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bigsoftee84 t1_j9u7qjw wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Man charged after eating stolen chips dropped by thief, police say by jab116

Do you believe a couple of bags of chips is worth the cost of housing and trial?

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[deleted] t1_j9ubyhx wrote

Do you believe our world would be better if we decriminalized all retail theft valued under $5?

I get your point and I’m not asking them to throw the book at the guy. I am also not even advocating that they arrest or charge him. My comment is just that, if he knew it was stolen and chose that opportunity to take it for himself, it’s still theft. If the headline was cops arrest man for stealing 2 bags of chips, it would still be a low level offense and still probably not worth the time to seriously prosecute, but we could maybe stop calling all the cops racist and pretend the man is a victim.

I’m just pointing out that we don’t seem to expect any better decisions from the people breaking the law (even when it’s not a serious infraction). It’s the soft bigotry of low expectations.

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bigsoftee84 t1_j9uddw8 wrote

We don't need to arrest someone for such a paltry amount, and to do so is just silly and a waste of time and resources. Exponentially more is going to be spent on trial and housing for this individual. How many days of incarceration is worth, what, ten dollars? People should not be arrested and imprisoned for a crime whose value is single digits that involved no violence or threat of violence. The guy ate some chips, that were stolen by someone else. He isn't a criminal mastermind or a danger to the public, the arrest was excessive and unnecessary based on the alleged crime committed.

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[deleted] t1_j9uux6r wrote

Again, I’ve said that you don’t need to prosecute and punish him for this but the man needs help. Picking him up, housing him, and getting him real help is worth the cost in my mind. He has a long history of mental illness and domestic violence. We need to not have such an adversarial relationship with police and hope that them responding to a crime scene and picking this guy up can lead to the right governance in his life for him to get a support system and change. My comment was not that this guy needs to be punished but was noticing how we look at this situation and only want to call the cops idiots, racists, and evil. All the celebrated comments are about hating the cops. You don’t have to pick sides. This is a man who needs help and him being seen by the system is a good thing. Now, if you want to criticize the system for releasing him without help, I’m with you there

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bigsoftee84 t1_j9v0ulq wrote

Arresting homeless folks is not the way to address the issue. I can't get behind that mentality. I'm sorry, have a wonderful day.

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[deleted] t1_j9v6t5z wrote

His mom would disagree. She says she keeps asking the police to get him psychiatric help and to get him assessed. Again, you don’t need to prosecute him, but picking him up and getting him help is a good thing. There are services for homeless and the mental ill to admit themselves. If they don’t do it on their own, sometimes police need to help usher them into better care. You can’t look at every arrest as a punishment and shaming. Sometimes it’s to get people off the street and get them support and assistance.

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bigsoftee84 t1_j9v7ff2 wrote

Then get the dude help, not arrest him. I don't understand why you're trying so hard to make this arr a st seem like it was justified, it's a waste of resources. There are a thousand better ways to get that individual help. You are doing him more harm by processing him on petty theft charges for dollars, single digits, of merchandise. Additional bullshit charges on his record isn't going to help him get a job or pass a background check. This isn't the police being altruistic, they would have just paid for his chips if they were.

Edit: a word

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[deleted] t1_j9v91np wrote

You’re right, you convinced me. It’s a much better world when cops don’t enforce laws, don’t get homeless people off the street, and are exclusively viewed as racist demons. You have solved our problems. Thanks! I look forward to your opinions changing when you reach adulthood.

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bigsoftee84 t1_j9vaayr wrote

Lmao, yes, wasting thousands to recover damages amounting to less than ten dollars is a real solution. Enjoy trying to create a police state where they can just collect those deemed undesirable.

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