Is it time to stop issuing rape kits to police officers?

[PeterTheGrape]

When a person becomes a police officer, they are issued a rape kit consisting of handcuffs, a badge, a gun, twist ties and duct tape. Would it be better to stop this practice and force police officers to use their charm to attract women, as is the case in Britain and Japan for example?

The question occurred after this news item http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-busted-public-masturbation-serial-offender-article-1.3010582 but there have been a lot of cases, most of which do not make the news.

A few which did get publicity/

A former Memphis police officer is out of jail after he was indicted on rape charges stemming from an assault in a downtown parking garage.
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/31830409/former-mpd-officer-indicted-on-rape-charges-released-from-jail

Former assistant police chief arrested for child rape
http://www.robertsoncountyconnection.com/former-assistant-police-chief-arrested-for-child-rape-cms-2393

Olmsted Falls auxiliary officer held without bond in rape case
http://fox8.com/2017/03/07/olmsted-falls-auxiliary-officer-charged-with-rape-appears-in-court/

A suspended Mt. Pleasant police officer awaiting trial on charges that he assaulted and attempted to rape a woman in 2015 was arrested Thursday on charges related to four other victims.
http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/12110853-74/suspended-mt-pleasant-officer-faces-new-charges

Fired: Waterford Township Officer Charged With Rape, Domestic Violence
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2017/03/23/fired-waterford-township-officer-charged-with-rape-domestic-violence/

Mesiti was arraigned Friday afternoon in the Town of Murray Court, where his bail was set. In addition, an Order of Protection was issued for the victim in this matter.
http://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/local-news/brockport-man-arrested-for-allegedly-having-sexual-relations-with-female-under-17-at-holley-hs/666279646

Police Chiefs are seldom charged of course but here are a few historical examples from years past.

WEB OF SCANDALS

Harger surfaces in at least three law enforcement scandals in New Mexico in the last eight years.

In 2007, Harger, then a Valencia County sheriff’s deputy, was the first responder to the death of Tera Chavez, then wife of an Albuquerque police officer. That officer, Levi Chavez, said she killed herself, but Harger reported he thought it was not a suicide.

Chavez was eventually put on trial for her murder. He was acquitted and is now attending law school at the University of New Mexico.

Shortly after responding to Tera Chavez’s death, he was offered a job the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Department. There, he told the Journal in 2011, that he uncovered a police-run auto-theft ring but was told he’d keep his job if he kept it quiet and didn’t cause trouble for Levi Chavez in his wife’s death investigation.

Harger left the post in 2008 in fear for his and his family’s safety.

Harger then went on to get a job as the police chief in Jemez.

In January 2014, the Transportation Safety Administration stopped Harger at the Albuquerque Sunport because he had at least two driver’s licenses with two different names. At the time, he told TSA and airport police he was in law enforcement and had worked undercover at times and the IDs were from that time, in addition to having a second ID because he had been involved in an investigation that had endangered him and his family.

He was fired one month after the TSA incident, though the Jemez Springs Village Council said the firing was not related to the TSA incident or the double driver’s licences but would not comment further.

https://www.abqjournal.com/651228/details-emerge-in-police-chief-rape-case.html

http://www.koat.com/article/sexual-abuse-allegations-traffic-stop-video-released/5059198

Chief Smith, previously accused of raping ex, is back in the news / Corpus Christi police chief keeps job after being accused of rape

http://behindthebluewall.blogspot.com/2008/11/tx-chief-smith-previously-accused-of.html

http://www.mrt.com/news/article/Corpus-Christi-police-chief-keeps-job-after-being-7627300.php

His arrest comes a week after a former part-time officer in the neighboring town of Excel was indicted on a felony sex abuse charge for allegedly forcing a woman to engage in sexual activity while he was on duty, records show. Former officer Billy A. "T.J." Hilton Jr. was released last week on $50,000 bail.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/frisco_city_police_chief_arres.html

Luthersville is a city that earns its own spot as a policetown.

Police Chief Turns Self in for Alleged Sexual Assault
http://www.wtvm.com/story/7100257/police-chief-turns-self-in-for-alleged-sexual-assault

Luthersville police chief pleads guilty in sex case
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/luthersville-ga/TMLUPBDJ6VHFGPR7P

Authorities in Georgia are investigating a police officer for allegedly trumping up charges against a man for the purposes of having sex with the man’s girlfriend, WSB-TV reported.

Luthersville Police Sgt. Eric Mischel was put on paid leave after investigators began looking into his encounters with Bruce Coley. At one point, Coley faced up to 85 years in prison before prosecutors dropped charges against him.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/bizarre-love-triangle-georgia-cop-under-investigation-for-trumping-up-charges-to-set-up-affair/

[HabBear]

How many are "a lot of cases"?

You've listed about 20 examples. There are ~765,980 police officers in the US (as of 2014 census data). If even 1% of cops were sexual deviants I'd expect to see ~70,000 cases. Do you think there have been 70,000 cops accused of rape or sexual abuse in a year? That's 1,350 cases a week or nearly 200 instances every day!

Unless you're reading news I'm not, i think these few cases, while incredibly horrible, are not indicative of some systemic issues with cops.

[PeterTheGrape]

How many are "a lot of cases"?

You've listed about 20 examples. There are ~765,980 police officers in the US (as of 2014 census data). If even 1% of cops were sexual deviants I'd expect to see ~70,000 cases. Do you think there have been 70,000 cops accused of rape or sexual abuse in a year? That's 1,350 cases a week or nearly 200 instances every day!

Unless you're reading news I'm not, i think these few cases, while incredibly horrible, are not indicative of some systemic issues with cops.

~70,000 is roughly 10% of 765980, not 1%.

Anyway, my guess about the extensiveness of the problem is based on stories I've heard from women who say they were raped by police officers. It is very rare that women file charges of rape against police and safe to say the number is far higher than those convicted.

Here are some links

http://www.newsweek.com/police-sexual-assault-rape-justice-258130

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct

http://www.mcall.com/mc-recent-cases-of-sex-crimes-involving-police-officers-20151031-story.html

https://www.thenation.com/article/police-violence-we-arent-talking-about/

I do believe that the number of police officers who commit forcible rapes is higher than 1% of male police officers in the U.S.

[HabBear]

Hahaha, oh man. Thank you! What slip on my part.

Thanks for the other sources too, I'll give them a read.

Let's be clear, I'm not at all defending these horrible acts. Even having proximity to a scenario that could lead to suspicion of guilt for one of these police officers is too close and should be penalized with the loss of their badge. Cops and other officials are granted responsibility in society above the rest of us (they enforce the laws, can shoot at criminals, arrest people, etc.) and for that they need to be held accountable to a higher standard.

My intent was to first make sure that the number of incidents warrants a possible trend, correlation to some police officers. If it's at 1% it sounds like there's enough instances to investigate much further and call out the issue publicly to all that are able to act.

How many are "a lot of cases"?

You've listed about 20 examples. There are ~765,980 police officers in the US (as of 2014 census data). If even 1% of cops were sexual deviants I'd expect to see ~70,000 cases. Do you think there have been 70,000 cops accused of rape or sexual abuse in a year? That's 1,350 cases a week or nearly 200 instances every day!

Unless you're reading news I'm not, i think these few cases, while incredibly horrible, are not indicative of some systemic issues with cops.

~70,000 is roughly 10% of 765980, not 1%.

Anyway, my guess about the extensiveness of the problem is based on stories I've heard from women who say they were raped by police officers. It is very rare that women file charges of rape against police and safe to say the number is far higher than those convicted.

Here are some links

http://www.newsweek.com/police-sexual-assault-rape-justice-258130

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct

http://www.mcall.com/mc-recent-cases-of-sex-crimes-involving-police-officers-20151031-story.html

https://www.thenation.com/article/police-violence-we-arent-talking-about/

I do believe that the number of police officers who commit forcible rapes is higher than 1% of male police officers in the U.S.

[PeterTheGrape]

...

Thanks for the other sources too, I'll give them a read.

Let's be clear, I'm not at all defending these horrible acts. Even having proximity to a scenario that could lead to suspicion of guilt for one of these police officers is too close and should be penalized with the loss of their badge. Cops and other officials are granted responsibility in society above the rest of us (they enforce the laws, can shoot at criminals, arrest people, etc.) and for that they need to be held accountable to a higher standard.

My intent was to first make sure that the number of incidents warrants a possible trend, correlation to some police officers. If it's at 1% it sounds like there's enough instances to investigate much further and call out the issue publicly to all that are able to act.

...

1) The problem is not appearances, "proximity to a scenario". The problem is that males are socialized to use power to get sex. Of course there are some instances where there is the appearance of abuse but no actual abuse. That is used partially to cover the alarming number of rapes that are committed by police officers in the United States.

2) "calling out the issue publicly" is problematic. The federal government 'oversees' most actions that involve local law enforcement accountability, it decides which issues are priorities and which are toxic. For whatever reason, this is one of the issues that the federal government actively discourages research and reform on. You will easily find out how many potholes are on your street from the federal government but you will not find a single meaningful statistic relevent to rapes by police officers.

3) Accountability is key, as you say. Any person in the United States who says that police officers have anything even approaching the level of accountability that non police officers have, is probably either a police officer or somebody trying to justify their poor work.

I'll repost this video I first saw yesterday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvU5uO_cDoo Note that the guy in the wheelchair was charged with assaulting a police officer and every cop who saw the incident was okay with that, until the video became public.

Here is a Florida cop who raped dozens of women and got 10 years in jail.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-cop-michael-ragusa-raped-dozens-new-documents-show-6386589

Is that unusual? It is. The vast majority of cops who commit rapes are not charged and do not go to jail.

Here are the links again

http://www.newsweek.com/police-sexual-assault-rape-justice-258130

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fd1d4d05e561462a85abe50e7eaed4ec/ap-hundreds-officers-lose-licenses-over-sex-misconduct

http://www.mcall.com/mc-recent-cases-of-sex-crimes-involving-police-officers-20151031-story.html

https://www.thenation.com/article/police-violence-we-arent-talking-about/

edited to add
Has Miami changed since Ragusa? Here is an article from 3 days ago about the head of the police union http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/25/javier-ortiz-president-miami-polices-union-reassig/

The same Miami cop in the news 3 months ago for harassing a female trooper who had arrested a Miami cop for speeding. The harassment was at a level that would have been a felony if a non cop did it. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2016/12/20/miami-police-union-chief-javier-ortiz-reprimanded-by-internal-affairs-for-doxing-woman/

A cop forum where police try to outgangster each other http://forums.leoaffairs.com/forumdisplay.php?84-Miami-Police-Department