Comments on: iWatch – Problems, Concerns, and Hazards http://politicalcartel.org/2009/11/02/iwatch-internet-portal/ Intellectual blogging since 2007 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:38:46 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: jerrybrice http://politicalcartel.org/2009/11/02/iwatch-internet-portal/#comment-8978 jerrybrice Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:20:15 +0000 http://politicalcartel.org/?p=2067#comment-8978 I support any program that encourages neihgbors to assist with the policing of their communities.Most people do not want to get involved,and that's how a lot of criminal behavoir goes unchecked, like the Cleveland mass murder for years until it is discovered, and the more inner city the nieghborhood, the worst it gets,because of fear of retaliation.The police need our help,they have lost a lot of funding. The elderly lady that lives across the street from me,is always checking my property when I am away, and she has proven to be very helpful. That said,I can see how this could go wrong.Some people do not know their neighbors, or may have some sort of 'issue'with them. I think of the Harvard Professor Henry Gates that got into an argument with an officer that was answering a possible burglary call that a neighbor had made, when she did not recognize the Professor as her nieghbor. He looked like a burglar, at that moment,and she called the police... I think the city is called Cambridge. Now, all that happened after that was unnecessary from both the gentleman involved,but if I look at thr basis for the call, a neighbor being concerned, well, I think that the lady should be commended. The only problem is that she did not really know her neighbor, and at the moment she did see him from a distance, he looked like a burglar. I see the only issue here is that there may be a lot of mistaken perceptions in some of the calls to this iWatch program, but is this not just another form of neighborhood watch,which is a popular program in my own neighborhood,and I feel safer knowing my neighbors feel free to call the police for any suspected suspicous behavoir. I am willing to have any mistake sorted out in court,if it should go that far.I think most people that are mistakingly arrested,may not like it,but just as long as everyone is professional,the system usually works.Nothing is fool proof, but with the budgets being cut out here in California for the policing, the police need the publics help,or we may fall victim to all these criminals we got out here. I try to remind people,when I was in India, a country where terrorism happens all the time, I got searched and detained regularly, because they hav to check people for bombs.I am cool with that, but we don't have any thing like that going on over here.It gives us some perspective.Our police are easy on us, even when they get bad in contrast. So, to be clear, I think we need to side with the lesser of two evils, and instead of having people afraid to 'get involved' chief Bratton has created a way for people to get more involved anonymously... It would be more work for the courts, but these young attorneys need as much practice as they can get, and I have no problem expanding the legal system, more than the prison, or victim system,if you get that point. Chief Bratton had a lot of good ideas for LA, and we are a better city for it.He was fair.I am sad to see him leave that position of Police chief, but the new chief has a good act to follow, and learn from. Don't be afraid of this program,it's probably going to nab more buglars than terrorist,but either way,get them off the streets. Cast a big net, and see what shakes out...and if someone is falsley accused or detained, then the lawyers will work it out. I support any program that encourages neihgbors to assist with the policing of their communities.Most people do not want to get involved,and that’s how a lot of criminal behavoir goes unchecked, like the Cleveland mass murder for years until it is discovered, and the more inner city the nieghborhood, the worst it gets,because of fear of retaliation.The police need our help,they have lost a lot of funding.
The elderly lady that lives across the street from me,is always checking my property when I am away, and she has proven to be very helpful.
That said,I can see how this could go wrong.Some people do not know their neighbors, or may have some sort of ‘issue’with them.
I think of the Harvard Professor Henry Gates that got into an argument with an officer that was answering a possible burglary call that a neighbor had made, when she did not recognize the Professor as her nieghbor.
He looked like a burglar, at that moment,and she called the police…
I think the city is called Cambridge.

Now, all that happened after that was unnecessary from both the gentleman involved,but if I look at thr basis for the call, a neighbor being concerned, well, I think that the lady should be commended.
The only problem is that she did not really know her neighbor, and at the moment she did see him from a distance, he looked like a burglar.

I see the only issue here is that there may be a lot of mistaken perceptions in some of the calls to this iWatch program, but is this not just another form of neighborhood watch,which is a popular program in my own neighborhood,and I feel safer knowing my neighbors feel free to call the police for any suspected suspicous behavoir.

I am willing to have any mistake sorted out in court,if it should go that far.I think most people that are mistakingly arrested,may not like it,but just as long as everyone is professional,the system usually works.Nothing is fool proof, but with the budgets being cut out here in California for the policing, the police need the publics help,or we may fall victim to all these criminals we got out here.

I try to remind people,when I was in India, a country where terrorism happens all the time, I got searched and detained regularly, because they hav to check people for bombs.I am cool with that, but we don’t have any thing like that going on over here.It gives us some perspective.Our police are easy on us, even when they get bad in contrast.

So, to be clear, I think we need to side with the lesser of two evils, and instead of having people afraid to ‘get involved’ chief Bratton has created a way for people to get more involved anonymously…
It would be more work for the courts, but these young attorneys need as much practice as they can get, and I have no problem expanding the legal system, more than the prison, or victim system,if you get that point.

Chief Bratton had a lot of good ideas for LA, and we are a better city for it.He was fair.I am sad to see him leave that position of Police chief, but the new chief has a good act to follow, and learn from.

Don’t be afraid of this program,it’s probably going to nab more buglars than terrorist,but either way,get them off the streets.
Cast a big net, and see what shakes out…and if someone is falsley accused or detained, then the lawyers will work it out.

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