NYPD @ Times Square, by Web Phenomenon Joi Ito, used under CC-BY
Had a drink with a friend after my patents exam today. There was a van with a loudspeaker outside.
The goal of the van and loudspeaker were to remind everyone that a murder had taken place there the weekend before, and that if they had any tips, they should call the police.
I almost want to give the cops credit for this method of detective work, except for the little detail that the crowd at this bar is a little different at 5pm on a Wednesday that it is at 2am on a Saturday, which is when the shooting occurred. Oops.
Except now everyone that comes to the bar at 5pm on Wednesday (and everyone that reads the blogs by people that were there on Wednesday at 5pm) know that it’s not safe to be in that particular bar, especially at 2am on Saturday but possibly at other times as well.
So the next time you’re going to a bar will you pick the dangerous bar or the one next door? Plenty of bars to choose from… Regulars are important to a business.
The cop’s not really expecting information from you, he’s pressuring the bar owner for info/other reasons/whatever, or he’ll keep coming in and asking the patrons.
Don’t assume the cop’s an idiot.
I have a feeling NYC cops know how to investigate homicides. They get far too much practice at it. Why not let them do their jobs? They may knock on 100 doors to get a lead that solves the crime, why do you sneer at the fact that 99 of them don’t pan out?
Wow. That’s macabre. “Hey, let’s put a loudspeaker on a van and tell everyone about the murder that happened here”. What were they thinking?