Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!agate!volcano.Berkeley.EDU!clw
From: clw@volcano.Berkeley.EDU (A Ghost in the Machine)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: RE Feedback on Computer Crime - Apology
Message-ID: <1990Aug29.021649.29206@agate.berkeley.edu>
Date: 29 Aug 90 02:16:49 GMT
References: <4c517e56.20b6d@apollo.HP.COM> <9008210016.AA14566@world.std.com> <1990Aug22.033411.3601@looking.on.ca> <4678@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
Sender: usenet@agate.berkeley.edu (USENET Administrator;;;;ZU44)
Reply-To: clw@volcano.Berkeley.EDU (A Ghost in the Machine)
Organization: ucb
Lines: 27

In article <4678@jato.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> thomas@topaz.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Peter Thomas) writes:
>Brad Templeton writes:
>     >a) Property is misappropriated
>     >b) Real monetary value is involved
>     >c) Enforcement is possible at a reasonable cost
>     >then it is the duty of the police to protect that property.
>
>Brad,
>To some extent this is like asking "How many hostages do we let
>them take before we go to war?"  There are two ethical positions
>possible.  One is the pragmatic view, which you have chosen, and
>the other is the principled.  I think perhaps we spend much to
>much time thinking of the amount of damage caused and whether it
>is "worth it" to pursue wrong-doing.  I agree with making the
>punishment fit the crime--so perhaps a tiny crime should result
>in little more than a harsh word of warning. . .but it
>definitely should not be ignored as if it didn't happen.

	Police departments typically have finite resources, and in large
cities are often overloaded.  They know they will be unable to respond to
a large number of illegal activities, and rather than administering justice
on a first-come-first-serve basis, usually choose to concentrate on crimes
where real damage is being done (especially where lives are at risk).  
	In many urban settings this response threshold is dangerously high,
but while I would support additional funds to increase manpower etc. to
lower the threshold, an urban police force with enough resources to pursue 
minor infringements would be absurdly (and impossibly) large and expensive.