# Why do cops only seem to aggressively look for criminals who........ **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006 "2014-07-13T18:20:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/61 "2014-07-15T19:15:00Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Lol, no they haven’t. Lol, well maybe. ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/62 "2014-07-16T00:01:31Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > I love reading pure stupidity like this. FBJJ, you don’t know the difference between your butt and a burnt biscuit when it comes to law enforcement. All you have is your biased viewpoint and you cling to it like an addict does to a syringe, rejecting everything you are told that points out that you are so wrong, you’re not even in the same zip code with right. > > Oh, and for your enlightenment - arrest quotas were done away with a long time ago. Now the cops can bust as many people as they need to. how do you know they were done away with??? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/63 "2014-07-16T00:18:45Z")
Thass right, bitches! Minds. Blown. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/64 "2014-07-16T01:22:18Z")
And FBJJ hit the sweet spot - eight question marks. Seven or fewer would have shown disinterest, nine or more would be ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/65 "2014-07-16T05:01:06Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > This is just too easy. > > I’m going to go have a beer and watch Marshall Dillon and then Gunsmoke - it’s far better entertainment than this idiot is going to provide. Then maybe you can explain why Marshall Dillon and Festus don’t seem to give much of a shit whenever there’s trouble out at the old Jenkin’s place, but if a group of rowdy cattle rustlers harasses Miss Kitty they show up instantly with guns drawn. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/66 "2014-07-16T05:01:17Z")
So, the real question is: Is FBJJ common good or is common good FBJJ? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/67 "2014-07-16T15:44:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Are you saying there’s no aggressive police presence in “ghetto” communities? Because there are plenty of people who complain the police are too aggressive in looking for criminals in these neighbourhoods. It depends on whom you ask, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/68 "2014-07-16T16:05:11Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Then maybe you can explain why Marshall Dillon and Festus don’t seem to give much of a shit whenever there’s trouble out at the old Jenkin’s place, but if a group of rowdy cattle rustlers harasses Miss Kitty they show up instantly with guns drawn. They were headed to Miss Kitty’s already. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/69 "2014-07-16T19:44:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The irony, it burns! No irony, just facts. That’s what burns you. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/70 "2014-07-16T19:50:44Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Jul 14. > > Now how did I know that? > > Troll. Careful now, we’ve been told at length and repeatedly that we can’t point out the join dates of those who troll us. You see, just because 99% of trolls join the board to troll and then vanish, we’re being discriminatory if we point that out. I recommend TSA-style random troll checks of members who have been here for at least 10 years. Those are the real troublemakers. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/71 "2014-07-16T19:51:29Z")
> [@FBJJ](#): > > how do you know they were done away with??? Because I used to be a cop. No department worth its salt would ever impose quotas. They are illegal in most states, and they’re a bad idea from the start whether legal or not. However, I used to get that crap from almost everyone I ever issued a citation to: “Just gotta fill your quota, so you stopped me”, that sort of thing. My stock response was “No, sir/ma’am - we don’t have quotas, I can write as many tickets as I want”. Following that exchange, I would then check for minor things, such as expired inspection sticker or plates, etc. If they had been civil to me, I would have simply given them a verbal warning to get it fixed. After they ran their mouth, it’s ticket time. ---
**Author:** ![common\_good](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@common\_good](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/common_good)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/72 "2014-07-17T00:38:56Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Do you really not understand? Of are you just being angry about it? Most shootings occur in poor areas of a city. Most are black on black crimes. Witnesses are dis-inclined to report what they witness, for several reasons. Repriasals being formost. Police try to solve these cases but these are hard to determine. The public at large cares little about the plight of the poor. Large segments of society seem locked in a hopeless cycle of misery, crime, and hopelessness. Apathy pervades society including it’s law enforcement efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/73 "2014-07-17T03:07:40Z")
I think the problem the OP is suggesting is not being defined well enough. I live in Chicago and people here jaywalk with regularity. They do so right in front of the police and I have yet to see anyone busted for it. I have been in other cities where jaywalking will get you a ticket (I have it on good authority from a Seattle native that jaywalking there will get you a ticket…she has lived in Chicago for years now and still stubbornly refuses to cross against the light). If you go to some hoity-toity rich suburb where the worst the cops generally have to deal with is someone not picking up after their dog then yeah…they will go apeshit if there is a murder and devote all their resources to it. If you go to some inner city hell hole where murder is an alarmingly regular occurrence (as is happening recently in Chicago) then it may seem like the cops are less zealous in pursuing a given case. It is not that they do not care, just that they have limited resources and ten other murders to deal with from the past month. Also remember money has a lot of influence in politics. The rich folk who donated generously to the mayor’s campaign may expect a bit more attention if a serious crime happens near them. Again, this is not the cops not caring about serious crimes elsewhere but the mayor may kick the Chief of Police’s ass and it goes downhill from there. I’d say the sense of where the OP is coming from lies in what happened in Chicago over the 4th of July weekend. [Sixty people were shot and nine [or more] killed.](http://abcnews.go.com/US/violence-mars-chicago-holiday-weekend-50-reportedly-injured/story?id=24446308) I am willing to bet if these crimes happened in the Gold Coast of Chicago (is like it sounds…one of the wealthier areas of the city) you would see a FAR more robust response from city government. As it is the city is kinda “meh”. Gang bangers killing gang bangers people think so no one is really fussed about it. In the meantime Chicago is short 1,000 police officers so, even though they care, they simply are not able to cover it all. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/74 "2014-07-17T03:33:10Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I believe in most big cities police officers either work on a special team (like Narcotics / Homicide / Vice / various task forces) or are assigned to work in a specific district/precinct. The police who are assigned to those precincts are only going to care about those areas, and if they’re assigned to the ghetto, then in fact all of their work will be on crimes there. The question then is how does the police department allocate resources to each of these groups? Is it a per capita basis? 1 cop per 1,000 people (making numbers up for example). Or is it 1 cop per 10 major crimes in an area? Or is it something else? This also does not count other resources and how they are parceled out. Things such as lab time and whatnot. I really do not know the answer but I think it is relevant to the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/75 "2014-07-17T03:33:49Z")
if a black man is found dead the law can care less ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/76 "2014-07-17T03:56:54Z")
> [@FBJJ](#): > > if a black man is found dead the law can care less I’m glad it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![FBJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@FBJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FBJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/77 "2014-07-17T04:33:02Z")
> [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](#): > > I’m glad it doesn’t. log out ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/78 "2014-07-17T04:43:19Z")
No, Grandma, you can’t just type “log out.” You have to click the button. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/79 "2014-07-17T05:52:08Z")
Nine killed over one holiday weekend? In Montréal that’d be like three months’ worth, in a bad year. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006/80 "2014-07-17T06:15:51Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Nine killed over one holiday weekend? In Montréal that’d be like three months’ worth, in a bad year. Yeah and that was out of over 60 shot (I think the final tally was a dozen or more but cannot be arsed to look it up right now…nine is bad enough anyway). It’s been bad and seems to be getting worse in Chicago. Near as I can tell the city government is uninterested. To them it is low-lifes killing other low-lifes making the job on the police and cost to the city better. Why incur the cost of an arrest and court and jail to lower crime if the criminals will just shoot each other? Of course such a stance is not explicit but the way the city has responded (i.e not at all beyond mumbling some platitudes) suggests it could not give a rat’s ass about this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cops-only-seem-to-aggressively-look-for-criminals-who/693006.md?page=5)