

Computer snafu is behind at least 50 'raids' on Brooklyn couple's home - DanielBMarkham
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/03/19/2010-03-19_computer_snafu_behind_repeated_raids_on_bklyn_couples_home_the_8year_glitch.html

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CWuestefeld
_cops have flagged the Martin's address so no officer will be dispatched to
the home without double-checking the address._

Call me cynical, but the first thing I thought when reading this is "so that's
how they keep the police from bothering any of the 'connected' people".

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almost
It might also be using the mechanism they use to stop police bothering
subjects of surveillance too soon and ruining investigations.

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hexis
It definitely _isn't_ the system they use to stop harassing innocent people
after dozens of inappropriate visits but before the Daily News investigates
and reports on it. I'm not sure they have a system for that.

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billybob
Wow. Were none of the same cops ever on the repeat visits? "Hey Joe, isn't
this the same elderly couple who had nothing to do with the murder and the
coke deal and the prostitution ring? Why the heck are we here again?"

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jrockway
"This time it's them."

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mynameishere
"Time to bag us some cattle rustlers, boys."

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jrockway
This is why you should _never_ buy a house located at 123 Fake St.

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pavel_lishin
Brilliant.

Enter your address in the system as the default one; complain until the police
stop showing up; commit loud crimes.

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PatrickTulskie
I wonder what it would do for your home's value if you listed "DMZ" as one of
the home's features.

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bediger
I'll believe this one. I used friend's addresses in testing a system years
ago. It's worth having a "zoo" of addresses because they come in a dazzling
variety of formats - Salt Lake City, for example, has 2 Temple Streets that
run east-west, one north of the LDS Temple, and one south. So they have a
"directional": 123 E Temple St N. Apartment numbers are also a problem

Once you're done developing, the hand off to day-to-day administration
sometimes leaves things behind. Test addresses might just stay in the system.

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ggchappell
Something of a similar nature happened to me at a university a decade or so
ago. My e-mail address somehow got stored on a server as the default reply-to
address for the e-mail client in all the public labs. I ended up getting on
every mailing list in the known universe.

They eventually fixed it, but then there was a crash, and they restored from a
backup ....

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zandorg
Once at my Mum's (in England), a cop rang the doorbell at 2AM. I thought
'They're coming for me!' but it was just the car's boot lid was wide open and
the policeman was concerned!

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zaphar
Now I want to know why you thought they were after you. Seems like there's a
story in there somewhere.

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zandorg
Well I was working on a decompiler at the time (reverse engineering). But I
only thought they were 'after me' because they rang at 2AM.

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eru
Interesting that reverse engineering is still somewhat shady.

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xiaoma
Two thoughts:

1) It's surprising they didn't decide to sell the house and move.

2) Can you imagine _buying_ property with this particular baggage?

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anigbrowl
Unconscionable.

