets causing trouble with their criminal enterprise? If decriminalized, the sellers are no longer the criminals, they become your local quickie mart. Problem solved. Of course I am not talking about illicit drugs like Cocaine, Meth, Heroin and so forth.  These types of drugs are so harmful to the individuals and society that they should not be tolerated at any level.  However, Marijuana quite frankly is not even as illicit as alcohol as far as negative health effects on the individual or societal effects due to the behavior created when ingesting.  Surely as a law enforcer on the streets you have direct experience as to what I am talking about. When was the last time you got a disturbance call caused by someone who smoked a joint?  Now compare that to all the calls received by over intoxicated individuals. If I were in charge, I could guarantee you that I could put all marijuana cartels out of business overnight by making marijuana completely legal, boom, gone!  How many issues do you have such a clear cut solution for? Not many.
  *poof* You're in charge.
 
Trust me, you don't want that. I may solve the Marijuana criminal problem, but it is what else I would do that you gotta worry about!{#Lol}
aflanigan

aflanigan Avatar

Location: At Sea
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 2:59pm

 RASPUTIN wrote:

I have some trouble figuring out the numbers.  251,200 prisoners in 1999 incarcerated in state prisons for drug offenses for instance.  In Ohio the prison population was about 50,000.  53% was for violent crimes.  By the time you add up the thieves, child support, and felony DUIs, and drug charges that makes up the other 47%.  However, from 2000 to 2008 due to changes in sentencing laws the drug population did rise quite a bit.  A byproduct of people wanting to feel safe in their neighborhoods and calling for stiffer sentencing.  The problem is the working class wants the bad guys in jail but nobody wants to pay the taxes to keep them there so the prisons are short staffed and dangerous for the staff, and the prisoners.

What is the purpose of these prisons?  In my humble opinion, to get violent offenders off the streets. To put thieves behind bars where they can't steal your stuff.  I hate a thief.  People work too hard to have the stuff they paid hard earned money for taken from them.  Working people's tools stolen and pawned for a fraction of what they cost so some dirtbag can buy a rock of crack.   Priceless family heirlooms taken and sold for dope or whatever.  These shitbags come IN TO YOUR HOME AND TAKE YOUR THINGS. I think the purpose should be punishment.  Why should it be to try and do what a parent should have done in the first place? To teach their kids the difference between right and wrong.  

I'm pretty sure there is such a problem with drugs in this country because the people in this country DO ALL THE DRUGS!  I can't see one good thing that will come out decriminalizing drugs.  They're illegal now and you can get them on any street corner from the hood to the big houses on the hills.  I have to wonder sometimes who's really causing the problems, the gangs in Chicago whacking each other like crazy over drug turf, or the users who make the sellers rich? 

I'm also like most Americans, I don't have any REAL answers.  Just complaints.     

 

 
Thanks for your candid reply.  I know I certainly don't have any easy answers, either.

I think there are definitely incorrigibles who are past any hope of reform.  So for them I guess jail is a relatively humane way of preventing them from committing any further crimes, be it robbery, assault, murder, or whatever that they would be undoubtedly committing if out in society.

You say you don't think the prisons should have the job of teaching morals to convicts who were not taught right from wrong by their parents (assuming they had parents).  I would agree that most of them are probably not well suited for this job.  But look at it from another perspective; let's say a person's moral character is based on equal parts nature and nurture.  Is it really fair to punish someone for their parents or legal guardians' failure to provide a nurturing environment in which they were taught right from wrong, and given an incentive to pursue a job instead of turning to crime?  Should the sins of the father be visited upon the son? Don't they deserve a chance? Is our sense of justice so rigid and draconian that it cannot conceive of someone who received a bad upbringing being capable of changing into a worthwhile member of the community? Heck, we have entire organizations based on the concept of humans' innate potential for redemption.  See CURE, Lampstand Foundation to name just two.  It's hardly surprising, as our culture has a strong tradition of redemption, dating back to biblical times.  I would say that people who were raised by horrible parents and end up incarcerated should be given a chance to turn their lives around. If we don't offer that chance while people are in prison, we should figure out some other way to do it.

I also think the problem of overcrowded prisons could be alleviated, at least in part, by  trying to limit incarceration primarily to those who truly need to be there, i.e. who represent a potential danger to society or have proven incapable of reform.  Probably a lot of front end changes we could try to make to help keep people from turning to crime in the first place (an ounce of prevention).
RASPUTIN

RASPUTIN Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 2:57pm

  sirdroseph wrote:

Surely you must see you answered your own question. How many gangs selling alcohol are there on the streets causing trouble with their criminal enterprise? If decriminalized, the sellers are no longer the criminals, they become your local quickie mart. Problem solved. Of course I am not talking about illicit drugs like Cocaine, Meth, Heroin and so forth.  These types of drugs are so harmful to the individuals and society that they should not be tolerated at any level.  However, Marijuana quite frankly is not even as illicit as alcohol as far as negative health effects on the individual or societal effects due to the behavior created when ingesting.  Surely as a law enforcer on the streets you have direct experience as to what I am talking about. When was the last time you got a disturbance call caused by someone who smoked a joint?  Now compare that to all the calls received by over intoxicated individuals. If I were in charge, I could guarantee you that I could put all marijuana cartels out of business overnight by making marijuana completely legal, boom, gone!  How many issues do you have such a clear cut solution for? Not many.



 





*poof* You're in charge.
sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 2:39pm

 RASPUTIN wrote:

I'm pretty sure there is such a problem with drugs in this country because the people in this country DO ALL THE DRUGS!  I can't see one good thing that will come out decriminalizing drugs.  They're illegal now and you can get them on any street corner from the hood to the big houses on the hills.  I have to wonder sometimes who's really causing the problems, the gangs in Chicago whacking each other like crazy over drug turf, or the users who make the sellers rich? 

I'm also like most Americans, I don't have any REAL answers.  Just complaints.     

 

 
Surely you must see you answered your own question. How many gangs selling alcohol are there on the streets causing trouble with their criminal enterprise? If decriminalized, the sellers are no longer the criminals, they become your local quickie mart. Problem solved. Of course I am not talking about illicit drugs like Cocaine, Meth, Heroin and so forth.  These types of drugs are so harmful to the individuals and society that they should not be tolerated at any level.  However, Marijuana quite frankly is not even as illicit as alcohol as far as negative health effects on the individual or societal effects due to the behavior created when ingesting.  Surely as a law enforcer on the streets you have direct experience as to what I am talking about. When was the last time you got a disturbance call caused by someone who smoked a joint?  Now compare that to all the calls received by over intoxicated individuals. If I were in charge, I could guarantee you that I could put all marijuana cartels out of business overnight by making marijuana completely legal, boom, gone!  How many issues do you have such a clear cut solution for? Not many.


RASPUTIN

RASPUTIN Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 1:59pm

 aflanigan wrote:


That's an interesting perspective.  I can see how the pragmatic aspects of being a law enforcement professional in a community that one lives in and cares about can totally get lost when policy experts wade in; at a gut level I would probably agree that trying to bring justice in the case of a pernicious and resourceful scourge by using whatever potential charges are available might make sense if you've been frustrated in trying to get enough for an arrest based on more serious crimes. I know that many, many police departments are seriously underfunded, understaffed, etc. which can make it hard to put dangerous criminals in jail based on arrests for their actual crimes.

I do really think that we need to take a long hard look at incarceration in this country, and ask the basic questions once again. What is the purpose of these prisons? Does clogging them too full make it more difficult for the prison system to do its job? (for example, if we want prisons to offer a chance of reform and reduce recidivism, does overcrowding make this less likely to happen?) I think we also should take a look at sentencing and drug laws with an eye to possible reform. If we're moving in the direction of viewing simple addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal one, I think that's a good thing.

 
I have some trouble figuring out the numbers.  251,200 prisoners in 1999 incarcerated in state prisons for drug offenses for instance.  In Ohio the prison population was about 50,000.  53% was for violent crimes.  By the time you add up the thieves, child support, and felony DUIs, and drug charges that makes up the other 47%.  However, from 2000 to 2008 due to changes in sentencing laws the drug population did rise quite a bit.  A byproduct of people wanting to feel safe in their neighborhoods and calling for stiffer sentencing.  The problem is the working class wants the bad guys in jail but nobody wants to pay the taxes to keep them there so the prisons are short staffed and dangerous for the staff, and the prisoners.

What is the purpose of these prisons?  In my humble opinion, to get violent offenders off the streets. To put thieves behind bars where they can't steal your stuff.  I hate a thief.  People work too hard to have the stuff they paid hard earned money for taken from them.  Working people's tools stolen and pawned for a fraction of what they cost so some dirtbag can buy a rock of crack.   Priceless family heirlooms taken and sold for dope or whatever.  These shitbags come IN TO YOUR HOME AND TAKE YOUR THINGS. I think the purpose should be punishment.  Why should it be to try and do what a parent should have done in the first place? To teach their kids the difference between right and wrong.  

I'm pretty sure there is such a problem with drugs in this country because the people in this country DO ALL THE DRUGS!  I can't see one good thing that will come out decriminalizing drugs.  They're illegal now and you can get them on any street corner from the hood to the big houses on the hills.  I have to wonder sometimes who's really causing the problems, the gangs in Chicago whacking each other like crazy over drug turf, or the users who make the sellers rich? 

I'm also like most Americans, I don't have any REAL answers.  Just complaints.     

 
aflanigan

aflanigan Avatar

Location: At Sea
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 12:22pm

 RASPUTIN wrote:

I'm not having any luck Al.  All I get it a prisoner's legs with a ball and chain but no text. 
Around here F4 and F5 non violent felonies (much of the drug charges) are supposed to do their time in jail, not prison.  A huge burden on the county sheriff's.  I will admit to being lazy when it comes to following up on any arrests I made.  With the "Let's make a deal" court system in 21.5 years I only testified in trials twice.  Both murder cases...that involved drugs.   After I got my first few court packets back when I started and people got time served for staying overnight, or a small fine, or the case just got dismissed, I quit looking at court packets and just dropped them in the shredder on my way out of roll call.  
I don't think most of the cases for simply possession started out that way as far as how contact was made though.  I can only speak from my own, and the guys that worked for me's experiences,  but first contact with somebody isn't usually because you think they are in possession of drugs. It's usually because of a traffic stop or a call that came in about another kind of problem.  Prowler, loud neighbor, suspicious person, domestic violence.  Something brought us to the person usually.  After records checks, pat downs, talking to them, sometimes you get dope of some kind.  Sometimes they go to jail.  In my experience it's almost always something else that got you in  contact with the person who winds up getting arrested for drug possession.  Like, you know he's the guy that's been breaking into garages but you can't catch him at it, but when you do bump into him out of a prowler call he has a crack pipe or a rock or two in his pocket.  He doesn't go for the B&Es you couldn't catch him doing, but for the crack.  Eighteen month sentences usually are pled to probation. Some are sentenced to complete a work release program at a community based correctional facility.  

 

 

That's an interesting perspective.  I can see how the pragmatic aspects of being a law enforcement professional in a community that one lives in and cares about can totally get lost when policy experts wade in; at a gut level I would probably agree that trying to bring justice in the case of a pernicious and resourceful scourge by using whatever potential charges are available might make sense if you've been frustrated in trying to get enough for an arrest based on more serious crimes. I know that many, many police departments are seriously underfunded, understaffed, etc. which can make it hard to put dangerous criminals in jail based on arrests for their actual crimes.

I do really think that we need to take a long hard look at incarceration in this country, and ask the basic questions once again. What is the purpose of these prisons? Does clogging them too full make it more difficult for the prison system to do its job? (for example, if we want prisons to offer a chance of reform and reduce recidivism, does overcrowding make this less likely to happen?) I think we also should take a look at sentencing and drug laws with an eye to possible reform. If we're moving in the direction of viewing simple addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal one, I think that's a good thing.
RASPUTIN

RASPUTIN Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:40am

 aflanigan wrote:

Here, let me google that for you, so we can try to discuss this based on fact:

by 1999 . . . there were 251,200 drug offenders in state prisons incarcerated at a cost of about $5 billion annually . . .

43% of the drug offenders in state prison have been convicted of drug possession (27% for simple possession and 16% for possession with

intent to distribute) . . .

In nine of the states analyzed, more than 50% of individuals admitted to prison in 1996 were convicted of a simple possession offense.


Distorted Priorities: Drug Offenders in State Prisons
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe almost every PWI (possession with intent) conviction is based on possession of some arbitrary amount deemed to constitute dispositive proof that the person is a dealer.

I haven't been able to find data on incarceration more recent than the above (the drugwarfacts.org site seemed promising but it is not working right now), but I seriously doubt that the situation has changed profoundly in a decade or so.  Perhaps a few progressive locales or states have eased off on arrests and prosecutions, but a significant national trend in this direction seems unlikely:

In 2009 alone, 1.66 million Americans were arrested on drug charges, more than were arrested on assault or larceny charges. And 4 of 5 of those arrests were simply for possession.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109777,00.html#ixzz2Q5531sxa


 
I'm not having any luck Al.  All I get it a prisoner's legs with a ball and chain but no text. 
Around here F4 and F5 non violent felonies (much of the drug charges) are supposed to do their time in jail, not prison.  A huge burden on the county sheriff's.  I will admit to being lazy when it comes to following up on any arrests I made.  With the "Let's make a deal" court system in 21.5 years I only testified in trials twice.  Both murder cases...that involved drugs.   After I got my first few court packets back when I started and people got time served for staying overnight, or a small fine, or the case just got dismissed, I quit looking at court packets and just dropped them in the shredder on my way out of roll call.  
I don't think most of the cases for simply possession started out that way as far as how contact was made though.  I can only speak from my own, and the guys that worked for me's experiences,  but first contact with somebody isn't usually because you think they are in possession of drugs. It's usually because of a traffic stop or a call that came in about another kind of problem.  Prowler, loud neighbor, suspicious person, domestic violence.  Something brought us to the person usually.  After records checks, pat downs, talking to them, sometimes you get dope of some kind.  Sometimes they go to jail.  In my experience it's almost always something else that got you in  contact with the person who winds up getting arrested for drug possession.  Like, you know he's the guy that's been breaking into garages but you can't catch him at it, but when you do bump into him out of a prowler call he has a crack pipe or a rock or two in his pocket.  He doesn't go for the B&Es you couldn't catch him doing, but for the crack.  Eighteen month sentences usually are pled to probation. Some are sentenced to complete a work release program at a community based correctional facility.  

 
Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Dumbf*ckistan


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:18am

 RASPUTIN wrote:


Heck yeah. He takes your three grand, tries to get the probable cause tossed, and if that doesn't happen you get your jail sentence and fines just like if you didn't have a lawyer.  What a great scam!  Think how much money lawyers would lose if dope was legal.  They'd be getting food stamps.

 
Reminds me of my divorce; ex decided against the no-contest route and lawyered-up, which forced me to do the same. A year later what did that get her? Exactly what I had promised her to begin with; but it also made several thousand dollars for a couple of lawyers who laughed all the way to the bank.
hippiechick

hippiechick Avatar

Location: topsy turvy land
Gender: Female


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:15am

 aflanigan wrote:

Here, let me google that for you, so we can shift the discussion from suspicion to actual fact:

by 1999 . . . there were 251,200 drug offenders in state prisons incarcerated at a cost of about $5 billion annually . . .

43% of the drug offenders in state prison have been convicted of drug possession (27% for simple possession and 16% for possession with

intent to distribute) . . .

In nine of the states analyzed, more than 50% of individuals admitted to prison in 1996 were convicted of a simple possession offense.


Distorted Priorities: Drug Offenders in State Prisons
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe almost every PWI (possession with intent) conviction is based on possession of some arbitrary amount deemed to constitute dispositive proof that the person is a dealer.

I haven't been able to find data on incarceration more recent than the above (the drugwarfacts.org site seemed promising but it is not working right now), but I seriously doubt that the situation has changed profoundly in a decade or so.  Perhaps a few progressive locales or states have eased off on arrests and prosecutions, but a significant national trend in this direction seems unlikely:

In 2009 alone, 1.66 million Americans were arrested on drug charges, more than were arrested on assault or larceny charges. And 4 of 5 of those arrests were simply for possession.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109777,00.html#ixzz2Q5531sxa


 
This is becoming an issue on both sides of the aisle in politics. More and more support is coming to legalize marijuana (surprise! Republicans get high too!) and I am hoping that we will see this by the end of Obama's, or at least Hillary's terms. 

Chicago has made a choice to stop busting people for possession, in part because the cops are needed elsewhere, and it's a waste of their time.

You know how it works, right? This is the government's job program: poverty>possession>prison. Then they use the prisoners for slave labor (they no longer just make license plates).

Like everything else, it's all broken.  
sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:14am

 RASPUTIN wrote:
I have a sneaking suspision that they did away with prohibition when they figured out how much money they were losing without the old "Whiskey Tax".  So much so that they had to start a new "Federal Income Tax" to try and make up the difference.  But, what the hell?  Make it all legal as far as I'm concerned.  Tax the crap out of it to pay for all the rehab centers. Sell it so cheap that the whole country is nothing but a bunch of blathering idiots always so f**ked up they can't make it to work, pay insurance on the cars the crash into your family members on the way to the Hooka Hut, and then go on SSI because they're victims and can't hold a job or take care of themselves.  I'm retired and still armed.  I don't really give a sh*t.

 

Yea and I have more than a sneaky suspicion that the number of addicts in this country has absolutely nothing to do with legality of the substances they are addicted to.  So..... no I don't see it that way.


sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:09am

 RASPUTIN wrote:


Heck yeah. He takes your three grand, tries to get the probable cause tossed, and if that doesn't happen you get your jail sentence and fines just like if you didn't have a lawyer.  What a great scam!  Think how much money lawyers would lose if dope was legal.  They'd be getting food stamps.

 

That in itself is a good enough reason to legalize.{#Lol}
aflanigan

aflanigan Avatar

Location: At Sea
Gender: Male


Posted: Apr 10, 2013 - 10:05am

 RASPUTIN wrote:
I would argue that there are probably very few people in prison for smoking, eating, or shooting up politically incorrect substances.  They are in prison for selling them, stealing peoples belongings to buy them, murdering people while under the influence of them, and to make their territory larger.  But I would challenge you to find me somebody in jail for just doing them.  If there is is list it's gotta be pretty small.

  

 
Here, let me google that for you, so we can try to discuss this based on fact:

by 1999 . . . there were 251,200 drug offenders in state prisons incarcerated at a cost of about $5 billion annually . . .

43% of the drug offenders in state prison have been convicted of drug possession (27% for simple possession and 16% for possession with

intent to distribute) . . .

In nine of the states analyzed, more than 50% of individuals admitted to prison in 1996 were convicted of a simple possession offense.


Distorted Priorities: Drug Offenders in State Prisons
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe almost every PWI (possession with intent) conviction is based on possession of some arbitrary amount deemed to constitute dispositive proof that the person is a dealer.

I haven't been able to find data on incarceration more recent than the above (the drugwarfacts.org site seemed promising but it is not working right now), but I seriously doubt that the situation has changed profoundly in a decade or so.  Perhaps a few progressive locales or states have eased off on arrests and prosecutions, but a significant national trend in this direction seems unlikely:

In 2009 alone, 1.66 million Americans were arrested on drug charges, more than were arrested on assault or larceny charges. And 4 of 5 of those arrests were simply for possession.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109777,00.html#ixzz2Q5531sxa



Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, 4 ... 18, 19, 20  Next