

NY Blogger Criticized For Posting Photos of Teen Vandals  - msie
http://www.pixiq.com/article/ny-blogger-criticized-for-posting-photos-of-teen-vandals

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stretchwithme
Once again, the expectation of privacy while committing crimes is violated.
oh, where will this end? Must we be accountable for every little thing we do?

Of course, I'm joking. I applaud the posting.

We had a similar thing near here where a package thief was recorded making her
rounds. And the thieves among us commented how terrible it was that she was
put on public display for her crimes.

    
    
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poMTVXcvGoo
    

This actually foreshadows a future where petty crime becomes very difficult.
Not only will there be more cameras, but software will improve to the point
where it can recognize suspicious behavior and unrecognized persons and
anticipate crime. Maybe even zoom in on it, call other mobile cameras to the
scene to capture the action from multiple angles, track the criminal until law
enforcement can get to them, alerting the neighbors to steer clear.

And criminals will have their countermeasures. Burglaries may be performed by
robots that fly into your garage as the door closes when you leave for the
office.

~~~
pbiggar
> Must we be accountable for every little thing we do?

Of course you're right that in general people must be held accountable for
their crimes. However, it's somewhat different for children, who need and
deserve some protection from the stupid things they do in their youth.

I fully support the punishment of the children, and any and all legal
ramifications they receive, but I don't believe they should be help
accountable forever. I suspect that when these kids go for jobs in 10 years,
the first result in Google will be the post with their names and their foolish
youthful actions.

~~~
sofuture
Cry me a river! If the worst of the things that I did as a kid showed up in my
Google results I'd still be hireable. Why? Because I was a goody two-shoes who
never did anything wrong? Nope! So why, then?

Because while I was maybe mischievous, I wasn't a malicious little shit doing
pointlessly antagonistic and destructive things.

~~~
pyre
I'm thinking that you don't subscribe the the idea that people can get a
second chance to turn their life around (or that people _can_ turn their life
around).

~~~
sofuture
No, that's not it at all.

I just think that someone so blatantly being a jackass, and being filmed in
the act, deserves all the publicity that they get. I'm not suggesting we burn
these kids at the stake or tattoo their crimes on their forehead. I just fail
to see why anyone should bemoan their potentially besmirched reputation. Boo.
Hoo.

~~~
pyre
At the very least, publicizing it before a trial taints the jury pool... I'm
not one to champion the idea of trial by public opinion (because there are a
number of cases where public opinion is wrong).

~~~
stretchwithme
If that's the case, all crimes should be kept private.

------
jrockway
I clicked through to the link where the people in the town meeting call him a
pedophile. I really enjoy watching the town meeting -- 15 minutes of chaos and
whining for no reason. People continue to amuse me.

BTW, why is it OK to use "pedophile" as an insult? If you used other mental
diseases as insults, it's considered offensive. ("You're a retard!")

(Incidentally, I am not sure what insult to use for someone that thinks
there's a link between wanting to have sex with undeveloped children and
videotaping developed teenagers committing crimes.)

~~~
ergo98
_I clicked through to the link where the people in the town meeting call him a
pedophile_

I would like to hear that someone was sued for slander for that. It's an
outrageous accusation as a weak "Witch!" cry because their poorly raised, nit
wit, addled youth are morons.

~~~
jrockway
Yeah, I don't understand why he even went to the meeting. Let them take him to
court. Which they can't do, because he did nothing other than helping the
police investigate a crime in progress.

Their "pedophile" is my "model citizen", and I think most people are on my
side :)

------
bhousel
I actually work with the NYC Law Department's juvenile crimes division. They
normally would prosecute a case like this, and yes, their prosecutors are
savvy enough to check the kids' Facebook pages and use it as evidence.

Of course if the police don't arrest them, the process won't start, so
bringing pressure on the police through the blog and the press might get
things started so they can prosecute the teens.

------
callmeed
_"My sons picture should not even be taken and put on this page with out my
consent!"_

In an age when almost everyone has a camera and Internet access in their
pocket, I'm amazed at how ignorant people still are regarding photo/privacy
rights ... and I'm not one to have high expectations of society.

~~~
tomjen3
That is danish law btw. I can get a court order demanding that my picture be
removed from facebook, if somebody uploads it against my will, and I can sue
that person under Danish law.

------
meelash
Man, I wish those punks would do something like that in my neighborhood. 5 or
6 guys should get together with some nice, big sticks and go patrol the
streets. Let some kid throw an egg at them and then go beat the crap out of
him (meaning hit him once or twice in a non-vulnerable part of the body until
he cries but not cause any actual physical harm). It will only take one kid,
one year. Problem solved forever.

Self defense.

~~~
sukuriant
Wouldn't posting it here make it premeditated and less "self defense"?

~~~
gaius
Nothing wrong with stating publicly that you're willing and able to defend
yourself and your property. In fact there should be no need to state it, it
should be assumed that decent folk will...

------
yan
Hm, that neighborhood is a few minutes from me. Some of the schools in that
area are just foul.

------
asnyder
I live under the 61st precinct. WORST precinct ever. Internal affairs should
be all over that precinct. They don't give a damn. The best way to keep your
crime stats low is to refuse to respond to any calls or file any reports.

------
petercooper
It's not only OK to record people committing offences, it's an _obligation_ in
a modern society where all citizens should be encouraged to take an interest
in the safety of their communities (without issuing summary judgments or
punishments, of course). We do not deserve to be constantly "monitored" but
once you break the laws and rules of a community, you waive a little of your
liberty.

People who dig their heads in the sand and ignore minor crime while "leaving
to the police" are screwing over their communities with their indifference.
And teenagers? That's _especially_ when people should get involved - kids who
never learn what the boundaries are become shitty adults.

------
clr
You have to understand the neighborhood in which this happens. This blogger
has been fighting a losing battle for years now. The community is so
incredibly insular that instead of Dave being a hero for what he does, he's
considered to be, well, you saw the footage from the community meeting (and
you don't know what he had to do to even get that far, they tried to ban him
from those too when he first started, even though he's a resident and entitled
to be there).

Gerritsen Beach is its own place. I'm not excusing it, but it explains so
much.

------
kmfrk
People in "my" country get sentences for posting security camera footage of
robberies in their shops. I find that to be utterly ridiculous.

~~~
lhnn
Which country is this?

~~~
kmfrk
I was being vague on purpose. :)

An otherwise completely normal European country.

~~~
jrockway
Pretty sure that it's legal to comment on the law in any "normal European
country". Even France.

------
kleiba
Minor remark on the quote at the end of the article:

 _Screenshots were available publicly therefore submitted to the public
domain._

Again with the public domain? Of course that's not what the whole article is
about, but I'm astonished how this kind of reasoning seems to have manifested
itself.

------
bingaman
This might be slightly off topic, but the first thing I thought was that if
they were black they would have been arrested, guaranteed.

------
lhnn
I will be so bold as to say this: I doubt there are many places in Texas where
this would have happened without those kids getting arrested, or barring that,
being rightfully assaulted.

When one attacks another's person and property, one should expect retribution.

~~~
patrickgzill
People in Texas are allowed to have guns. NY not so much.

Just ONE adult with a shiny chrome .45, 1911 frame or shotgun would have
stopped all of this in its tracks.

EDIT to add: "An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one
may have to back up his acts with his life." \-- Robert A. Heinlein

~~~
Zak
As a gun owner and advocate of gun rights, I feel the need to call this out as
an example of an inappropriate time to use or display a firearm. Vandalism and
misdemeanor battery are _not_ cause to threaten someone with deadly force. To
do so is highly irresponsible and usually criminal.

~~~
patrickgzill
Please have another look at the article and notice that they were throwing
_rocks_ in some cases, and caused the shutdown of a couple of buses due to
damage, as well as throwing items at people not inside cars, including someone
out with their child in a stroller.

From the article: "An older man in his late 60′s was driving along Gerritsen
Avenue when his car was hit by eggs, when he exited the vehicle he was pelted
by dozens of eggs, rocks were thrown, chucks of brick, and someone tossed a
hammer."

~~~
Zak
I read it. I consider it borderline at best. While these objects _could_ cause
serious injuries, they probably won't under those circumstances, and a retreat
is probably a better option than brandishing a gun. I believe you should never
brandish a gun unless you're prepared to kill somebody, and I'd be very
hesitant to kill somebody for throwing rocks.

