Cops in the US do this too, civil forfeiture. Maybe not necessarily >while frisking< someone, but its literally a process where even if a person is not being charged with any crime, anything they own can be taken by police and never given back. The most common tactic literally is just extortion. They'll pull someone over, claim they smell weed or alcohol or whatever, illegally search the car and anything that "could" be linked to crime can be taken. Including jewelry and cash. They have the person sign a waiver saying "I agree to never contest this asset seizure, in exchange for not being charged with a crime." And are told by the cops that if they don't sign, they're going to prison and will have their kids taken away.
It's been happening more and more in the last 40yrs, going from just under $100m seized in 1987 (adjusted), to $2.5 billion in 2013. Another $20billion since then.
They even have it set up so they don't ever have to show evidence you did anything wrong. They file a lawsuit AGAINST THE PIECE OF PROPERTY, which has no constitutional rights, therefore presumption of innocence doesn't apply and it's up to the victim to prove the item/s in question weren't used for criminal activity. Which ofc, is impossible.
Civil forfeiture sucks ass but its not robbery, the person that it happens to can get their cash reimbursed if they establish a paper trail.
It's obviously a huge inconvenience because you have to go through the legal process but in countries where the cops just outright rob you there's no recourse, the person that takes it just stuffs it into their pocket.
Nah, it's robbery. The link I provided has several points about it, and there's plenty more on Google. Why do you think they coerce/threaten people into signing shit saying they won't contest it?
AND "prove cash wasn't used in a crime" is literally impossible. The "legal process" for this specifically is "guilty until proven innocent", and it's impossible to prove that cash was not used in a crime.
NW? What, is the Palatine PD shaking you down everyday? I think you need to travel more lol..as someone from that area, you should def be more afraid of the gangs…
As a truck driver, I'm putting a huge target on my back every time I get in the cab of my truck. Cops love to hate truck drivers and seem to see us as rolling piggy banks to fund their pensions.
Well I agree with you there. I briefly worked with a retired Indiana state trooper and his opinion was that truck drivers were more morally corrupt than drug dealers..
That's not true! People around here leave their cars unlocked with the keys in them overnight and then wonder how they could have possibly been stolen.
Ohhh yeaaahhh Evanston PD are just terrifying, last time I visited my cousins there one of them even stopped me to ask if I was OK while I was clearly lost carrying heavy bags.
then he gave me a fucking lift to my cousin’s house
Ahh, Mexico had to completely reform their federal police department cause it was so corrupt that literally there was no point in it. Also, it should be pointed out that one time mexican police caught a criminal, and the gang the criminal was linked to told police "release him or will kill you till you do' after multiple murders police released him. If that shit was done in the US, the Marshals would be dragging those gang members out "hubbled"/hog tied and you will see why they are known as the blood hounds of American law enforcement. So, while maybe one or two police officers are good, the entire thing is the last place we should ever take an example from on how a police department is ran.
That's what's frustrating about Mexican news is Reddit. The reactions are always like the thing were happening in the US. When the whole Supreme Court got fired people celebrated as if the US SC had been fired, as if it weren't a completely different situation with terrible consequences for Mexican democracy.
As for the subject at hand, it depends on the part of the country. The Mexico City police is pretty hands off most of the time, as far as extorting or robbing regular citizens, but they're hardly helpful, either. The impunity rates are close to 100% and they don't help old ladies with their cats, either.
Making out the police as worse than the cartels, though... bold statement. It's not the police that is murdering over 100,000 per presidential term, let's leave it at that.
I should have put a qualifier of sorts when I made that comment..
I was more afraid of the police because they were much more likely to just completely fuck me over for no reason other than being American.
The Cartel, on the other hand, didn't fuck with Americans unless you gave them a reason to.
So, admittedly, that's clearly a position that isn't shared between Mexican citizens and American citizens alike. On a general level, of course, the cartel is objectively much more dangerous. But I found that becoming fluent in Spanish plus always doing business in good faith earned a level of respect with the cartel that I could never have achieved with the police, no matter what I did to try to foster a relationship.
At one point, I was basically given a free pass amongst all the local police, ONLY because the local gang that ran the local cartel 'operations' had basically told them "Yeah, you're not allowed to fuck with this gringo anymore."
That's very interesting. Yes, I suppose it makes sense that your nationality would be to your advantage with one group and to your disadvantage with another. The only person I know who's been mugged by the police over here in many years is European.
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u/Callmemabryartistry 1d ago
Nice to see police doing good.