by chycho

I came across the following post on AskReddit that I wanted to share since it has been one of the main themes on this site.

It is from an individual asking a question from the community regarding the ethical and legal nature of his or her actions. It is a perfect example of what happens in society when personal data becomes readily available.

I have also included four replies from other users to the question. There were over eleven hundred replies, and I chose the ones that I agreed with. There are other points of view.

As for my personal take on this issue, I believe the person is a piece of shit, and as one of the comments pointed out, nothing more than a kapo.

The following post from 2006 makes it quite clear how I feel about data mining, those who interpret the data, and government data bases: “Anomalies, Prisons, and Geophysics: How Governments Use Data and How to Stop Them.”

As well, to help put things into context, the following post from June 2009 provides some relevant data and information regarding our so-called justice system (sic): “Canadians are betrayed: The Conservatives and the Liberals have now turned Canada into a prison State just like the USA”.

The question posed to the community and the replies follow:

QUESTION: Is *this* unethical or somehow wrong?

About six years ago, and periodically ever since, I've obtained a full CD disc of database information using my State's open government records laws. This database listing is of all current open felony arrest warrants in the various counties in my state. The information is freely available to anyone who asks as long as they are willing to pay the nominal fee.

Anyway, it so happens that my employer is in the business of collecting basic personal information in order to service various warranty accounts. Starting about six years ago, I began checking just the name and birth dates of all our clients against the felony warrants data.

Whenever I spot an exact match in both name and birth date, I've been calling in anonymous tips to the local CrimeStoppers hotline and collecting rewards anonymously whenever local law enforcement arrests the fugitive.

I spotted a "Support Law Enforcement" bumper sticker the other day, and I casually mentioned to a friend in the car with me that I have been doing this for several years now. I make a pretty good income from it in fact, about $1200 a month on a good month, and never less than about $500 a month.

My friend insists that what I'm doing is very, very wrong. I admit that I'd probably get fired if my employer found out, but that's just an issue between me and my employer. I'm not collecting any information other than name and birth date and bouncing it against my database. And only if there is an EXACT match, then I pass the current address for the wanted person on to CrimeStoppers.

My friend seems to think that this is wrong on many levels beyond me using information from my workplace. I just don't see it. Why? These are all FELONY warrants, and most of them are several years old. I've helped law enforcement capture several dozen fugitives that had warrants over 20 years old! Until my friend got so upset, I was pretty darn proud of myself. Now, I'm wondering if I'm just being a douchebag. Reddit, what do you think?

EDIT

As I type this, there are 560 comments. Wow! I wanted to address some concerns that I agree are very relevant. I haven't read every comment, but I think the main concerns are: 1. That I'm making money on this, 2. that potentially there are drug-war victims being arrested, and 3. that I may be violating some kind of privacy agreement. Oh, and 4. there may be some question as to legality.

• 1. Yes, I'm making money on this. I purposely set out to make money on this. I mainly do it for the money. I essentially admitted this in my original post I thought, but perhaps I didn't make it clear enough. I'm under no false pretenses that I'm doing it for anything other than the money, however yes, I do get satisfaction from putting scumbags away as well.
• 2. Yes, a relatively small batch of fugitives had charges relating to drug trafficking in particular, mainly cocaine. The State database does show the charges in every instance and I know most of the codes by heart now. Yes, I do agree that the drug war is an unnecessary war on our citizens and I don't agree with the harsh treatment doled out at times. However, I trust the justice system to sort all that out, and I do my part to lobby my representatives for changes to our system as regards drug related crimes. The only data the State gives me is for fugitive warrants. I don't know why and I don't care since it's thousands of names long and dozens more are added every month. I wouldn't waste time on anything other than a felony warrant anyway since those pay the best rewards.
• 3. I've been in my current job since graduation from college 10 years ago. It's the only job I've ever held other than part time jobs in high school. I've looked through my papers and I can say with just about 95% certainty that I have never signed any type of contract or agreement of any kind regarding privacy of the information that I come into contact with every work day. It may have been an oversight. However, I think because people are mailing us this information voluntarily, (it's only name, address, DOB and a survey), I don't think it falls under privacy expectations. Yes, they're registering for a warranty, but they're also entering a drawing by filling out the marketing survey. Privacy violation simply never entered my mind as a concern. Perhaps it should have. I did mention in my original post that I will most likely be fired if my boss ever finds out. I'm ok with that.
• 4. As to legality. Again, this concern never even entered my mind. If the law says I can't turn in a fugitive to law enforcement, then why the hell are they rewarding me in cash for doing just that? I'm not trying to rationalize anything here. I'm very clear on what I'm doing and why. I just don't believe that it's unlawful in any way. However, I'm know good advice when I see it and I'm going to see a lawyer immediately to get a professional opinion.

Thanks, Reddit!

REPLY from Mellifluence:

I have worked in the criminal justice system for a long time. I will address just your final question.

First, you are only matching name and birthdate. The number of false positives is going to be quite large. Funny thing too, we often don't have the correct birthdates on real criminals. Sometimes they lie.

Given current police tactics, someone who is unfortunate enough to have a common name may well face a SWAT squad crashing into their house, shooting their dogs and tasing their grandmother. This does not help society. This is not speculation. Even without your assistance this happens.

Second, you appear to think an arrest warrant is the same as a conviction. It isn't. A reasonable number of warrants are quashed long before any criminal proceeding, not on a technicality, but either because the evidence was insufficient or there was a glitch in either the police or court computer systems resulting in the issuance of a warrant in error.

This means we re-arrest people who are actually out on bail, have already dealt with their charges, or whose warrants were withdrawn after realizing a mistake had been made, usually as a result of identity theft by a member of their family. The inaccuracies in a number of justice system databases is significant. Programs are often ill-designed and the data is put in by fallible human beings.

Third, just because you're accused of a crime doesn't mean you're guilty. Believe it or not, many people who are acquitted of crimes are acquitted because they are actually innocent. (Just like many innocent people are convicted of crimes.) This is why we don't just have two possible verdicts; guilty and guilty-but-the-State-can't-prove it-today. We try to remember that the police might just be fallible and arrest the wrong person.

Fourth, you appear to think "felony" is a word that means "scourge of society". It does not. At any given point in time, in different jurisdictions it will cover a wide range of offences. Quite apart from the pot possession, it usually includes some fairly minor crimes. Today it also includes a number of political crimes. Congratulations on contributing to the arrest of a peaceful protestor who got roughed up by the police and, as per standard protocol in both the US and Canada, was charged with either resist arrest, obstruct p.o., or assault p.o.

Fifth, as other people point out, unless an old arrest warrant is for something serious, people do turn their lives around and become productive members of society. This is good for society. Taking a former hippie or former stupid kid away from his family and his job, humiliating him in his community, stigmatizing him with a criminal record, opening up the possibility of violence at the hands of other inmates or police isn't actually making society safer.

In conclusion, no you are not a douchebag. You are a perfect subject for a totalitarian state. A willing and eager informer, able to convince yourself that any betrayal is not only justified, but a public service, and thrilled to get a chance to profit from informing on your fellow citizens. People like you have been the backbone of oppressive regimes all over the world.

There is a word for you, but it isn't douchebag.

REPLY from SlvrEagle23:

You're right, the word for this kind of behavior isn't douchebag; rather, it's a little more like Kapo.

As a fellow member of middle-class society, it could very well be said that you are a prisoner to the country's elite. They buy out the other companies you might've worked for, they lobby for laws that keep the poor where they are and keep you in a situation where you're just comfortable enough not to fight for better, and just like real prisons, the very fact that you're there is something they'll laugh about all the way to the bank.

But here, in this one case, you've been given the opportunity to get what you consider to be a leg up in society by selling the very people who trust you out to the authorities. The ladder of social classes stretches upward for miles and miles, and despite stepping on the heads of possibly hundreds of people who likely posed no real threat to society, you only managed to climb a single rung. Yet here you are, asking us whether or not we think it was worth it, when you should very well already know the answer to that.

Just like a kapo, though, what you probably fail to realize is that no matter how many people you hand over to them, they still think nothing of you, and as long as you're a part of this society, your fate might be exactly the same as the people you're reporting. No matter how many people you sell out, you have done nothing to reduce the possibility that one day, one of your enemies could find something you did that was technically a felony and have you locked up right beside them.

Please, seriously think about what the parent poster said. As much as you want to sleep well at night thinking that you've done something that protects society and managed to profit at the same time, it's far more likely that all you have done is throw a monstrous monkey wrench into the stable lives of too many people and their families, accomplishing next to nothing for society's advancement and getting nothing but dirty money in return.

As normal people just trying to make it through our adult lives, we spend far too much time fighting forces far beyond our control already. The last thing any of us need is you violating our implicit trust and working against us.

Please, for our sake, try to spend more time just being a decent human being, and spend less time straddling the line of ethical behavior for a quick buck. You'll make much greater strides for society if you try to "be the change you wish to see in the world" than you will trying to change society around you by helping to lock up everyone who someone in some position of authority says might be bad.

REPLY from The_Locksmith:

Yeah, you're a dick.

What if a relative's name came up would you turn them in?

• 1. You are betraying the trust of your company's customers. Moreover, I doubt this is in your company's privacy policy.
• 2. Your are personally profiting from the company info (others have said this)
• 3. You are further cheating your company by spending work time running queries on the databases. If it were important enough for the state to disrupt your company, it would get a court order.
• 4. If a lawyer ever finds out about this (spots a trend), your company's is in for a beating.

You are betraying your customers and your company at the very least. You are also a Patriot Act on two legs. You make George Orwell toss and turn in his grave. You are the fucking antichrist.

In case I wasn't clear; I disagree with your practices and believe your mother is obese.

REPLY from Killfuck_Soulshitter (and as he points out is a later post, he heard it somewhere years ago):

On the plus side, if we wrap George Orwell in coils of wire, and strap magnets to his coffin, we can harness the rotational energy of his disgust and use it to power the globe.

Source: http://www.chycho.com/?q=kapo