(June 17, 2012 at 7:11 pm)padraic Wrote:(June 17, 2012 at 6:38 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Far too many cops in this country seem to think they have a right to beat the shit out of anyone they want.
I'm proud to say that doesn't happen in Australia. Upset the police here and they just shoot you.
Shoot first and as questions later are what China does and even worse, Iran. Why should law enforcement training be based on all mistrust and presumption of guilt? What happens when they harm the innocent and that person dies because of a "shoot first" policy?
Like I said, Dirty Harry is great for Hollywood, but for real life, it can become an abuse of power which cannot avoid hurting someone truly innocent at some point.
I personally have had the preference that it is better to let the guilty go free than presumption of guilt as a default. Those who take this hardline stance don't when their own rights get assaulted by government. It is easy to talk tough, it is much harder to defend yourself from government.
I'd prefer much more worrying about my neighbor committing a crime than the government becoming the criminal.
