intox Gaming

I've always wondered about the authenticity to this... I guess you could call it a stereotype. There has been pictures comparing a Canadian officer in Toronto actively participating in a water gun battle (turned out to be a Pride event), against a picture of Lt. Pike watering his garden of protesting students with pepper spray. That is a powerful contrast. But I understand rhetoric. The whole point of all that high school lecturing and teaching on satire was so I would understand this, and see through it. This comparison picture could be truth expressed in hyperbole, or it could be blatant distortion.

This question is something that affects me personally. YouTube is filled with video clips. A lot of them originate from the United States, and they feature police members tax collecting, not protecting, and not serving. I feel infuriated when I see this. I feel like the future of the US is futile when it comes to respecting individual rights and liberties like the way it was founded for.

However, when it comes to videos of the similar nature that originate from Canada, my response is different. Don't get me wrong, it's still there, but videos of Canadian police corruption just isn't as abundant as those from the US. I still do get pissed off seeing a Canadian officer acting like he's just some thug who managed to get his hands on a uniform and badge. But my reaction boils down to this: It's more like one or two rotten apples that are unfortunately placed along a truckload full of good apples. I've felt obligated to defend Canadian police in YouTube comments when there was a video of the news that a Toronto officer was stabbed and was expected to recover. I did all I could to shoot down "fuck the police" comments, but my reaction would not be the same if it's the news of American police.

Before I go onto looking at the actual numbers, like I've been taught to through 3 months of university lectures, I just want to see what you have to say about this.

Is police corruption less of a problem in Canada than in the United States?

Or maybe, is police corruption even a significant problem in the United States. I'm talking about the possibility that YouTube is filled with videos that highlight the rainy moments in American police, without any revelation of any good coming out of them. You know, maybe the possibility that majority of American police members have some sense of decency, but unfortunately never make it to airtime on YouTube.

Police misconduct isn't something that anyone here in the U.S. would call 'widespread'. There are a few incidents every year, and I would be willing to bet maybe that many more that go unreported. But it isn't something that is happening every day and it usually isn't something worth noting.

However, the widespread use of filming and the popularization of YouTube cause police misconduct to be exaggerated heavily to the point that people THINK that it is widespread and happens every day.

For me, the bigger problem is how police misconduct is dealt with. The heart of the problem being that it isn't. If I was to sum up how the internal investigations (which are probably why nothing is done- lets trust the police to just press charges on themselves; seems legit), I would say that most involve a slap on the wrists and something like "don't get caught next time, or I will have to put you on paid leave for a month." This is the part that I can call widespread and really does need to be reformed.

Police corruption exists, yes, but it isn't in every department and by nature isn't something the public is going to ever see on a regular basis.

Of course I digress, and I have nothing to comment about on the other side of the border, on account of I don't live there. :)

A lot of people in America believe police misconduct is widespread. There are significantly more than a "few incidents every year." You simply don't pay attention, care about the ones that do, or have a different standard about what police misconduct is. My guess for you? All of the above.

The police force in America is psychotically out of control. Cops speeding down the road? "No biggie; they're cops! They're here to protect us! We shouldn't have police being bothered by such arcane laws!" This is the mindset of most Americans, however, it doesn't stop for speeding. Police get away with rape, murder, shooting unarmed people, beating unarmed people, should-be unconstitutional detainment and searches, etc.

The problem isn't internal affairs, it's the absolutely horrible population of America. Americans let cops get away with anything all the time. If any police wrongdoing even makes it to trial, it's usually acquitted. The defense the cops use make the absolutely moronic American people get on their knees and start worshiping while still in the jury stand. American people don't care if something a cop does is illegal or unconstitutional, if it "gets the job done." Cops can, do, and will get away with whatever they want because the American people simply don't care at all.

Americans don't cherish their liberties or rights. They're bad people doing horrible things. They have this incredible document being the alleged "supreme law" of the land that nothing can override it. Yet, Americans don't mind psychotic new anti-constitutional laws being written unbelievably often or judges allowing the government to do whatever the government wants because there is a "substantial government interest" that overrides the Constitution somehow.

TL;DR, Americans are bad human beings.

Quote:This question is something that affects me personally. YouTube is filled with video clips. A lot of them originate from the United States, and they feature police members tax collecting, not protecting, and not serving. I feel infuriated when I see this. I feel like the future of the US is futile when it comes to respecting individual rights and liberties like the way it was founded for.

Police are not required to protect you in the United States as every court in America has said countless times. They're there to pick and choose which laws to "enforce."

Police do more harm than good. There are no good cops. Everyone fending for themselves would be better than the system America has in place now. "Fuck the police."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment

reckford Wrote:Police misconduct isn't something that anyone here in the U.S. would call 'widespread'.

What do you define as 'police misconduct'?

While I pretty much agree with you Zol, minus your calling me a horrible human being and such, there still are some good police officers out there.
Just last week the cop didn't decide to give me a ticket! I'm sure he could of broken my back light and dropped a bag of cocaine in front of me, but he didn't.
Just most cops are dicks!

I've found a pretty detailed and very informative answer to this discussion question, relating to the comparison between corruption in Canada versus corruption in the US. Pulling it from Yahoo Answers. All credits to Jim B: http://answers.yahoo.com/activity?show=DTNlqnOEaa

Quote:I`ll answer in two parts.

Canada is rated as one of the LEAST corrupt countries, in the world. Do a goggle on that phrase, and see what comes up.

Second, the hiring standards, for Police recruits in Canada, versus the USA are clearly higher.

Not just in terms of the education required, but much more importantly, the moral standards that are expected of Police officers here. Background checks are detailed and are carried out by experienced investigators, from the Police Service that is doing the hiring. They go right back to public school and checkneighborss, teachers, employers andreferencee providers. For a potential recruit to get to even a face to face interview, that person has to have a clean past and be aexceptionallyy qualifiedcandidatee. Large Police services in Canada, like the RCMP, or Toronto city, or Calgary, get hundreds of applicants per year, from which to choose their future officers.

In the USA, many of the smaller Police agencies, like countysherifff departments, or town Police, have very limited budgets, and training courses are short and minimal. They also tend torecruitt from the local area, and it is common to see family memberssurvivef along side each other, which tends to encourage lax discipline, and corruption. The stereo typical Georgiasherifff that runs his area like afeudall lord, is not just seen in the movies, they really do exist. In some cases an entire city Police force is corrupt, such as New Orleans, Louisiana. In the 90;s the NOPD was famous for it;`s brutality and lawless Police officers. During Hurricanes the NOPD was right there looting and stealing, along with the citizens.

In Canada, we have a much stronger oversight and investigative power of all levels of Police than in the USA. Provincial Special Investigations units, that take over cases, where a person has died in Police custody, or while being arrested, have strong powers to make sure that Police act in a professional andlaw fulll way. In the USA many Policeorganizationss investigate themselves, which does not help their image, with public or the media.

Another thing that works well in Canada is the standardization of training and polices, and even uniform styles, and vehicle appearance, that makes it easy for the public to recognize a Canadian Police officer on sight.

We also have a much higher number of both females, and visible minorities, in Canadian Policing, than in the USA. HavingPolicee officers who can speak a foreign language, is a good thing, but in the USA that usually only applies to speaking Spanish. How many US POlice do you think can speak Cantonese, or Hindi, or Malay....... Not very many, I think.

Corruption is a way of life in some countries, like India, where EVERYONE expects a bribe , to be paid or given, to get anything done, in any official transaction. That state of mind comes to Canada, where it meets the Canadian system of honesty, and some times it takes a few years for the lesson to sink in. Handing a Canadian traffic officer a drivers license, wrapped in a 100 dollar bill, is going to get you arrested every time, while in Alabama, it may get you out of that speeding ticket, if the officer is only making $30k a year. Low wages and low morals combine to create corruption down there.

JIm B

Toronto.

Yeah but you can't be comparing the US to Canada.
Least we are better than Africa.

well, the reason why I made this thread was because it started when I questioned the authenticity of the comparison between these two pictures.



The two North America giants share a lot of things in common. The concentration of police corruption is different. I was happy to have found someone replying to this question on Y! Answers with detailed analysis.

Hmm. This thread is intriguing and I completely agree that Police Corruption is a big issue in America, and some other countries.

How hard is it to get a job as a cop in the states?

I was looking to apply to a Police Academy, not guaranteed a job or anything close, a lot of them go on to work cheap security guard jobs.. the police academy had a $100 application fee where there's a massive checklist of illegal and prescription drugs, you have to mark down the first time and last time you did each drug and how many times you've done them in total, then before you're accepted you have to pay for a polygraph test. Shit is crazy.

That being said, there are a massive amount of dick cops in Canada too, I find that a lot of them think they're just overly cool in their brand new 300HP Dodge Chargers, and it's a huge thing on PEI at least for cops to issue bullshit tickets and not show up for the court date so if the guy doesn't pay the fine, then it's all dropped and the cop never hears from it again.. but if you don't go to the court date for the bullshit reason and wait hours for your always delayed hearing, JAIL AND INSTANT PLEAD OF GUILTY.