In my opinion, the way LE treats "offenders and their families" reflects the hostile attitudes of society at large and Society's attitude is mostly a sex panic against "Stranger Danger" As far as how LE (Parole officers police, etc..) treat Registrants/registrant's families on their case loads it varies a lot but is almost always extremely hostile/ negative, depending on the individual officer of the court and upon how freaked out s/he is about the "subject." The "Homeland Security/ SWAT teams are militarized assault teams all hyped up to Go! Go! Go! and they all assume they are going in to find a Hannibal Lector (of Silence of the Lambs fame) inside every door they assault even when the door they assault turns out to be a wrong address, or when only a "low level offender is living there. As far as LE committing "sex offenses" also, ever heard of prison guards participating in the "fun?" LE are all too "human" too, they just "climbed on top" so to speak some enjoy the "power for power's sake" some just do their job and protect the public without going nuts about it.

I would be willing to believe that these things were isolated incidents and a few bad cops here and there except for the fact that it is happening all over the country!

Don't you think valigator believes the exact same thing about sex offenders and how they "always" reoffend? I bet there are even more news articles about sex offenders than police corruption.

I'm not trying protect LE here, I am simply asking a question how do we know we aren't too biased when it comes to police to have a fair view on them. I don't know what names Val tick, but she is anything but fair or unbiased when it comes to sex offenders. You cannot reason with her because it's all emotional for her. Many people here have had horrendous experiences with LE and may never be able to have an unbiased opinion on LE. I'm simply asking, how can we get out of our bias on this and try and see from a big picture perspective.

Let's pretend for a second this forum is a pool of jurors for a trial against a police officer for misconduct. How many potential jurors could be removed with cause based on their previous experiences with LE? I would say a lot of us.

I think we are using the wrong term here. Biased is not exactly the term that should be used when describing the attitude of sex offenders toward LE.

To me, the word "bias" has always meant having a dislike toward someone or a group of people based on pre-conceived ideas; disliking a group of people for NO legitimate reason.

Bias is too strong a word to describe the attitude offenders have toward LE. The term "bias" clouds the argument.

Offenders do NOT dislike LE for no real reason or because of some pre-conceived notion. No, offenders dislike LE for the experiences they have personally endured and seen others endure. That is not bias; this is observing how they were treated and seeing how they treat others and forming an opinion because of that observation.

Some people do not have an justifiable reason to hate blacks, but they do; that is bias. Many people do not like immigrants for no other reason than what they have seen on the news; there is no real justification for their hate and that is bias. Neither the blacks or the immigrant have done anything to the person, but he hates them anyway----that is bias.

Sex offenders dislike LE usually because they have had horrible dealings with them. THAT is not bias, these are opinions based on experiences, which is normal.

I tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to explain that my dislike toward law enforcement not only came about because of my false conviction----of which LE and perjury played a great part-----but all my interactions through the years with detectives.

Apparently I was not believed because I cannot imagine anyone not being about to understand somebody not liking another group of people who unjustly sent them to prison. The offender and the families here have a very valid reason for not liking LE-----to some degree or another, most of them have had terrible experiences with LE. AND experience is the best teacher of all.

As far as someone with bad experience with LE being "biased" against LE, what does anyone expect? When an offender gets a bad plea after being roughed up emotionally by the cops and then dealing with an unreasonable DA, goes to prison and interacts with corrupt COs, is released and gets a jerk for a PO, WHAT else do you expect him to believe? Seems to me that the entire chain of people in LE in that instance are pretty damn bad.

The shabby treatment in my case did NOT come from just one department of LE, but several. The bad treatment many of the families represented on this forum did not come from just one cop, but from most of those in LE from the time they were questioned and arrested until their sentence was over. All down the line, an unreasonable person representing LE treated some of these offenders like garbage.

Offenders have a legitimate reason NOT to like LE since all the people in LE----not just one or two----treated them the same way----as a subhuman.

That is not bias. That is reacting to poor and unfair treatment. That is what normal human beings do.

To think that an offender and his family, after going through hell and back, much of it caused by LE-----and not by one group of LE, but by the majority of them----should just say, "Oh they are nice guys," is just utter nonsense. Many offenders may not have college degrees, but anyone knows when they are getting dealt with unfairly. Offenders see this. They feel this. This is what they base their opinions on, not on some whim which occurs in bias.

I just do NOT understand-----and never will----how you can question why offenders have a negative attitude toward LE. The majority of LE think SOs are just trash and treat them badly, so from the perspective of the offender, LE are bad people.

Offenders are not always innocent and their actions often leave much to be desired, but much of the mean-spirit ness that LE display toward the offender AND the family---let's not forget that the family is also treated shabbily----is just uncalled for.

rewdiazepam

Officer Joe and Officer Mike treated you badly so you ass/u/me that Officer Baker and Officer Poncherello are going to treat you badly too, never mind that they may be good and fair cops.....That IS bias,. Because of your experience you are judging the many because of the few......Kind of like the cops judging you because of the few......????

It takes respect to earn respect. I'm sure the first words out of LE's mouth is not "Hello... Are you having a nice day?" Especially if they've already broken down your door...

Yes Coastie that is exactly it! The reality of it is they DO judge all of us the same - not just RSOs - but the public at large. That is the issue - can you truthfully say that if officer Joe walked up to your door and banged on it you would not be on guard and half a healthy mistrust? If you do not you should - you should no your life can change in an instant (whether you have done anything wrong or not) and there will be a person in blue standing right there when it does.

Coastie.... what about this....

Not every cop has had encounters with SOs, but every SO has had interactions with a wide variety of LE.

The cops without ever even meeting an SO has their opinion and treat anyone that they are told is an SO with the same disdain.

SOs may have biased based on experiences, but not all LE have their bias based on experience, they have their bias and the manners in which they treat people trained in to them with the bias against all those groups. Making it so the SO will always be looked at and treated with bias, from the very first meeting. Something most SOs didn't do.... They usually started out treating the LE folks with respect and dignity, what they got in return was biased treatment by LE. That is the difference between the two.

NOt all LE will be like this... just as not all SO cases are the same either...

So this is what i have been missing? Been off the radar because i've been enjoying retirement. So i thought i'd check back in and see this? It's amazing how one subject morphs into every which way. I respect all of your opinions. Does not mean i agree, though.
I guess i look at this in a differant perspective. I am seeing this LE as as despicable; however i consider him a sex offender. He exposes himself on traffic stops? I bet if i was still on the force there would be no complaints if i flashed my breasts! Ok...getting off subject here. So my thinking is he is a sex offender and should be labeled so and conform to all the BS that it comes with. So with that said...regardless of his proffession he is now a sex offender. He is now one who we should support right? This is why we are here.
I learned the hard way. It wasnt until a loved one committed a sex offense that landed him 10 years prison. Hard to swallow at first. Then realized i loved him none the less.
That LE also has family...a mother, father, perhaps children. Do we condemm him because his past proffession? Would we allow police or family of police on this site if they had a loved one...or themselves...committ a sex offense? I hope not.
As for police killing dogs...thats a whole nother subject. I dont walk my dog without my pepper spray and gun. I will not hesitate to protect myself. I love dogs but if it comes to the choice between my dogs life or myself, the dog will be killed.
Anyways...keep up the dialog and respect for others.

OK, let's frame this entire debate into a situation that every offender can understand and every citizen should understand, but sometimes they don't before it is too late.

The question is whether LE are biased----or whatever word you want to use----against sex offenders or even regular citizens.

Some on the board will say that LE is made up mostly of power hungry guys and they will wield that power to abuse citizens. Most offenders feel that way because they have personally experienced it.

Then we have one or two who think that "cops are fair" and most of them are pretty good guys. Hell, they are so nice that you could have them into your house for coffee one day. They are mostly decent and honest men and women.

Now before some nitwit misunderstands, I am not talking about the cop on the beat. It is the detectives and upper echelon of LE I have a problem with and it is those guys whose ranks include many, many rotten human beings. So don't anyone put words in my mouth, please. It is the detective and the higher up that do the interrogations also.

Bear with me here.

So I want to pose a hypothetical to every member of this board-----If your son could call and was being detained by LE, would you tell him to talk to them and tell him his story and everything that happened or would you advise him to invoke his constitutional rights to be silent and ask for an attorney? Would you tell him to answer all the policeman's questions?

If most cops are "good guys" who "are fair"----who are fair-----as some of you say, why not just let your son talk to them and tell them the entire story? Answer all their questions? After all, they are fair, are they not? If they are fair, then they would in no way twist words, make promises they know they cannot keep, tell the suspect to "just tell us and we will put a good word in to the DA", or "we know you are a good person but we only want to hear your side of the story." Now fair people, "good guys" would never either lie or twist a 19 year old naive young man's words in an effort to convict him and possibly send him to prison, would they? Good guys don't do that.




And the ones that abuse citizens are in the great minority, so the chances of your son being questioned by a bad cop are small. So just tell these fair gentlemen----you know the ones who have so much compassion that sometimes they cry-----the story. Why worry about anything when dealing with fair and good guys?

But we all know that talking to the police is a terrible choice and can lead to disaster. We know they lie to suspects----tell me if they don't----they twist words from the suspect-----tell me if they don't----they do any trick to make the suspect say what they want them to say even if they know it is not the truth and could send a possibly innocent man to prison.

The sad fact is that nobody on this forum in their right mind would ever allow one of their family members to talk to the police in an interrogation situation.

Even the pro-cop crowd here who believes most of the cops are good guys and the very few are just a few bad apples cannot say that they would allow their son to talk to the police.

Why? Because they, like anyone else who has any lick of sense and understands the criminal justice system, know that cops lie and do anything possible----anything possible----to make someone sound guilty. Even the die hard here that like cops will admit that.

They may say that they think most cops are fair, but they don't really believe it. If they did, they would allow their son to talk to the police under any situation.

So, I ask those who tell me that most police are OK----fair---compassionate-----then why would you not allow your son to talk to them?

The reason this is important to me is that I don't want anyone to read this forum and think that most cops are OK to talk to about their situation. I cannot count at the number of mothers and wives who have written me, telling me how the police lied, manipulated their son, put words in his mouth, promised him things that never came to pass, etc. Good people do not do those things to some of the young men and husbands I deal with every day, but rogue cops do.

rewdiazepam

Rew, that was an excellent analogy. Because it puts firmly in perspective what is really at stake and how lip service does not trump the actions made by LE. Because it doesn't matter who you are, no one in their right mind with the knowledge that all of us have here, would speak freely to police.

Doesn't matter if they are active or retired LE or private citizen, when arrested none of them would trust the LE agent interrogating them.

But I have to disagree one thing, Good people do put words in other's mouths, under the belief that they are doing the righteous thing and being fair. When people are taught to interrogate, it doesn't matter if they are good people or not, they all interrogate with the same tactics, promises, repetition, misdirection and intimidation. Saying you can leave but having you sit with your back to the door and they shut it behind you, never really telling you that you are free to go. That is something that as a citizen you must know on your own. It is not something that is taught in schools, there you are taught to trust cops implicitly and unconditionally. Which is how so many folks get caught up in shitty deals and bully cops, cause that is what they are TRAINED to do when they interrogate. Which has nothing to do with whether or not they are 'good people'.

'Independent,

You made this statement, "I believe police officers have this confirmation bias when it comes to the "bad guys", they deal with the worst of the worst all day long and they become increasingly cynical towards everyone."

It is far more than being a little "increasingly cynical" regarding LEs attitude. <snip from Rew> '

They aren't increasingly cynical. They are trained to think that they know who the bad buy is by just looking at them. This is their training to feel that they can tell and always take the right approach.

Like when 11 ICE entered my innocent son's house and stuck a gun to his head.

There is a training manual and I have a copy. It specifically goes step by step and brainwashed the cops to 'knowing' exactly who's bad and who's not and how to get that confession, how to treat them. They go into the field with this and we all suffer for it. They are bullies and mindless bodies of the government and I don't trust any of them. I used to, but I've done my research and we've had the experience. My 2 cents.

Nak

Exactly Wisconsin.. right on the mark.

What country are we in? Do we have rules and laws? What is the role of police in America? Please tell me I did not waste 23 years protecting those of you who hate cops. But who do you call if someone breaks into your home? How about the man who raped your daughter? How about the person who knocked your mother down to steal her purse? Let us not forget all the other crimes against persons. So when is ok to beat your wife? How about driving drunk and wiping out a family? So why am i wasting my time on this forum?
I am here because i have a loved one that committed a sex offense. I am here for support and to help if i can. If you want to be biased go for it. If you want an insiders opinion as a former cop just ask me. If you prefer to just stay in your "i hate cops" attitude, thats ok too.
I would love to tell my story. I will guide all of you through the life and experiences as a police officer. I am an open book. I will not lie or sugar coat anything. I can not speak for LE Across the country, but I can tell you about my experience.
According to Nak i have been trained to think i know the bad guy by just looking at him. Really? Dont we all tend to judge others by just looking at them? Its not just the cops. Its society in general. I was not brainwashed. Its called experience and that is how we view life in general.
I feel bad that alot of you had negative experiences with police. I wish i could change that. Can tell you that i made an honest effort in my career to be open and not judgemental. I can tell you i went home everynight with the knowledge i treated everyone with respect and dignity.
When you have walked in my shoes you can judge me. I have not walked in your shoes or experienced what most of you have been through, but i have experienced a loved one who is sitting in prison for 10 years for committing a sex offense. Hard to believe that i still hope when he gets out he will connect again with my daughter.
Enough said. Thats my 2 cents. Ok...maybe a little more.









respect and dignity. I can tell you that i went home every night knowing i did the best i could. children