<li>Many parts of CAMPUS are dangerous to walk around at night. If they just installed more lights, I think the situation would improve. Or even better, why doesn’t the UCPD patrol particularly vulnerable areas?</li>
</ol>
<p>Yeah, but then you'd have environmentalists complaining that you're wasting energy. </p>
<p>I think it's just a general truism of police at large (not just at UCB, but seemingly everywhere) to spend massive resources on minor issues rather than actually fighting violent crime. You have these criminals who hurt regular citizens, and so you have these cops who are supposed to stop these criminals. But then these cops then spend plenty of resources in simply hassling the same citizens who they are supposed to be protecting. For example, I know a guy who lived in Berkeley who once was late in re-registering his car. So that's a $10 fix-it ticket. But he got stopped something like 3 times in the space of a week for having expired tags on his car. But then when his car got repeatedly broken into time and time again, nobody ever caught the perpetrators. If the cops had simply spent the same effort in trying to catch the thieves who kept breaking into his car as they spent hassling him about his expired tags, I think those thieves would have been caught. Similarly, state police forces spend huge resources on radar guns and airplanes and other resources to catch speeders on the highway. The CHP, for example, is basically a super-high-tech force out on the freeways. However, nearly 100 people were murdered in Oakland last year, and more than 250 people were raped. Why not spend less resources trying to play WW3 out on the freeways in catching speeders, and spend more resources in trying to catch murderers and rapists? </p>
<p>Personally, I suspect that the problem is that police departments are directly financially incented to hand out moving violations. I believe that a percentage of each fine for speeding or parking violations gets paid back to the police department. However, the police are not financially incented to stop violence crime. Police departments don't make more money if they prevented more murders. So the police are financially incented to, instead of catching violent criminals, to instead hassle ordinary citizens - the same ordinary citizens that they are supposed to be protecting. </p>
<p>Think of it this way. When you're driving and you see a cop near you on the road, do you think "Thank God, he's here, I feel safe in his presence"? Not really. Most people feel nervous. Why? Because they're afraid that the cop is going to find that you violated some small little regulation that you never even heard of before, and then write you a ticket for it. For example, you didn't turn on your blinkers for enough time before you changed lanes, even though there isn't anybody else on the road anyway. That's why drivers tend to give cop cars a wide berth. I know when I see a cop car behind me, I will try to slow down such that he will pass by me. {Driving sucks when there is a cop right behind you]. A lot of people do the same thing. But it's a sad state of affairs when ordinary citizens are actually so afraid of cops that they don't want them around.</p>
<p>Note, this is not a problem specific to Berkeley. These sorts of problems seem to be endemic to cops everywhere.</p>
<p>I have to again agree with sakky...what a surprise.</p>
<p>A cop was driving past me while I was biking on the sidewalk (note: this is only because it was 1/2 block away from my dorm) and literally took out a loudspeaker, rolled down the window, and told me to bike on the street, where it's actually much more dangerous to bike, for those of you who have biked before.</p>
<p>In the meantime, my bike gets stolen twice in 3 weeks and nothing is done.</p>
<ol>
<li>Campanile is ableist - hard for disabled people to go to the top.</li>
</ol>
<p>i walk around campus late at night and it's not dangerous. at least so far. and i mean about 2am when i say late at night. and places near haviland, gpbb (northwest side), not sproul. just because it "feels" dangerous because there's no light doesn't mean that it actually is.</p>
<p>i'm sick of cops parked on piedmont trying to bust parties and pot smokers, who cares if someone's smokin' a bit of pot, let them, go stop muggings and homicide.</p>
<p>I think everyone's well aware that tickets and citations are money makers for the government. Back to the topic, though, call Bear Safe and they will send someone to walk you anywhere on campus. Use the night safety shuttles for longer hauls. There are plenty of safe and unsafe ways to get around campus, so just pick the safe ones.</p>
<p>-There are a lot of shady parts around Berkeley
-The lack of attractive girls
-A lot of grade-whores</p>
<p>To be fair to cops, I think everyone needs to recognize something: it's great to report a crime AFTER it's been committed. It's even BETTER for it to go punished. It's even RARER that the aforementioned sentence will occur.</p>
<p>And it's not all because cops are a bunch of jerks looking to give us all tickets...but somewhat.</p>
<p>It's much harder to go find a stolen bike than people seem to realize. Let's say someone makes off with your bike. What should the police do? Sure, they can spend tons of man hours scouring all of the Bay Area for it, but...</p>
<ol>
<li> it's unlikely to turn up anyway</li>
<li> that's a lot of money spent getting bikes that probably won't turn up anyway</li>
</ol>
<p>But yeah, cops do need to work on the "bedside manner." A lot. </p>
<p>Oh, and something that sucks about Cal... the squirrels. EVIL BLACK DEMON SQUIRRELS?!</p>
<p>
[quote]
i'm sick of cops parked on piedmont trying to bust parties and pot smokers, who cares if someone's smokin' a bit of pot, let them, go stop muggings and homicide.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I thought the cops here were super lenient (sp?) when it comes to bud (since its decriminalized and all). Anyone have more information on this?</p>
<p>
[quote]
I thought the cops here were super lenient (sp?) when it comes to bud (since its decriminalized and all). Anyone have more information on this?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It technically is, but superceding federal law with a city ordinance is superfluous to law enforcement apparently; experience varies.</p>
<ol>
<li>the decline of mass scale left wing activism</li>
</ol>