
Police-issued "courtesy cards" help friends and family out of minor infractions - danso
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v7gxa4/pba-card-police-courtesy-cards
======
merricksb
If curious, see this discussion about the topic from early 2018:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16207890](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16207890)

------
anm89
The simplest way to fix a huge amount of problems that exist in the USA would
be to start holding the police accountable for their actions.

This is police corruption, an especially harmful category of corruption that
undermindes our entire legal system. It should be 5 years minimum in federal
prison. Police should recieve drastically stronger charges and sentences when
they violate the law, not the other way around. If someone above was found to
have known about it and didn't report it should be 2x.

You show me a problem in modern america (maybe except healthcare) and I bet I
could argue this one policy would fix it in one roundabout way or another.

It won't happen for a bunch of structural reasons unless a major party took it
up as a major part of their platform but it would work.

Come to think of it, this is one of the very few things one of the major
parties could do to get me to vote for them.

~~~
dsr_
Require malpractice insurance for police; require that they pay it themselves,
not as part of a union or from their civilian employer. Require insurance
companies to set prices solely by service record of the individual and of the
unit and of the city/county/state employer.

Commit a felony, lose your insurance coverage, be unemployable. Happens to
doctors; why shouldn't it happen to police?

Go to work for a misbehaving department, watch your premium rise.

Act professionally your whole career, watch your premium drop.

Everybody likes incentives here. Police don't have many right now.

~~~
SahAssar
Of all the systems the US has I think the insurance industry is the last to
come to mind to fix a problem.

~~~
an_opabinia
“Tort” (insurance’s cousin) is but one of the many gods in the cathedrals
people build to avoid blaming hate.

~~~
pjc50
Tory is not really anything to do with insurance; it is a very old legal
concept referring to any kind of job bodily harm to the interest of another.

------
helsinkiandrew
> he frequently receives PBA cards as a thank-you for extending cops small
> business favors and deals

This is corruption. I've never understood how things like this can happen in
the US - why is this tolerated?

If this happened in the UK I'm fairly sure it would be raised in the press,
then parliament and then the Home Secretary (in charge of policing) would be
forced to make a statement and likely do something about it.

~~~
ALittleLight
I think it's corruption too, but I have to roll my eyes at "If this happened
in the UK..."

The police, and city councils, in the UK have tacitly permitted, for decades,
systematic child rape as seen in the Rotterham grooming scandal [1] and
numerous others throughout the country. How can you suggest that cops wouldn't
look the other way for minor infractions when there are countless examples of
them ignoring obscene and severe crimes of the worst sort against the most
vulnerable?

I don't want this to come off as a "my country is better than yours" but at
the same time, I don't think using the UK police as an example of anything to
aspire to is a good idea.

1
-[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_explo...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotherham_child_sexual_exploitation_scandal)

~~~
crispyporkbites
That’s absolute bollocks. The uk police has oversight from the IOPC and you
can read all about the ongoing conduct investigation for that cherry picked
example here [https://policeconduct.gov.uk/news/independent-
investigation-...](https://policeconduct.gov.uk/news/independent-
investigation-under-way-relating-gmp%E2%80%99s-operation-augusta)

~~~
ALittleLight
Cherry picked? The "see also" section lists another 6 "grooming gang" scandals
across the country and I have no reason to think that's comprehensive. UK
police permitting the organized rape of children seems the norm rather than
the exception from what I can tell.

The fact that there is an investigation decades after the fact doesn't really
negate what I've written.

My point isn't really about the grooming gang scandals though. My point is: UK
police look the other way for the crime of child rape, why should I believe
they don't look the other way for minor infractions?

------
spacedcowboy
What the actual fuck ?

From an outside-the-US perspective, the stack of “Things I’d never believe
about the USA, please, Alex” is just getting higher and higher.

How is it legal to have preferential treatment, no matter under what
circumstances, for ‘friends of the police’? Is Lady Liberty not famously blind
while balancing the scales of justice ? Does the maxim “justice must not only
be done, it must be seen to be done” somehow not apply in the USA ?

Over the last few years, it seems to me the rock that used to be the USA has
been overturned, and all the slimy creepy little nasties are being exposed to
the harsh light of day. What happens in a few months is going to be critical
to the soul of your nation. Get it right, I doubt you’ll recover if you don’t.

~~~
derwiki
I assure you, “friend of the police” cards have been going on for more than a
few years. And from what my military friends tell me, handing a cop your
military ID tends to work just as well.

~~~
geerlingguy
In some communities other memberships can also hold sway. I remember one
person mentioning some sort of scouting membership getting him out of a
traffic stop.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
The officer puts you in a category within seconds of meeting you - citizen,
perp or 'blue line'. Their response depends upon this judgement call.

My son the disable vet could not seem to get a ticket. He occasionally speeds,
not egregiously, but the Fort Benning parking sticker on his truck window and
the military ID in his wallet made a difference in the attitude of the
officer.

~~~
spideymans
In my city, you'll sometimes see people riding around with the official cap or
bumper sticker of the police union on the back of their car. It's no mystery
why.

~~~
Spivak
Is it really that surprising that ingratiating yourself to someone who has
power or resources on average makes you better off? Nothing about this has
anything to do with police.

You get a "baker's dozen" because the baker likes you.

~~~
ashtonkem
The baker isn’t in charge of enforcing laws. Nor is the baker given a gun by
the state with the expectation of using it.

There is a big, bright line between “favors for valued customers” and
“corruption”.

~~~
Spivak
But we’re not talking about bright line corruption here. We’re talking about
police being nicer and more lenient to their in-groups: veterans, other cops,
emts, firefighters, personal friends, family, politicians they like, police
union reps, the clerk at the Dunkin’ Donuts that always adds a shot of
espresso on the house.

The cards are literally corruption and bleh, but being friendly with the cops
(or anyone) getting you special treatment sometimes is a human thing.

~~~
kelnos
> _But we’re not talking about bright line corruption here._

Yes, we are. A public official doing a law-related favor for someone based on
their group affiliation is exactly what corruption is.

> _being friendly with the cops (or anyone) getting you special treatment
> sometimes is a human thing._

That is not a universe anyone should have to live in. If you miss out on an
extra baked good because you're not buddies with the baker, it's no big deal.
If a cop treats you more harshly because you're not a friend of the police,
that _is_ a big deal.

Bakers can't deprive you of your life and freedom. Cops can.

------
kemayo
I once got pulled over for speeding in the middle of Kansas. The cop who was
giving me my ticket told me that they had a program for avoiding having the
ticket reported so your insurance rates won't rise. So I went along with it,
and mailed the cost of the ticket plus a hundred dollars to that city's police
department, care of the "sheriff's benevolent association" (or similar -- it's
been a decade, the name is fuzzy to me).

...it remains one of the more blatantly shady-feeling things I remember
encountering in the US.

~~~
mNovak
In the same category of the "Unhooking fee" a tow truck will charge--you can
pick up your car from impound for $200, or you can pay the tow driver $200 on
the spot and save the hassle.

Though obviously lesser significance than the same behaviors from your police
force.

~~~
sokoloff
To be honest, it seems like if a tow truck had to be called out to tow you,
the tow company has earned something even if they didn’t tow you to impound.

~~~
mNovak
Depends, there's plenty of cases in some cities where the tow trucks aren't
called, they just prowl around for any minor infraction. I remember Columbus
OH being particularly bad about this--things that in a normal world might
warrant a parking ticket, you're towed in minutes.

------
woodruffw
For the curious: a more regional[1] form of this petty corruption in the NYC
area is placard abuse[2]. It's pretty common to see cars with these parked in
front of hydrants, in bike lanes, etc, being completely ignored by the police.

[1]: As far as I know, being a lifelong New Yorker.

[2]: [https://twitter.com/placardabuse](https://twitter.com/placardabuse)

~~~
Xavdidtheshadow
The Houston area PD has an organization called the "100 Club" [0] where you
can donate to get a nice sticker. Each year has a different color, so it's
easy to show how long you've been a member. [1]

Officially they're just to support the LEO orgs, but there's also anecdata in
my friend group that having one (or more) makes you more likely to get out of
most things with just a warning.

[0]: [https://the100club.org/about/#what](https://the100club.org/about/#what)
[1]:
[https://twitter.com/sighborgs/status/1246113527158497282](https://twitter.com/sighborgs/status/1246113527158497282)

~~~
woodruffw
Apropos of nothing: apart from being similar to the placard racket, I wonder
how many people who donate to this organization realize that their dollars are
being used to buy MRAPs[1], not pay for the educations of the children of dead
cops.

[1]: [https://the100club.org/newsroom/](https://the100club.org/newsroom/)

------
taneq
I couldn't believe it when I found out that these are a real, actual thing. I
don't see how anyone in the US can cast stones at any other nation for corrupt
police accepting bribes when you can largely get carte blanche just for being
'in the club' there.

~~~
wjp3
While I think this practice is bad and should end, it's not the same. Not
everyone has these cards, whereas anyone can bribe.

~~~
VBprogrammer
I'm not sure that is in the "better" column. At least anyone with access to
some cash can pass a bribe. Here we are making it a more exclusive to those
who hang in the right circles. That to me is more corrupt.

Even the signal it is sending stinks. The law should apply even to other cops
(on and off duty but that is another story) equally as any other citizen. If
just being friends with a cop gets you some special entitlement then what does
being a cop mean, near total immunity?

~~~
jdmichal
> If just being friends with a cop gets you some special entitlement then what
> does being a cop mean, near total immunity?

That's been more or less the case, yes. That and the systemic racism exhibited
while they get this near-total immunity is a large driver behind the recent
protests.

------
nip180
I find unequal enforcement of the law to be one is it’s worst aspects. There
is not only officer discretion, but there is also discretion several places in
the judicial system and privilege in being able to hire better legal council.
Some neighborhoods are policed more heavily than others. Some groups of people
are targeted more heavily than others. Some city police departments enforce
state/federal laws unevenly.

There should be one law for everyone, and if two random people with similar
criminal histories break the same law in different places we should expect
their outcomes and sentencing to be very similar. Right now this is far from
the case.

~~~
darkarmani
I agree, but at the same time the alternative is zero tolerance.

Maybe the big problem is not the discretion, but that it isn't recorded? For
example, i think it is complete corruption that LEOs and their families
generally get "professional courtesy". I've heard the argument that it is a
perk of the job. I disagree, but if you accept that argument, I would say: let
the judge and courts handle the forgiveness of the offense and have it
recorded in documents. Make it an official procedure and it will not look like
corruption.

~~~
nip180
> I agree, but at the same time the alternative is zero tolerance.

I think it’s unfair to use term zero tolerance to describe equal enforcement.
Zero tolerance is a specific sentencing pattern which uses harsh punishments
for crimes. Equal enforcement is about making sure all groups have the same
relationship with the law. If the laws on the books are overly harsh once
enforced than we should change those laws.

~~~
GurnBlandston
The public would be better served by reducing the number of things that are
illegal to only those things that deserve to be enforced with 'zero
tolerance'.

------
jopsen
The mere appearance of corruption in police is enough of a problem. Even in
minor cases.

Debating whether this is bribery or nepotism is pointless, because the
appearance this gives should be plenty to fire officers who hand out such
cards.

Conveniently, they supposedly write their name on the cards they hand out :)

------
djmobley
Sounds like the CHP 11-99 Foundation license plate frame, which could
(allegedly) get you out of speeding tickets [0]

[0] [https://priceonomics.com/can-you-buy-a-license-to-
speed/](https://priceonomics.com/can-you-buy-a-license-to-speed/)

------
stefan_
The big problem in the US is the lack of automated speed enforcement. When you
have officers doing traffic enforcement it inevitably turns into a corrupt
shit show, and if you're black, you might not even live through it.

Although its now 2020, where every 300 gram toy drone will automatically
refuse to fly anywhere near an airport. It took 0 drones taking down 0
airplanes to do that. Modern cars can trivially enforce the speed limit, but
we have ten thousands of deaths and counting every year and it's not
happening.

~~~
nitrogen
_Modern cars can trivially enforce the speed limit_

Not sure about everywhere, but speed limits are first glance limits in at
least some places, where other evidence can prove that a speed above the limit
was not "speeding". Speed limits don't know what traffic is doing, they don't
know road conditions, they don't know if you have an emergency. They're just a
number set by ideally an engineer, or less ideally a party with conflicting
interests (revenue).

I had to drive someone to an emergency room once. There wasn't time or money
for an ambulance. If my car was automatically enforcing speed limits, they
might have died.

Moreover there are _far, far, far_ fewer no-fly zones than speed limit zones.
A no-fly zone is a fairly simple polygon -- are you inside or outside. Every
street has its own speed limit, which can vary from 5mph to 80mph in the US,
and traffic on some freeways is consistently higher than 80. Some highways
have dynamic speed limits, e.g. 65 at night and 55 during rush hour. School
zones and pedestrian crossings have limits based on whether someone has
switched on a light, or times of day, or even just the presence of children.

So no, you cannot have, and do not want, automated in-vehicle enforcement of
speed limits.

~~~
stefan_
No, the fact that US people can't call an ambulance for risk of bankruptcy is
not a good reason to allow cars to accelerate to 120 mph in cities.

That's the point here: you can add cities as simple convex polys and you are
already 80% of the way there. Drones don't need to listen to air traffic
either.

~~~
rurp
The ambulance emergency is just one example, there are many more that you
aren't considering. As one more example there are many passing situations,
such as pretty much any two lane highway, where it's perfectly acceptable to
break the speed limit for a brief period. I can think of other exceptions too
and this is just after thinking about it for a minute, there are probably
thousands of real world situations neither of us could think of ahead of time.

Plus, this is all assuming such a system could be implementing flawlessly. In
practice, such a complicated and messy system would have a million bugs. Who
keeps the speed limit database of every single road in country up to date? How
are all of the precise boundaries of every single speed limit zone going to be
defined and recognized by every vehicle?

~~~
chki
> As one more example there are many passing situations, such as pretty much
> any two lane highway, where it's perfectly acceptable to break the speed
> limit for a brief period.

That's not true legally speaking and I'm pretty sure it's not true from a
driving standpoint. Why would it be acceptable to break the speed limit to
overtake somebody? If you need to speed to be faster than somebody you
shouldn't be passing them. If they speed up during the passing manoeuver you
should probably slow down and fall back.

~~~
nitrogen
It's a pretty frequent problem for someone to be going 10mph below a 55mph
limit. To pass safely you have to go well above the limit for a few seconds,
even if they don't speed up, so that you aren't in the oncoming lane for too
long.

 _If they speed up during the passing manoeuver you should probably slow down
and fall back._

If there's oncoming traffic, sure, but not as a matter of principle. Once you
start passing, you should definitely finish unless it becomes dangerous to do
so.

------
throwaway0a5e
The fundamental issue here is that being a normal person puts you on the wrong
side of the law and/or the punishments for being on the wrong side of the law
are too severe.

~~~
TempLogsForOne
That is just a symptom of the problem as the tyrannical administrative
bureaucratic police state expands at exponential rates, to cheers and demands
for ever more control by mommy and daddy government.

But to your point, you are correct, the only people left on the wrong side of
the law are law abiding productive people who do not have personal connections
to law enforcement. Ever other group gets treated with a light touch and has
excuses made for them and criminals are now getting off the hook left and
right, while the anarcho-tyrannical administrative state increases it's abuses
of regular productive and peaceful people.

It's either by design, out of desperation, or due to incompetence; but it will
not end well for any of us, regardless.

~~~
throwaway0a5e
I find it unsurprising but disheartening that this was flagged.

The entire administrative bureaucracy is in on this racket and it's unfair to
pick in the police alone for it. In my state it's not just the police that
peddle influence like this. Many state agencies have little identifiers that
range from IDs to bumper stickers that they give to their employees with the
unspoken purpose of signaling "don't screw me, I work for your team". The most
coveted are the court system ones because no matter what agency is trying to
screw you none of them want to piss off people who work for the courts. My
state also has all sorts of ways to wave fines and whatnot for economic
hardship reasons (which I fully support). This creates effectively three
classes of people, those who are part of the in-group and treated decently by
government. Those who have money and are preyed upon by government. And those
who don't have money and are ignored by government unless they are committing
serious (i.e. violent) crime because the government gains nothing by cracking
down on them. Why can't the government just treat everyone like the former or
the latter or, even better, repeal all the stupid laws that have wildly low
compliance rates?

------
gwbas1c
You don't need a physical card.

A friend of mine who used to get into trouble all the time when he was a
teenager got away with a ton of stuff. His father was a chief or something, so
every local cop just knew who he was.

You don't want to arrest your boss's son.

~~~
pavon
Yeah, these cards are basically a way of extending behavior that has always
occurred in small departments to a larger force where the police can't
possibly know everyone they are "supposed" to give favors to.

------
mattlondon
There used to be something similar in the UK IIRC - the traffic police
nicknamed themselves "black rats". If you had a sticker of the black rat
mascot/logo on the back of your car then you were either a traffic officer, or
someone close to them (wife/husband/etc) and a wink and a nod an you were on
your way. I don't think it was a deliberate "get out of jail" move - just more
of a "Oh you have a sticker for my unit's mascot on your car!" recognition
type thing.

I think it kinda stopped when they started giving away the stickers on
"enthusiast" car/motorbike magazines etc

~~~
jopsen
Lol, I suppose as the cards carries no real legitimacy, it's not illegal to
fake them.

That said, being stopped by cop who notices that it's fake probably isn't a
good idea :)

------
kop316
I've also noticed in a lot of states that cars have the "fraternal order of
police" sticker, and it is affixed right on their licence plate.

I suspect its for a similar reason, that either if you get your plate's
picture taken or local police can see that right away.

~~~
nickthegreek
yep, its a signal to officers that you went out of your way to donate extra
money to the police force so that they are more forgiving as they approach
your car or just don't pull you over to begin with.

~~~
eplanit
I think that today a Trump 2020 bumper sticker would have the same effect.

~~~
joshstrange
There is a chilling effect in the other direction as well. I'm not too keen on
decorating my car to support various things I do support (candidate/BLM/etc)
because I know the cops might treat me worse with that on my car... fun times.

~~~
illirik
I just have two Seattle Mariners bumper stickers on my truck; haven't been
pulled over since putting em on, so they must think I have enough misery as it
is!

/s I think the real issue is that it has been decided somehow that it is our
fault for being policed and experiencing the frequent resulting injustices. A
police officer can pull you over, stop you walking down the street, etc. etc.
and fine you, jail you, or brutalize you at will, and in all but the most
egregious cases (that also must become a cause celebre), they can just do it
again tomorrow. There's always some justification, no matter how flimsy!
That's not to say this violence is evenly distributed among the population.
POC, the poor and working class, those who work odd hours and have to drive at
3 AM etc. certainly have a much, much, much harder time than e.g. the median
HN commenter. But the answer to the question "What's stopping a given police
officer from e.g. breaking my arm while pulling me out of my vehicle?" is much
less "they will suffer consequences if they do" and much more "they haven't
decided it's what they want to do today"

------
fareesh
In the USA legislators and others in government have publicly voiced their
support of, contributed to, and organized bail funds for specific groups of
people based on their views on particular topics. One Presidential candidate's
campaign (through its staffers) has also paid money towards something called
the "Minnesota Freedom Fund". Why is there a contribution only to this fund?
If you protest animal testing and are arrested for some similar crime, where
is your bail fund? In those cases you have to organize the money yourself,
people in your government don't organize it for you.

Philosophically, government is supposed to serve everyone equally, but
depending on the political views of the alleged criminal, or the self-
proclaimed cause that they are supporting while performing allegedly illegal
acts under the banner of "civil disobedience" or "peaceful protest", there is
an availability of bail funds, selective prosecution, and all sorts of other
features of the justice system available on a selective basis - i.e. the
banner under which the illegality takes place.

If the principle of selective/unequal dispensation of justice is wrong, it
ought to be criticized irrespective of the form it takes. When it is ignored
in some forms but other forms result in outrage, it's difficult not to
question the motivations of whoever is amplifying this particular flavor of
bias.

If it is acceptable for the system to consider banners and offer different
features to offenders depending on which banner they are flying when they
interact with the system, then this is also acceptable.

I personally would prefer a conversation that looks at the problem of
selective enforcement across many spheres.

~~~
ijtioerhgser
Or we could just eliminate cash bail, for everyone. It's been eliminated in my
state for most crimes, and they are trying it out in other states as well.
It's not perfect, but it results in a lot less people in jail because they
can't pay, and it hasn't made us any less safe.

Otherwise, I don't think you're going to solve the issue of "people only
donating bail money to people they like." Because people are going to spend
money the way they want.

------
dbg31415
My neighbor in Austin is a lawyer for the police union. He would hand these
cards out to everyone in the cul-de-sac along with some booze for Christmas
presents. There's a little "CLEAT" sticker that you can put in your back
window too.

I put the sticker in the window of one car but not the other.

In the car without the sticker... I got pulled over in West Texas visiting
relatives, and the cop literally had his gun drawn as he came to my window.
Alone on a dark and empty road, guy with a gun on you -- probably the scariest
moment of my life.

In the car with the sticker, in a similar small town in West Texas (lots of
speed traps between Austin and Midland)... as the officer was walking to my
car he saw the sticker and his whole body language instantly shifted. He got
to my window, "Hope I didn't scare you with the lights, you don't seem like
you're from around here. Are you lost? Just trying to be neighborly."

I was going 20-ish miles over the speed limit both times.

I looked into getting another sticker and it literally only cost me $25.
Significantly better treatment from police doesn't cost very much. Anyway, yup
corrupt as fuck... but as long as these exist, for a simple $25 donation,
might as well have a CLEAT sticker in your window.

Also, what really bugs me... Police in Texas are allowed to unionize, but
Teachers are not. Oof. Been here almost 20 years now, I love a lot of things
about Texas, but some of the politics still suck.

PS: Also I keep a Book of the Mormon in my glove compartment, that way if I
ever do get pulled over I just casually grab the book when looking for
insurance papers. For some reason seems like a lot of cops in Texas are
Mormons...

~~~
082349872349872
Lund, "Bible on the Dash":
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S00y75ebq8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S00y75ebq8)

~~~
dbg31415
Ha, spot on.

When you find a flaw, do you fix the system or game the system?

------
excalibur
> The cards embody everything wrong with modern policing.

That's a pretty broad claim. The cards aren't even big enough to LIST
everything wrong with modern policing.

~~~
thrwn_frthr_awy
The cards represent corruption, self-interest, and selective enforcement of
the law. I think a lot of problems would be solved or help accountable for if
those issues were resolved.

------
Grimm1
This has been a common thing forever. Whether it's right is very much and
should be up for discussion but I'm surprised at how many people seem to be
learning this for the first time.

Same thing worked with the small silver shields you could give out. I don't
really agree with how policing is done in the US and it has started more than
one fight with my long retired former police father but as a matter of
practicality I still carry his silver shield with me.

He hasn't been an officer since I was 5 or so but even in high school the
active police families and the families with ada's or prosecutors all had PBA
cards and would give them out.

~~~
snapetom
Very much been around forever. The PBA cards are common in NY and NJ, where
cops are basically a legalized mafia. In areas where PBA cards are not the
norm, a simple business card with the officer's signature plays the same role.

"If there's a problem, you can check with my friend Officer so and so. Here's
his card."

------
theptip
Presumably this sort of thing will become harder to maintain as bodycams
become more prevalent.

It seems plausible that anti-corruption NGOs could request the bodycam footage
(anonymized, I suppose) under public records disclosure laws. (e.g. see
[https://www.rcfp.org/bodycam-video-access/](https://www.rcfp.org/bodycam-
video-access/), though I'd be really interested in what others think about the
likely legal interpretations of disclosure requirements.)

Yet another reason to push for more bodycams, and auditability/disclosure of
that footage; sunlight is often the best disinfectant.

~~~
djaque
The problem right now is that camera footage is handled by the police
departments. Any oversight requires the police to operate in good faith.
Thinking back to how many news reports I've seen where the footage was "lost"
or "the cameras were not switched on" I don't have any trust in that type of
system.

We really need third party monitoring.

~~~
BitwiseFool
Plus, think of the thousands of hours of footage that is regularly collected.
Without some incident or reason to inspect the video, most of the incidents
would go undetected.

------
smaslennikov
Pretty confused why this post got flagged, but I did put together a (strong)
personal opinion a while back[^0] that touches on these topics. I didn't
publish it because a friend gave me a counter opinion I couldn't find a time
to respond to, but I suppose it might as well be public now.

[^0]:
[https://smaslennikov.com/posts/enforcement/](https://smaslennikov.com/posts/enforcement/)

------
qntty
The first step to being an authoritarian is separating the in-group from the
out-group so you can deal out harsh punishment to one and be forgiving to the
other.

------
PostPlummer
30 years ago (quite exact), we drove back after a 48 hour "party" in Berlin
(Roger Waters playing "the wall" at the broken down wall). We got stopped at
the border (Germany > Holland) and I drove. We where tired, still high and
half drunk.

When the border patrol asked me (the driver) for papers, it took me a long
time to produce them and one of my friends woke up, asked what was going on
and pulled out his official "bridge operator" badge. Showed it (before I was
even capable to find my driving licence and passport) to the trooper and just
said "Hi partner": we where waved through.

When I asked what the actual F just had happened, he told me his job made him
an "non commissioned officer" and that was all it took for us to be treated as
part of the blue family, who go to great lengths to "help each other".

Different times, different continent, same rules.

------
Kednicma
The equivalent in our industry is when somebody gets locked out of a
Google/Apple/etc. multi-service account, has no backup or rescue access, but
is put in touch with a friend of a friend who happens to work at the vendor.
It's systemic favoritism.

~~~
AlexandrB
I wish people would keep these kinds of situations in mind when discussing
whether or not a certain industry is a "meritocracy".

~~~
aaron695
I have no idea what you are saying?

Having friends in an industry is hard work, so it a meritocracy, it is well
earned to have made contacts that will help you.

In this article it's perhaps family, but a family that supports their
childrens career in a blue collar job like policing, in a meritocracy, also
deserve the reward.

In policing perhaps it's illegal or should be illegal. But it's still a
meritocracy.

------
CarbyAu
What I don't get is:

\- The police need social capital. It helps enormously if they can be take at
face value for "just doing their job". And this would help in the minor day-
to-day interactions that makes up the majority of their working lives.

\- Not only is it blatant corruption, the very existence of such cards harms
the whole police forces social relationship! It is a "associate infraction
with a cop!" card!

If I were a true friend of the police, I would:

\- let them do their job fairly (while not letting them get away with unfair)

\- not try to associate a cop buddy of mine with _my_ poor decisions!

------
aazaa
The recent focus on racial bias in policing has had a negative outcome: to
distract attention from the fact that the law is being applied unevenly across
the US.

Racial bias in police encounters is a symptom, not the disease.

~~~
86J8oyZv
This is true, but the racial bias is easier to get people to rally behind. And
it's gotten people talking more about the non-racial injustices in our justice
system, too.

------
specialp
This is real at least in the NY area. NY law gives officers "discretion" in
issuing violations (not crimes). That doesn't have a limit. So being friends
with a fellow PO is technically not an illegal reason to not issue a
violation. I agree that it is not fair. Generally though if you do something
like drive 30 over the limit, they aren't going to let you off with a card.

But a non connected person can get pulled over for something minor and get
every ticket they can. This snowballs for poor people that then have more
fines on top of fines.

------
HeavyStorm
So "get out of jail free cards" do exist. And here I thought that GTA came up
with them.

In 1997

------
nphd
I feel like we're at a crossroads: Hire huge battalions of union dues-paying
forever-rookie police behind an iron curtain and arm them to the teeth, or
Operate a modernized, transparent, outcomes-based criminal justice system. It
would be interesting to understand why so many politicians and police
themselves talk about the latter while quietly implementing the former. What's
in it for them?

------
donohoe
I had one of these.

I was given it not having slightest idea what it was for (was only in the
NYC/US about two years at that point). I was told its meaning a couple of
years later when I found it again during a move.

I've thrown it out.

While I appreciate the gesture from the person who gave it to me, I was
repelled by what it represented in terms of how privilege and the police
system work.

------
jrochkind1
Last paragraph:

“Policing was never meant to be held accountable in the first place, not in a
meaningful, substantial way,” Wall said. He cautioned against focusing too
much on the injustice of PBA cards. “Be careful that the outrage [doesn't]
become directed in too narrow a way. The real outrage should be directed at
the nature of policing itself.”

------
SMAAART
Also available on eBay (of course)

[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m...](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=PBA+cards+&_sacat=0)

------
ElijahLynn
I know two people who had these in New Jersey. One used to speed all the time
and never get a ticket or warnings. Super convenient for them. It was a legit
card, a metal one, I saw it. Pretty corrupt there in New Jersey.

------
caiobegotti
So... "protection" like under the mafia but only if you can afford the state
price, so its supporters invariably are high in the food^Wdecision chain. It
doesn't seem like a very democratic rule of law.

------
renewiltord
Hahaha, I love it. They literally formalized the old boys' network.

------
me_me_me
So we are now using monopoly rules to run a country?

A literal get-out-of-jail-free card!

~~~
dafoex
There's literally a monopoly "go" tile on it. Contrast this with the UK where
the coppers like to get "go to jail" t shirts.

------
xphilter
Wait till y’all learn about “fraternal order of police” fundraisers and car
stickers identifying donors, allowing “discretion” to be used by the cop to
let the violation go.

------
andrewxdiamond
In Ohio it’s is common to see license plates with police badges or stickers on
them. They are handed out to friends and family and deter officers from
pulling you over.

~~~
skizm
Almost all cops I know are specifically told to take all things that could
identify them as cops or friends of cops off their cars, windows, etc. since
there is so much targeted violence and crime specifically directed against
police. And this is in relatively safe NJ suburban areas. Tires on their
personal cars get slashed all the time due to having a badge in a window or
similar.

~~~
asdff
People drive pickup trucks with a 6' trump flag and a 6' thin blue line flag
mounted to each side of the bed in the midwest. different animal than the east
coast.

------
Ice_cream_suit
This is a common sort of corruption, worldwide.

Here in Australia, my receptionist has got out of a few minor traffic
infringements because her husband is a friend of a cop.

------
lawnchair_larry
The racial connection here is quite a stretch and sounds like more race
baiting. It has nothing to do with that. Knicks players have them. Yankees
have them.

------
classics2
Around here you see a lot of people with plastic stars they give out for
“donating” to police organizations screwed onto the rear license plate.

------
JoeAltmaier
Seems sketchy. But even the TSA has a 'safe list' of folks who can skip the
line - is this morally different? Law enforcement identifies folks who are not
habitual offenders, who support law enforcement and who if they abuse the
privilege will hear about it from a cop/friend, and give them a card. Not
sounding like such a terrible thing to me. Remember, nobody is getting away
with murder here.

<edit: elaborate>

------
cvhashim
Why is Vice always flagged on HN?

------
cma
Sounds like China's social credit system but maybe worse in some ways.

------
rsynnott
This can't _possibly_ be legal, surely? Wtf.

~~~
moogly
Only (or is it 'not even'?) the Police police the Police.

------
yadco
Can't find any evidence in this article.

------
bitwize
Literal get out of jail free cards. JHC.

------
EGreg
Hate the game, not the player. This is definitely corruption. BUT, at least,
it is supposed to be for _minor infractions_.

Unlike meter maids, police officers _should_ be given leeway to let people go.
It’s the mandatory minimums and fines you should worry about... cops doing
revenue generation for the city. And when their department doesn’t get enough
from taxes and tickets, police departments across the country turn to civil
forfeiture.

Ideally, the officers should act as if everyone has these cards.

[https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/local/20100607_Police_s...](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/local/20100607_Police_say_don_t_confuse_courtesy_cards_with_a_free_pass.html)

~~~
nicoburns
> Ideally, the officers should act as if everyone has these cards.

Totally agree with this. I think part of the reason they are in issue is it
reduces the political pressure on this happening if some people can get this
treatment anyway.

