Speaking of surveillance and corruption, here's an example of the shoe being on the other foot.
This is the thing that gangs in Latin America commonly do. They attack the families of police and court personnel. They attack policemen when they are alone or at home without backup. They do this stuff in Mexico literally all the time, that's why the Mexican Army is performing police duties. The Army can bring guys from all over the country, so the local punks can't get at their families.
The NYPD is warning police officers about a possible threat from the MS-13 gang, particularly when they are off-duty.CBS2's Dick Brennan reports that in a bulletin the NYPD put out this alert: "Members of MS-13 are looking to 'hit' NYPD police officers, specifically in the Brentwood/Central Islip area as well as possibly Patchogue."
The bulletin says that the gang members would carry out the attacks on off-duty officers "in order to gain street credibility."
This is the thing that gangs in Latin America commonly do. They attack the families of police and court personnel. They attack policemen when they are alone or at home without backup. They do this stuff in Mexico literally all the time, that's why the Mexican Army is performing police duties. The Army can bring guys from all over the country, so the local punks can't get at their families.
But now lets talk about civilian capabilities for a second. Drug gangs have a lot of money. They can buy top-grade weapons and kit if they want to. What if they bought a couple of $100,000 cell-phone trackers? They'd be able to track policemen by their cell phones. (Remember, in some countries like Mexico, Brazil, Columbia etc. the police are -part- of the gang. So gangs can buy police-only kit.)
Kinda puts a whole new complexion on the ubiquitous surveillance thing, eh?
The Phantom
If they do pull off these hits, I don't think the result will be what they think.
ReplyDelete@Matthew That might have been true back before the populace of New York was disarmed and the police force militarized. These days, if the Great and the Good are not under personal threat the government and media will sweep issues under the rug for as long as they can.
ReplyDeleteSaw a headline at Drudge that cops in El Salvador are fleeing the country rather than deal with MS-13.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see where this goes in NY state.