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How do you expect a place to be run that deals with the worst society has to offer on a daily basis? The folks that work there are only human.
Only human? I consider that a cop out. When we entrust people to carry out these jobs, there is supposed to be a set of standards they live up to.
To look at it another way, I served a couple of tours over in Iraq. Obvioulsy, we saw a lot of stuff and dealt with a lot of bad people, but if one of us went outside the ROE and just abused people, he couldn't get off with "well he's just frustrated. He's only human."
Wow, I posted this thread over 4 years ago and it's still active. I see others have enjoyed Central Booking like I have. People who say you shouldn't complain about jail have obviously never been to Central Booking. Central Booking is NOT jail. It's the place where they hold you until they decide whether to let you go, send you to jail or prison. So, with that said, people are complaining about a temporary place before incarceration. I would rather go upstairs or to the Pen than stay in Central Booking. Upstairs, you have your own bed, shower and tv. The Pen, you have rec, library, and commissary. Central Booking, which is just a holding facility has to be the worst of it's kind. I think if a cop hits me with his flashers in the city now, I'll just keep driving at the spped limit until I hit the county line. Then let a county cop arrest me so I can sit in a better holding facility. The failure to stop charge will be well worth it. Plus, I'd love to see the expression on the judges face when they ask why I didn't stop.
**** cental booking the ****ing baltimore city pigs put my loved one in jail for one unpaid ticket they are some heartless pigs she has no record nice job and three kids which two of them are newborns so i hate all you pigs out there in baltimore **** you all nasty mother ****ers go roll around in mudd u pigs onk onk
I think if a cop hits me with his flashers in the city now, I'll just keep driving at the spped limit until I hit the county line. Then let a county cop arrest me so I can sit in a better holding facility. The failure to stop charge will be well worth it. Plus, I'd love to see the expression on the judges face when they ask why I didn't stop.
LOL. Doesn't work like that at all. You can try that... and you will end right back up in central booking. Let me know how that works out for you! How about not doing anything that will get you arrested in the first place?
Does central booking suck? Sure. Could it be a better place? Sure. But damn if it isn't a deterrent for getting arrested again! So in a way I believe it serves its purpose.
Does central booking suck? Sure. Could it be a better place? Sure. But damn if it isn't a deterrent for getting arrested again! So in a way I believe it serves its purpose.
Sure, but a lot of these people haven't been convicted of a crime yet. The principle of innocent until proven guilty may be dying in the US (thanks to the media and overzealous prosecutors), but in my opinion people who haven't even been convicted of a crime shouldn't have to put up with the kind of dehumanizing nonsense that goes on in these places.
Does central booking suck? Sure. Could it be a better place? Sure. But damn if it isn't a deterrent for getting arrested again! So in a way I believe it serves its purpose.
Do you think it's working as a deterrent? Just look at the recidivism rate.
It's well known that a sign reading "welcome back" is hung in some corridor of central booking.
Posted by tgs_bg
Does central booking suck? Sure. Could it be a better place? Sure. But damn if it isn't a deterrent for getting arrested again! So in a way I believe it serves its purpose.
Yes, Central Booking certainly does suck. But Central Booking is in the main a detention/holding center for persons who have been arrested and charged with a crime and are awaiting trial, not a jail/prison for individuals who have been convicted of a crime. Are you saying that we should treat anyone who has been arrested as though he were a rabid animal, fit only to be abused by malevolent creatures who go to work everyday solely to vent their anger, frustration, stupidity, and pathetic desire for power over the lives of other persons? Are you saying that punishment should be instigated immediately upon arrival, regardless of whether the arrestee is actually guilty of any crime? Have you ever spoken to a "Corrections Officer?" Did you know that the only qualifications required to determine a citizen's treatment in detention are that the "Officer" must be over 21 and eligible to earn a GED? This is not a vocation that seeks to attract society's best and brightest.
Deterrent? The overwhelming majority of persons detained at Central Booking are being held on drug related charges. Users must necessarily outnumber suppliers, so the greatest number of detainees will be addicts who were arrested for possession, or while copping, or acting strangely while under the influence, or for that but-only-in-Baltimore charge of "conspiracy to attempt to purchase" (essentially, this is the BPD as thought police, to wit: We know they sell drugs in this area. You are in this area. Therefore we know you are thinking about purchasing drugs in this area. Therefore you are under arrest.) A typical bullpen cell at Central Booking will feature 12-20 men in a 10'x8' concrete room designed to hold 6. At least half of them will be sick junkies in varying states of withdrawal from drugs, alcohol or both. There will be a lot of vomit, trash, rotting green bologna, and roaches on the floor. There will be no water, no toilet paper, and depending on the season no heat or air conditioning. It will be anywhere from 20 hours to four days before a detainee sees the commissioner who decides whether he will be released (charges dropped or ROR), given bail, or sent upstairs to await trial. That certainly seems like a place most people would not care to revisit. However, it is a near certainty that no visitor is there for the first time. If being arrested and spending some very unpleasant time in a most dangerous, unhealthy and unpleasant place were truly a deterrent to drug abuse/addiction and the crime that follows it, then Central Booking would be 1/10 its size and only open two days a week.
Last edited by B.K.; 03-10-2012 at 02:10 PM..
Reason: correction
Sure, but a lot of these people haven't been convicted of a crime yet. The principle of innocent until proven guilty may be dying in the US (thanks to the media and overzealous prosecutors), but in my opinion people who haven't even been convicted of a crime shouldn't have to put up with the kind of dehumanizing nonsense that goes on in these places.
First of all, the "dehumanizing nonsense" is primarily comes from "these people that haven't been convicted of a crime yet", not the detention officers. Don't get me wrong, some if not most of the detention officers aren't exactly role models, however it is those that are being housed there that make CB a rough experience. I have plenty of stories.
Now, let's be real. I don't know how much you know about the criminal justice system, but just because someone isn't found GUILTY of a crime, doesn't mean they didn't do it. I'd venture to say that over 95% of the people in CB are guilty of what they did, but the court system in baltimore is such a joke and the prosecutors case load is so big that if it isn't a felony then it will most likely get nolle prossed or put on the stet docket becuase they either don't have the resources or they are just lazy. Oh, and if for some miracle someone is found guilty of something, it is incredible on how lax the judges are. Trust me, I used to do work up there so I know. I have been to CB plenty of times (not as an offender) and I have had cases in the courts and dealt with the prosecutors and the judges. It is an absolute joke. So what is this overzealous prosecutor stuff you speak of? The principle of innocent until proven guilty is dying? Really? If anything it's the other way around. What exactly is YOUR expertise with CB and the CJ system in Baltimore?
Quote:
Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown
Do you think it's working as a deterrent? Just look at the recidivism rate.
It's well known that a sign reading "welcome back" is hung in some corridor of central booking.
To anyone who is a productive, law abiding member of society that has common sense, then yes, it is a deterrent, however a good portion of those admitted into CB don't exactly fit that category. And I can tell you first hand that there isn't a sign posted there. And your right, recidivism rate is through the roof. But it is like any large city or county that is rampant with crime. I blame recidivism on weak sentencing and a weak job by the prosecution. See my reponse to jagec.
Quote:
Originally Posted by B.K.
Yes, Central Booking certainly does suck. But Central Booking is in the main a detention/holding center for persons who have been arrested and charged with a crime and are awaiting trial, not a jail/prison for individuals who have been convicted of a crime. Are you saying that we should treat anyone who has been arrested as though he were a rabid animal, fit only to be abused by malevolent creatures who go to work everyday solely to vent their anger, frustration, stupidity, and pathetic desire for power over the lives of other persons? Are you saying that punishment should be instigated immediately upon arrival, regardless of whether the arrestee is actually guilty of any crime? Have you ever spoken to a "Corrections Officer?" Did you know that the only qualifications required to determine a citizen's treatment in detention are that the "Officer" must be over 21 and eligible to earn a GED? This is not a vocation that seeks to attract society's best and brightest.
Deterrent? The overwhelming majority of persons detained at Central Booking are being held on drug related charges. Users must necessarily outnumber suppliers, so the greatest number of detainees will be addicts who were arrested for possession, or while copping, or acting strangely while under the influence, or for that but-only-in-Baltimore charge of "conspiracy to attempt to purchase" (essentially, this is the BPD as thought police, to wit: We know they sell drugs in this area. You are in this area. Therefore we know you are thinking about purchasing drugs in this area. Therefore you are under arrest.) A typical bullpen cell at Central Booking will feature 12-20 men in a 10'x8' concrete room designed to hold 6. At least half of them will be sick junkies in varying states of withdrawal from drugs, alcohol or both. There will be a lot of vomit, trash, rotting green bologna, and roaches on the floor. There will be no water, no toilet paper, and depending on the season no heat or air conditioning. It will be anywhere from 20 hours to four days before a detainee sees the commissioner who decides whether he will be released (charges dropped or ROR), given bail, or sent upstairs to await trial. That certainly seems like a place most people would not care to revisit. However, it is a near certainty that no visitor is there for the first time. If being arrested and spending some very unpleasant time in a most dangerous, unhealthy and unpleasant place were truly a deterrent to drug abuse/addiction and the crime that follows it, then Central Booking would be 1/10 its size and only open two days a week.
You can see my previous responses for most of this. Your last paragraph sounds more of a rant than a reaponse to what I said so I won't touch on that.
As I said previously, yes, I have been there (not as an offender) plenty of times, yes I have talked with the detention officers.... what exactly is your experience with all of this? What about the overloaded court system in Baltimore that fails to bring justice?
I don't think anyone in this thread has as much experience as I do with both CB, Baltimore court, and the criminal justice system itself. If you have seen what I have seen then you would understand and we wouldn't be debating any of this...... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it is different to say what you think, than it is to speak from experience......
Same exact thing happened to me. I had cinnamon in a bag, & i'm a white young girl, & i was on North Ave. I had just got done taking portrait at Druid Hill Park, & went to find gas. ( I live in pa, so I needed to fill my car up, before going home) I parked on mount street quick to make a phone call & check my laptop, & bam! they were on me. I wasn't feeling well that day, & since I was scared (I've always been a little shy of cops, for some reason, bad quality, especially in front of one, haha) they said they had probable cause. Found the bag of cinnamon and said it was dope. & arrested me, while they screamed down the block, that i was a no good dope fiend, ruining the city. I waited in the curb, with no jacket, & it was 40 degree. They had my car towed, while I waited for the bus to get there. I couldn't use the bathroom, at the central district precinct.. The guy asking me questions even had a weed lighter! haha. I finally go to central booking, after waiting outside in the cold for 45 minutes. and then waited another hour inside, to see the nurse. She had to take my blood for some reason, & couldn't find a vein, & kept saying I was lying, because since she couldn't find a vein, obviously, I was a IV drug user.. I finally was put in a holding cell, an hour later, could make phone call. Its horrible there. The guards don't listen, just ignore the people in them. IF somebody was choking or something, they wouldn't know, nor would they check. They yelled at each other, joked, cursed. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. Very rude. Girls in the holding cells, kick the doors, yell & scream, throw food and drinks through the bottoms of the doors. ugh. No beds, or warm clothes are given, IT'S FREEZING there. I finally saw the commissioner the next morning around 9. and was recogged by 10, thankfully. Even though I had a fricking $50,000 bond! (I was arrested around 5pm the previous night.)
Intake & Booking in Baltimore is the dirtiest, rudest, most dysfunctional place ever. It's pathetic. Changes need to be made. I'm surprised people don't die there often, considering the guards don't give a damn. at all. That is the truth.
My case was nolle prosque 3 months later, once the lab results came back, proving it wasn't dope... I'm pretty sure, heroin isn't like cinnamony/sugary. lol after I was indicted & payed for a 5000 lawyer, (only got 2000 back, because it was dropped) It also took another 3 months to get my laptop out of evidence control because the officer wouldn't sign a piece of paper. I had to contact his sgt. & lt. Then I got it back, & the battery wouldn't work. I'm still currently waiting to get my cash from the arrest back, (I had 150 dollars on me from just getting paid) Apparently, after a certain time period, money gets funneled into Baltimore City's account... So they steal my money, which I couldn't even get, because their officers are too lazy to sign a paper. I mean it's no big deal its only 150 but, its the principle of the matter. So, luckily, the sgt. gave me the legal number, which I have to call, to get the money back, which will be a fight.
Moral to the story... DO NOT BE WHITE & ARRESTED IN WEST BALTIMORE. The police will think your drug addicts or even dealers.
(OH YES, They charged me with with 5 charges including, conspiracy to possess, conspiracy to distribution, intent to distribute, possession of narcotic, possession that isn't weed! Can you see it? Me, a 5'2'' 20 year old blonde white girl, down in the "hood" selling dope) hah! For reals. ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME? Central Booking is worse the Hell. I'm not even kidding.
Who carrys a bag of cinnamon around with them? That smells fishy to me too and I'm the person who started the thread.
This is for all the dumbasses on here with comments like i am glad my tax dollars are going to good use.I agree that jail should be an unpleasant place,but if the people working at the facility are not doing their jobs how is your tax money being used correctly.it is dumbasses like that make it possible for the state to pass laws like speed cameras.Speed cameras came from the terrorists act.all the state does is scare the public with a bunch of non-sense then the public lets them pass a law against criminals then they just amend it over to the general public hence speed cameras and crime steadily goes up.
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Who carry's a bag of cinnamon with them?
