Blame Delaware, version 2- or people who have watched one too many a movie

[elf6c]

Some Tom Cruise fans in law enforcement in that great ethical morass which is Delaware.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1548489

Enjoy:

Delaware police compile database of future suspects

Associated Press
WILMINGTON, Del. – Police in Delaware are trying to get a head-start on cracking crimes before they happen by setting up a database that contains a list of people who officers believe are likely to break the law.

Defense attorneys and the American Civil Liberties Union oppose the database, which lists names, addresses and photographs of the potential suspects – many of whom have clean slates.

The precise grounds for putting a person on the list aren’t clear. But since the system was introduced in Wilmington in June, most of the 200 people included in the file have been minorities from poor, high-crime neighborhoods.

State and federal prosecutors say the tactic is legal, but defense lawyers object to the practice.

“We should enforce the existing laws, but not violate them, to catch the bad guys,” said Theo Gregory, City Councilman and public defender. “We’ve become the bad guys, and that’s not right.”

Mayor James Baker called the criticism “asinine and intellectually bankrupt.”

“I don’t care what anyone but a court of law thinks,” he said. “Until a court says otherwise, if I say it’s constitutional, it’s constitutional.”

The pictures are being taken by two Wilmington police squads created in June to arrest drug dealers. The units are known in some neighborhoods as “jump-out squads” because they jump out of cars and make quick arrests.

Many of the people whose photos have been taken for the file were stopped briefly for loitering and let go.

Unbelievable.

[elf6c]

Sorry 'bout the dupe. Mods feel free to delete/lock the extra.

Oh, and thanks to Fark for the link.

[Tranquilis]

Yeah, that hit like a bomb on the local news. The politicos seem honestly baffled as to why this might be a shitty idea.

Go figure.

[CRorex]

Shouldn’t that be Phillip K Dick fans?

Tom Cruise had nothing to do with the creation of Minority Report, that baby was all Phillip K Dick

[No_Dragons_Here]

That sounds odd at first, but if you think about it for a minute it isn’t very different from the way things are done elsewhere. IANAC, but the officers I know take the time in their regular duties to get to know people in the community and seem to have a fairly good idea of who might have been inclined to commit a given offense. After talking with victims and witnesses they frequently have a good reason to go talk to the “usual suspects”. This is simply communicating an individual or small team of officers “usual suspects” to a larger group of officers.

I hate to think of damage to innocent people if the info got out and got published though. The resulting lawsuits would also be horrendous. Hopefully, if such lists are compiled, the officers will be instructed to make clear notes and statements as to why someone is on the list to avoid ruining someone’s life with a misplaced accusation.