this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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Lmao idk if "most" even holds up in fiction. Even the "good" cops in fiction tend to perform illegal searches, abuse suspects, break the law in countless ways to get the bad guys. How many times have we seen the "good guys" stymied by their inability to search a home but one turns to the other and sarcastically says "oh I think I heard someone scream for help lol" kicks down the door?
Sometimes they have a conscience but I'd call very few fictional cops "good"
That’s “okay”, though, because we, the viewers, often know that the suspect is guilty. The cops still come off as good (and smart, with good intuition as well) because we know for certain that they’re doing the “right” thing.
That is the exact problem.
As a society, we don't want to teach people that it is EVER acceptable for the authorities to break rules/laws. They already have power. Why should they go free after breaking the rules meant to control their reach? At the least, they should get charged and go to trial by jury. Ideally, those juries should then convict in all but the most benign cases.
I remember at least a couple old shows had the good old 'sheriff' or whatever break some rule and then had to pay for it. And they did, and good guys accept that despite meaning well, they had done wrong and should have followed the law.
If you ask society at large to accept that breaking the rules is ok THIS time because this time is special and our guy is working for Team Good, then our society starts to allow that in all kinds of stupid real-life situations and you end up with criminal cops, politicians, and all manner of officials. Worse, you might end up with random citizens who think it is ok to break the law just because their leader tells them to.
You nailed it. That’s why I put “okay” in quotes. Those laws exist for a reason, and lionizing cops who break the law only teaches the public to accept that lawbreakers are okay if they’re on Team Good.
Unfortunately, what the government calls “good” and what you and I call “good” are often different things.
Hear, hear.
This is why I loved the Nero Wolfe tv show so much; they taught valuable lessons (like don’t let a cop in without a warrant and be wary of the FBI) and the cops were much more realistic, even if still more or less good guys.
I'm pretty sure they shoot innocents a lot less. But I'm in it for the entertainment, not because they follow the law.
Interestingly, in Elementary they call out your issue of always finding probable cause to enter a home. They end up in court over it. It's still basically hand waved off with them asking if they are being called liars and if they have proof. But they aren't even cops, they are consultants, so I'm not sure probable cause even applies. Seems more likely they shouldn't be able to do shit unless they suspicion of imminent danger.