Comments on: Bureaucratic Inertia Is A Feature, Not a Bug

By: SMV

SMV — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:43:14 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiOPepfcV4k

File a Notice of Claim, sue them in small claims court for breach of bailment and conversion or replevin if the camera is returned within a week after service of the summons before you buy a new equivalent one, and see how quickly the camera gets returned.

By: April 2 roundup

April 2 roundup — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:52:47 +0000

[...] She videotaped cops arresting her son. They took her camera. Could she have it back, please? [Ken @ Popehat] [...]

By: Joel Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:24:57 +0000

Ah. In many cases, that's a thumpin'.

By: Armando

Armando — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:22:05 +0000

This is good to know. Depending on your line of work, getting your camera confiscated could be disastrous. What if you were a documentary crew person or a filmmaker and the police gets your camera.. and then it takes months to get your camera back? Not cool, I say. But what happens if you refuse to give your camera?

By: Joel Rosenberg

Joel Rosenberg — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:25:07 +0000

The seize-the-camera-as evidence game is pretty awful. If only there were some workaround, like something that is a camera, but looks like a pen . . .

http://surprisinggift.com/product_info.php?products_id=1226

(No, that doesn't solve the problem of badged thugs; it does meliorate it, maybe.)

By: Paul Baxter

Paul Baxter — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:57:31 +0000

in the world of finance, there is this thing called fiduciary responsibility, which means, to my limited knowledge, that someone entrusted with someone else's goods can face repercussions for mishandling said goods. Wouldn't it at least be imaginable to have legislation specifying rights in this regard for confiscated property? I suppose personal responsibility is out of the question, but organizations can respond to financial incentives.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:00:03 +0000

This is a very interesting inversion of a common point about the constitutional system of checks and balances. In some contexts, we favor governmental inertia. For instance, we'd rather Congress take its time and deliberate than move constantly from one perceived crisis to the next. (How far we have shifted from that ideal!)

Most bureaucrats seem to view rules as a mechanism for avoiding work.

By: dbt1949

dbt1949 — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:00:32 +0000

That's why guns are preferable to carry than cameras. That way when you shoot someone doing a crime………

Alright! Lighten up people. It was just a joke!

Mostly

By: Ezra

Ezra — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:14:28 +0000

Hmm. This story sure doesn't do anything to lessen my cynicism expressed below about police…