Best and worst crimes for employment?

[garbon]

Some of the things on that list are so silly I can't think of a single person I know who would have a clear record. Open container?

You have to be a pretty simple fuck getting caught with an open container.  Only time that happens is if you're pulled over in a vehicle with it, or you're moron enough for a public intoxication rap.
In either case, go to a bar or go home.  Don't be a public drunken twat.

Pretty simple to avoid, really.  All of these "crimes" are pretty simple to avoid, and that's the point.

I don't see anything wrong with having a little wine at a picnic.

[Admiral Yi]

I enjoyed boozing on the street in Europe and would be happy if we had the same in the US.

[The Brain]

Two things are obvious:

1. US laws are retarded.

2. Non-white countries fail at being civilized.

[Barrister]

Some of the things on that list are so silly I can't think of a single person I know who would have a clear record. Open container?

You have to be a pretty simple fuck getting caught with an open container.  Only time that happens is if you're pulled over in a vehicle with it, or you're moron enough for a public intoxication rap.
In either case, go to a bar or go home.  Don't be a public drunken twat.

Pretty simple to avoid, really.  All of these "crimes" are pretty simple to avoid, and that's the point.

I don't see anything wrong with having a little wine at a picnic.

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

[Iormlund]

It's not just the booze thing (though it is the most salient example). There's also possession, solicitation, shoplifting or minor speeding.

Do you think it's normal that shoplifting just get shrugged away?  I think that's bizarre.

My experiences with shoplifting involve quite a few of my school mates, when we were 13 or so. When caught security detained them and called their parents, who then dealt with the kids as they saw fit. As far as I know police never got involved. None of those teens are criminals now. One works at the UN, another is a doctor and so on.

The only recidivist was a kleptomaniac I knew once. He had magician hands though, never got caught. Really nice kid, too. Parents really fucked him up.

[garbon]

Some of the things on that list are so silly I can't think of a single person I know who would have a clear record. Open container?

You have to be a pretty simple fuck getting caught with an open container.  Only time that happens is if you're pulled over in a vehicle with it, or you're moron enough for a public intoxication rap.
In either case, go to a bar or go home.  Don't be a public drunken twat.

Pretty simple to avoid, really.  All of these "crimes" are pretty simple to avoid, and that's the point.

I don't see anything wrong with having a little wine at a picnic.

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

Latter bit makes sense though that sort of belies your statement that there is no way to distinguish those two very distinct actions.

[Iormlund]

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

If the problem is drunks causing problems (such as DWI) instead of drinking per se, why not just penalize the first and leave the second alone?

[Barrister]

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

If the problem is drunks causing problems (such as DWI) instead of drinking per se, why not just penalize the first and leave the second alone?

Because you want to be able to stop people before they cause a problem.

[katmai]

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

Well one is wine, one is malt liquor....

[dps]

It's not just the booze thing (though it is the most salient example). There's also possession, solicitation, shoplifting or minor speeding.

Do you think it's normal that shoplifting just get shrugged away?  I think that's bizarre.

My experiences with shoplifting involve quite a few of my school mates, when we were 13 or so. When caught security detained them and called their parents, who then dealt with the kids as they saw fit. As far as I know police never got involved. None of those teens are criminals now. One works at the UN, another is a doctor and so on.

Well, yeah, that's how it would normally be handled here, too, if a minor is caught (though many businesses will call the police if it's a teenager, the cops themselves usually will just call the parents to come get the kid and give them a talking to).  We're not talking about kids here, though (at least I haven't been)--we're talking about adults.  And in my experience, most shoplifters are adults--I'd say well over 90% of the shoplifters we've caught in places I've worked have been adults.

[sbr]

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

If the problem is drunks causing problems (such as DWI) instead of drinking per se, why not just penalize the first and leave the second alone?

Because you want to be able to stop people before they cause a problem.

Holy Thought Police Batman!!

[Valmy]

I'd say well over 90% of the shoplifters we've caught in places I've worked have been adults.

I remember being in a department store once and this dude came tearing down the exit aisle at full speed, grabbed a whole display of shirts without breaking stride, flew right out the exit, and into a waiting car which immediately sped away.  It was just so bizarre, and everybody barely had a second to respond.  The salesguy I was talking to just said 'holy shit did that just happen?'  Now that was some shoplifting.

[Valmy]

Holy Thought Police Batman!!

Yeah Barrister Boy is The Man(tm) no question.

[Caliga]

I enjoyed boozing on the street in Europe and would be happy if we had the same in the US.

You can in New Orleans.

[Caliga]

Neither do I.  But the problem is there's no way to distinguish between 'a little wine at a picnic' and 'sitting in a park getting shitfaced on malt liquor'.

In my experience cops will ignore open liquor unless you're causing a problem, or at most force you to pour it out.  Open liquor in a vehicle being a big exception

If the problem is drunks causing problems (such as DWI) instead of drinking per se, why not just penalize the first and leave the second alone?

Honestly I found Martim's dismissive reply on DWI to be the most troubling.  Though I'm sure he'd counter further that eggplants are too OSSUM at drinking and/or driving to ever be dangerous, we all know that's bullshit, and not a week goes by around here that some idiotic drunk doesn't get in his car and kill himself or someone else.

I neglected to mention earlier that I interviewed a guy once who lied on his initial app about not having any felonies, but when he got into the office he did disclose that he had some when he was filling out the paper app... he wrote "will discuss at interview" on it, which is obviously a very bad sign.  So when I questioned him about he proceeded to tell me he had several DWI convictions ('several' already makes the guy questionable), but then he mentioned that his last conviction also resulted in a manslaughter conviction as well.  I was like "ummmm I'm going to need a little more information on that one" and he proceeded to tell me that he had gotten drunk and got behind the wheel with his daughter, drove into a telephone pole, and killed her.

The guy had been a network engineer at some nuclear plant down near Savannah, and his alcoholism destroyed his career and his family (his wife divorced him because of all of this, not surprisingly).  So when he met me he had been living in a halfway house--don't recall why he ended up in Kentucky.  I felt so bad that I told him "I'll see what I can do for you" but I knew I'd never be cleared to work with someone convicted of manslaughter so I didn't even bother to try.  I waited about a week and then called him to tell him I couldn't work with him, and he wasn't at all surprised to hear it, I don't think.