The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
Many police departments have stopped publicly identifying suspects after they’re arrested, and in some cases they won’t even identify those who are arrested for felonies.
QUESTION: Do you think suspects who are arrested for felonies should be publicly identified after they’re taken into custody?
Talk about it….
Immediately.
Absolutely. There’s no valid reason not to.
Just because you’re not convicted doesn’t mean there isn’t compelling reasons for the police to arrest you
Some may say No, but why should their identity be kept secret?
If I did something, like caused a car accident, and hunt someone, I bet my name would be posted.
No! Because it reinforces the negative perception for a certain community.
Which community? The criminal community?
If the question conjures up in your mind the potential effect on a certain community based on race or sex, you’re the racist or sexist.
It is the society’s duty to protect the public and make public aware specifically of the people that harm society. Misdemeanor no, Felony YES.
Publish Picture and Crime immediately, if charges are dropped due to innocence then Publish the retraction.
The law in california is an arrest is public information. Concord PD needs to know this. Walnut Creek PD is much better at releasing info.
Wait until conviction
Why? The community has a right to know who the criminals are. If somebody can be outed for liking a tweet there surely should be no problem outing individuals guilty of crimes…
Each agency would need to hire additional staff, at the taxpayers’ expense, to publish the felony arrests. Also, there could be liability if an error was made. Your tax dollars at work!
We never used to have to hire additional staff to release information obtained while arrested, so I’m sure we can do it without the tax payer expense at this time. Be damned the liability too bad if an error was made they are made all day all week all month all year. Treat the criminals like they deserve which is like criminals.
Not sure how an error would be made by naming individuals arrested for a felony. It is for arrest, the act of taking into custody based on suspicion of a crime. This is not an indication of guilt, as innocent until proven guilty still stands (except maybe for true victims).
If it is posted on the internet, it can be viewed by employers and other persons. An error regarding the felony arrest can cause damage to someone’s reputation. As somebody who advises law enforcement, I see that this could cause big problems.
I appreciate your role in advising law enforcement, that is a great thing. I would argue though that an error in naming an individual arrested for a felony would be very unlikely. Impossible? No, but unlikely.
In Shasta County, they put arrested people’s name and picture on the evening news every day, Including drunk drivers.
Make public shaming great again
Publicly ID people just for the arrest?? No way. I’m Dr. Law-And-Order PhD, but I say wait for the conviction, and then let the humiliation and derision begin. This seems obvious to me.
P.P. Perhaps you would prefer secret arrests, and secret trials. This seems odious to me.
I agree, false arrests happens. Even if later the person is found innocent and a retraction is published, many will not read or hear that, thus will go on blaming someone innocent. Anyone remember Richard Jewel? Put yourself in that situation, what if you were falsely accused, or arrested based on faulty information or mistaken identity?
When convicted – yes …. why was it stopped?!
Yes. They only reason they don’t seem to be when the person(s) are from a particular group and they don’t want to appear biased. If the crime fits…
Yep. If they are worried that publishing names and pictures of black people that commit crimes will lead people to think that black people commit the most crimes, well the problem isn’t with publishing this info. It is with the demographic that actually DOES commit the most crimes!
Felonies are bigger actions than misdemeanors. Yes, put the name(s) out so all their friends and family can be so proud. Why wait for conviction these days that may never happen?
You bring up an interesting point. It’s clear the Soros purchased DA’s have a remarkable ability to reduce felonies to misdemeanors. And those conversion percentages increase year over year. Further, there appears to be a dramatic spike in California prosecutor court absence causing judges to release dangerous felons. In short, they are working the system.
If my neighbor happened to be arrested for bashing people over the head with a tire iron, I would like to know about that sooner than later.
Does that include taking a mug shot and immediately publishing it of Donald Trump, who was arrested on a felony warrant? Be careful of what you wish for.
That would just be another glaring example of what a huge farce the justice system is, these days.
Why not? they seem to have no problem perp walking an x president for misdemeanors.
Just saying.
If you have a famous name, former president, actor etc. of course it will be in the news if and when they are in legal trouble. Fair or not, but reality. Special consideration was giving to former President Trump, no handcuffs, etc. which I think was the right think to do.
Here in California that would be violation of criminals rights. In this state criminals have more rights, services, preferences and protections than honest law abiding citizens.