Is this a joke?

[Boozy]

"Judge Rules That Police Can Bar High I.Q. Scores"

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...5AC0A96F958260

What is the reasoning behind this?

[anriana]

Hahahahahahaha. Reads more like an Onion piece.

I remember a thread on CS where a security officer was fired for not raising his hand in a staff meeting (or something like that) and everyone who had worked security justified as saying that people in that position need to respect authority to work successfully. Perhaps the people who denied his interview think that he'll be too smart to follow orders without questioning? That's the only thing I can possibly think of, and even then it's fairly retarded.

[ebonyknight]

Because people with high IQ's tend not to blindly follow orders or unquestioningly adhere to rules.

Silly, but necessary.

[AFPheonix]

Perhaps, or it may just be a cover for the real reason he wasn't picked, like he could be a dickhead.

[crazylegs]

Because people with high IQ's tend not to blindly follow orders or unquestioningly adhere to rules.

Silly, but necessary.

Wrong.

Police need to be able to react quickly mentally to many threats and oportunities in many areas, they do have the right and the responsibility to refuse an order that is unlawful.

I have never met an officer (and I work with many on a daily basis) who blindly follows orders or unquestioningly adheres to rules.

[ebonyknight]

Wrong.

Police need to be able to react quickly mentally to many threats and oportunities in many areas, they do have the right and the responsibility to refuse an order that is unlawful.

As does any soldier in the military, but if you don't score high enough when you request an MOS, you get put into the infantry (or branch "grunt" equivalent). There is a reason for that.

I have never met an officer (and I work with many on a daily basis) who blindly follows orders or unquestioningly adheres to rules.

And some would say that is the problem with police discipline.

Is it appropriate to give friends and family a "get out of a ticket" business card? Is it really up to the cop to say that this pretty blond, deserves a warning and this guy deserves a ticket for the same offense?

Not adhering to the rules can cause problems and there have been a fair share of problems with police officers either not following or seemingly not following the rules.

[ebonyknight]

And before it gets there, I am not saying that cops have to be dumb to be cops. Anyone who has managed a group of highly intelligent individuals knows that it it MUCH harder to manage them than it is a group of lesser intelligent people. They tend to want to be individuals and tend to believe that they are usually right. This causes friction.

I don't know what the guy's IQ is, but I am assuming he tested very high...not necessarily just above normal. I have been refused jobs before, because I was deemed to have "too much education/experience". The rational being that I would probably get bored with the job or that I would get frustrated (because I see a better way to build the mouse trap) and quit. Either way (especially in the case of the military or police) it would be a massive waste of training time and dollars lost on the individual.

Again, we don't know the guy's score or rationale behind wanting to be a cop. But there are rules like this across the entire cross section of employment in this country. Just as you have to be of a certain intelligence to get a certain job, other jobs require that you be below a certain intelligence, for the above reasons.

[crazylegs]

Is it appropriate to give friends and family a "get out of a ticket" business card? Is it really up to the cop to say that this pretty blond, deserves a warning and this guy deserves a ticket for the same offense?

Not adhering to the rules can cause problems and there have been a fair share of problems with police officers either not following or seemingly not following the rules.

Whats this about business cards, its certainly not something that has crossed the pond at all (I'm in the UK), if anyone tried that over here they *would* be fired.

Certain procedures are rigid, deailng with prisoners, property and the rights of individuals. Step out of line with those and you will be heavily disciplined. You are allowed discretion as to whether or not you give a ticket for a blown brake light even though it is an offence and you can give a ticket require its repair.

Under the Road Traffic Act there are only two exceptions that police are allowed to use when using blue lights, that is to drive in excess of the speed limit and to drive through a Red Traffic Signal and yet many officers up and down the land will turn against no turn signs etc, as long as it is Proportionate and necessary you can justify it. This is an example I use to illustrate(sp?) how and why police need to be able to think on their feet.

You give an example of the blonde v the chap, if they are treated differently due to that one difference that is unlawful (in the UK at least) and the officer can and will be diciplined.

[Slytovhand]

Actually EK, that's not a true representation of how things went...

Crazy was saying 'wrong' to

Originally Posted by ebonyknight
Because people with high IQ's tend not to blindly follow orders or unquestioningly adhere to rules.

Silly, but necessary.

which I happen to agree with (and I suspect, so do you, as the next post indicates - well, the first bit).

He then went on to address the 'silly, but necessary' remark - giving example of situations on his side of the pond (which would apply pretty much anywhere). Becuase that would be an example of how people respond in those sorts of situations in general (with some leeway for culture, naturally... UK cops should have less fear ingrained in them, as less likely to get shot at..)

The debate then went into specifics of uses of authority - which is where the US/UK difference became more detailed - apples and oranges.


Slyt

[ebonyknight]

Oh....okay. My mistake.