By using behavioral neuroscience principles, we can create a world where criminals are either given the help they need, or summarily executed, police brutality is physically impossible, and the community self-polices. Low CSF levels of serotonin, high levels of dopamine, high levels of epinephrine, and high levels of cortisol play a strong role in the stress response, and high stress levels cause aggressive behavior. High levels of stress and aggression lead to crime and societal and personal dysfunction. By reducing and eliminating stress and aggression, we can have a functioning society once again. Police brutality is another problem that we can solve. An officer's judgment is very important, but we cannot allow the officer's judgment to be clouded by personal bias in deciding on whether to use non-lethal and lethal force to take down a criminal. What we can do is install microdialysis catheters in the limbic system of every citizen to monitor these neurotransmitter levels. These levels can be distilled into an index from 0 to 600, where 0 is stress-free, 100 and above is dangerous and prone to violence, and 300 and above is an immediate threat to themselves and others. We can also calculate the historical volatility of the index, and use that to determine someone's coping skills. Those with a low index volatility and low index should be the only ones allowed to be cops. We can have a system monitor every region for the average stress index of the population, and if that level spikes, dispatch officers to investigate. The cops should be outfitted with special guns, and only these special guns, that can read the target's stress index levels, and if the level is below 100 , the safety cannot be released, if the level is at or above above 100, the gun fires shells that release low concentration methoxyflurane to put the target to sleep, and if the level is 300 or above, it fires lethal slugs. And these guns can only be used by the officers they're registered to. The job of the police will be to investigate and report on situations of stress indexes above 100, and to try to get the target's stress index down or take them into custody if they are actively committing a crime. The victims will also be taken into custody so they can receive help. When a target is taken into custody, they are to get a full physical and mental health work-up by a physician, and be placed into mandatory psychoanalysis by a certified psychiatrist once their stress index goes down, which is when they can be released with whatever restitution a magistrate orders. If they re-offend, low-dose lorazepam and haloperidol will be prescribed as well. If they re-offend again, they will be committed to a hospital for intensive treatment and counselling. Psychological stress index monitors and cameras should be ubiquitous, and should compliment people who have low stress indexes and index volatility, and encourage those with high stress indexes and volatility to get help. The goal of law and law enforcement will be to encourage a stress-free society.
You seriously advocate this crap? This is even beyond Orwellian and right into illegal, immoral and unconstitutional all rolled up in a big BS wrapper. You've watched too much science fiction or propoganda somewhere along the line to advocate total control over your body and mind by authorities.
So you'd rather be inefficient, reactive instead of proactive, and allow personal bias to corrupt things? We have behavioral neuroscience and forensic psychology for areason, and we need to use it. How would your body and mind be controlled at all? It's simply monitoring stress levels. And it's only illegal under current laws. In the future, who knows?
How about fixing the thugs instead? How about communities turning in the thugs in their neighborhood. Not wait till they do something unthinkable. Take some responsibility for their own communities. Less crime Less thugs attacking cops Less dead by cop thugs.
And this is how we can! The people will be encouraged to report those with rising stress indexes. Along with this: http://www.politicalforum.com/showthread.php?t=384307&p=1064483705#post1064483705
You'd like to take away the human ability to think during an issue in order to protect the amazingly low number of people wrongly shot by police officers. We live in an imperfect world where mistakes are made and human judgment is sometimes inefficient, but to insert technologies into the human body to override the potential for human error crosses every boundary of being wrong I can imagine. I couldn't care less what science we have, our bodies are not at all for a government's monitoring, control, or even any of its business. You're advocating giving up a basic human right to a government in order to give them full control by monitoring some function of your body, when they have zero (yes, zero) right to that information, zero right to the invasion of your body, and zero need in any humane way to even attempt such a transgression. We can't eliminate the human element of judgment, nor should we. We should train our officers to act in the best way they can, and we should monitor the performance of their duties, just like we do any employee while they're being paid to provide a function for an employer. But we do so with the understanding that things will not always go right, they do face dangerous situations, they carry lethal weapons, and they're responsible for their actions. In other words, (*)(*)(*)(*) happens. And yes, I'd rather be reactive than have humans injected with the capability for a government, a police force and a weapon to monitor human behavior, human thought, human psychology, human neurological activity and any other function.
You're not monitoring human thought. That's actually theoretically impossible. Also, the system would make things safer for everyone. 1. Most people who get stopped by the cops would never have to worry about getting shot to death. 2. Non-violent criminals wouldn't need to be languishing in a crowded, dirty prison, instead they'd have someone to talk to about their issues that drove them to crime, and how they can become constructive again. 3. Violent criminals would no longer be violent, due to the medication, and could be rehabilitated much easier, because they can still be part of normal society. 4. The cops would have physical safeguards on their use of force. Remember, police academies train officers how and when to use force, but that doesn't mean they'll follow their training. It also helps automatically remove emotionally-labile cops. 5. Stressed out people are unpleasant and dangerous. They have killed and either physically or emotionally injured, either directly or indirectly, more people than almost any other group.
You do realize there are situations where even the slightest error would be catastrophic? Pacemakers, navigation, etc. This is one of them.
Of course. But that doesn't mean I would ever advocate any government entity to retain control over any portion of my body out of fear of someone getting hurt unnecessarily. It's a dangerous world. Do you know how many fall to their deaths doing ignorant things at the Grand Canyon each year? You can walk right up to the edge and fall in. Should we create a "monitor" that alerts the authorities if you choose to do silly things that can harm you? After all, it could save lives, right? Sometimes I just shake my head at how naïve some people are to their rights as human beings. I'll take my chances.
Explain exactly and precisely why this would not stop societal problems and crime, and rehabilitate offenders.
Quite simple. No one has the right to take the life of another; violence breeds violence. Someone who has been executed can never be rehabilitated and that's a proven fact.
A person who is a serial murderer, rapist, or traitor has no chance to rehabilitate, and society wouldn't accept him back. Execution is merciful compared to life in prison without parole.
This is where both you and I disagree. Murder is murder whether done by a criminal or the state. Lifetime incarceration is the acceptable method of dealing with those convicted of murder; society does not come into play since those convicted and incarcerated do not as a rule interface with society.
Lifetime incarceration is torture, and torture is wrong. I'd rather die than be tortured for the rest of my life. Have you EVER been to a prison? I wouldn't wish prison on anyone. We need to replace prison with fines (for every crime), forfeiture (for serious crimes), house arrest (for crimes like stalking and bullying), and mandatory Haldol and Ativan (for all violent crimes). Along with psychoanalysis for every case so the criminal can be rehabilitated. Someone on Haldol plus Ativan and Cogentin will no longer be violent, because Haldol calms you down, and Ativan potentiates the effect and Cogentin counters Haldol's akathisia ADR. They'll still be able to interact with society, and as long as the dosage is correct, will still be able to function reasonably well. A neuroleptic cocktail puts the walls of the prison inside the criminal's mind, instead of outside their body.
For you, maybe a voluntary death my be your wishes, but most likely for an overwhelming majority of people, it is not. The penalties you propose for lesser crimes are very draconian and as such it's highly unlikely they'd ever be passed into law due to an outcry by American citizens. Likewise force pumping people full of drugs is not the answer to the issues as well. Many mental health programs are in existence to help those in need of assistance with coping with their issues.
How are fines, house arrest, neuroleptics, and psychoanalysis Draconian? Prison is Draconian. Execution is Draconian. With my ideas, people would still be able to be productive and a part of society? You do realize modern house arrest allows you to only travel between your home, your school, and your workplace. And fines will be levied proportional to the offender's yearly income, so both rich and poor get the same punishment. Psychoanalysis will help the offender create positive ways to deal with society, because crime is due to one of two things: an evil mind, or a cry for help. And Haldol plus Ativan will help to calm the offender and prevent them from being violent
And for those who do not work and have no income? Then what? You cannot force psychoanalysis on the unwilling; however for those who want rehabilitation, counselling can be beneficial.
Then it's levied as a percentage of assets (everything you own is your assets), and if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. And yes, sometimes you have to force people to get help.
I just don't believe what you propose will work; but even more important regardless what I think, good luck getting legislation passed to implement what you believe might work; the elected officials will never go for it since it most likely violates several sections of the US Constitution.
True, except the Patriot act does not call the the execution of people convicted of minor crimes; that's a big difference in the minds of many no doubt.
