The Thin Blue Lie and how police avoid consequences

Required listening:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/414/r...

It's about a cop who felt that his station was becoming corrupt. So he started wearing a wire all the time and recorded evidence against his bosses.

"I will always remember the first time a cop lied to me"

Without reading further -

I've kept my nose pretty clean, so mine was a cop who ticketed me for going 70 on the freeway. He told me that 60 mph was an appropriate speed for the fast lane on I-5 in the 60 mph zone, heading north into Seattle, one of the worst freeway congestions in the country.

I was pretty jaded even before I heard that This American Life episode, but that really nailed in the coffin. The officer sold my trust in the police department pretty cheaply that day.

Police (and significant politicians and, to a lesser extent, firefighters) have a terrifying amount of immunity: basically if they don't commit grievous bodily harm (and sometimes even if they do) they aren't going to get punished.

Historically we've relied on cultural norms to moderate abuse of this outrageous privilege, with varying levels of success. As that cultural restraint goes by the wayside it appears, unfortunately, that things will get uglier. Naked power unmoderated by a strong culture is extremely dangerous, as Burke tried to tell us.

Unfortunately, cops have too many incentives to lie. Also, while there are honest cops, they have very little incentive to speak up when they witness a colleague lying, especially on smaller things that are seen as just making the job easier, as rocking the boat like that can destroy your career.