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Comment by Spooky23 | Hacker News Reader

Hoteliers are always in a balance between seeing or not seeing things. Guests are too. Hotels service the public, and people's outlook on life vary greatly.

If you have a bunch of cops getting to know everyone every time a lamp is stolen at a fancy hotel, they may recognize the escort at the bar, or notice some person of note with someone other than their partner. Usually hotels have security folks who interface with the police only when necessary.

One time I was at a beach resort where there were 4 big groups: an association of retired DEA or FBI agents, Chick-Fil-A franchise operators regional meeting, a (very) large same-sex wedding complete with a troupe of drag queen dancers, and a CBD-oil MLM scheme sales meeting. Everyone was best off minding their business!

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Not at a beach, but amusing still - during my student days, I worked at a concert venue which, among other things, hosted an annual Christmas party for the town's emergency services; just about every off-duty cop, firefighter, nurse and doctor inn town were there in varying stages of inebriation.

At which point someone decides to try to break in through a backyard window. We grab him as he's entering, and have security summon a police officer from the dinner.

He shows up, recognizes the offender as a regular, sighs "This, my friend, was a stupid idea even by your standards!", orders him to go down to the police station to turn himself in, then returns to the party.

The poor guy actually did just that - went down and got himself arrested for trying to break into Studentersamfundet... :)

Trondheim?

Yup. One of the windows to the stairwell on the left (towards the park) when you're standing behind it, if you are a local.

Geez, I'm somehow a local now. I've never even been inside the building, but to bus stops around it, and know the park you speak of. Do know a dude that plays jazz (?) there occasionally, though.

Thanks for the accidentally making this immigrant happy :)

I was sceptical about the turns-himself-in part. But in norway... yeah, plausible.

(I only know norway as a tourist, but I'm there pretty often - once or twice a year)

-Trondheim is a small-ish town of some 165,000 citizens or so; the police know most of the small-time offenders well enough that him failing to show up would probably end up being more of a nuisance for him than actually turning himself in.

Besides, whether you are sentenced for twelve or thirteen counts of burglary doesn't matter one iota for the sentence you're given - we don't do consecutive sentencing here.

yeah, but most criminals aren't very smart. With german law it's the similiar but only when you do the stuff in one got ("in Tateinheit") - then you're only sentenced for worst thing you did, not everything.

As a sidenote: do you know any english or german language sources about the norwegian (or nordish) legal system? I'm interested in how it differs from napoleonic and germanic systems, because it's often considered to be different but explanations are rare.

While the judge might use Tateinheit to chose the sentence on the "worst" crime, the other things are not ignored but impact where on the range the sentence will be. For many offenses there is quite a range.

The textbook idea of that Tateinheit Thing is that if somebody i.e. robs a house the punishment for the damage to the door is neglectable over the punishment for robbery. (While this is about criminal punishment - the house owner can still request a replacement for the door using a civil case)

yes. I left out the details...

Not doing consecutive sentencing seems like it would introduce a moral hazard wherein the criminal feels free to commit lesser crimes than their worst crime in a crime spree (e.g. if he robbed someone at gunpoint, then breaking into houses should be done without fear of additional penalty and only avoided bc it increases the likelihood of being caught).

Of course, my above statement assumes some rationality on the part of the criminal (and econ of crime analysis by Gary Becker, which presumes as such, has been mostly debunked -- most criminals aren't rational)

> assumes some rationality on the part of the criminal

My somewhat minimal experience with criminals is that part of their brain doesn't work very well.

I imagine turning yourself in for even a felony is not as life-shattering in Norway as it is in America. Considering the number of people who die in jail awaiting trial for misdemeanors, let alone those who lose their jobs or have their property confiscated via civil forfeiture, you might be better off just heading for a border if the police even think you've done something.

I was once at a hotel for a high school quiz bowl tournament. There was also a (very drunk) darts competition, and a Shibari meetup (Japanese bondage + furries?).

There were some awkward elevator rides.

If this was in Chicago, pretty sure I was there for this. It was indeed a very interesting time! If not, I think it's hilarious that this could have happened multiple times!

Once a year, the furries gather in Chicago.

It's quite a sight.

Yes, Chicago. I doubt it has happened again, the quiz bowl organization took steps to prevent similar conflicts.

Quiz bowl. Right.

I was on a consulting trip to Seattle's Eastside in 1990, during the Goodwill Games. I had to stay at the Bellevue Hyatt because of corporate partnerships.

Unfortunately, it turned out that my room happened to be on a floor where two countries who were not friendly with each other had happened to be assigned rooms on that same floor. There was a virtual riot in the hallway in the middle of the night -- I could see only bits and pieces through my peephole, I tried calling security and the front desj multiple times before I could get hold of anybody. Eventually, things were stable enough such that I could be walked out of the room and off the floor into an open room on another floor... at 5:30 in the morning.

Among other things, it meant I got no sleep that night. Fast forward to the next morning -- my first morning at the client site. While casually talking about my experience with the receptionist, she mentioned that there was a great little hotel right there in Bothell and that they got a great corporate right there. So, I transferred. Turns out that it was a great, modern, quiet property that was much closer to the client... at half the price.

But boy, that lack of security was scary.

I like the irony of this happening with Goodwill Games teams.

It was seriously scary. First, my doorknob would be tested/rattled. Later, knocking. Later, pounding. Next, a body hurling itself against the door.

Eventually, quiet.

There are also business reasons. Many hotels sell alcohol, usually at associated restaurants/bars. It is well known that having police in sight, or even just their car out front, causes people to drink less.

I love that beach situation ;)

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