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by anon3_ 3964 days ago
Hi, interesting post.

First I wanted to say USA may be different from others in the fact that silence can't be hold against you. If police detain you, the advice I hear from lawyers is to zip it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGgKLgVNfAo is a great presentation featuring a former detective and a defense attorney)

In other countries, like UK - not giving an alibi in situ can be used against you.

In USA - I trust the integrity of the legal system, but the police are trained to use deception - ranging from gigantic pretexts, like posing as your telephone repair man, to simple bluffs and lies. (Funny spoof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfF8OSlGhKk)

This creates a chilling effect of distrust which discourages informants. No one worth his salt can take a cop at his or her word. And I think the cumulative result that has on communities is drowned in relation to what we see with cop violence in the public eye.

Not having a line between community and police means cases can go unsolved and serious crime can go unpunished.