Barry -

I did not say “obligation” - enforcement of laws is always modulated by local factors
 (just look at the formal decision not to prosecute “minor” crimes in some cities) - 
but rather said that police will pursue in many jurisdictions.   This is particularly true 
in cases where the perpetrator is still on the premises to be taken into custody.

Yes, there are indeed places in the physical world where legal recourse against a 
perpetrator is becoming less likely (just as it is on the Internet); this is particularly 
disappointing given that legal recourse is recognized as a basic human right.

Thanks,
/John

Disclaimers: my views alone.  Use/reuse/delete as desired. 
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On Jun 22, 2022, at 5:45 PM, bzs@theworld.com wrote:


On June 22, 2022 at 10:35 jcurran@istaff.org (John Curran) wrote:
Barry -


   There is indeed a metaphor to your “rattling doorknobs", but it’s not
   pretty when it comes to the Internet…   

   If you call the police because someone is creeping around your property
   checking doors and windows for
   possible entry, then they will indeed come out and attempt to arrest the
   perpetrator (I am most certainly
   not a lawyer, but as I understand it even the act of opening an unlocked
   window or door is sufficient in many
   jurisdictions to satisfy the “breaking the seal of the property” premise

One can find a lot of articles and court decisions which amount to no,
the police have no such obligation despite people's strong belief that
they do:

 https://mises.org/power-market/police-have-no-duty-protect-you-federal-court-affirms-yet-again

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_Castle_Rock_v._Gonzales

 (not even if you have a restraining order against the person)

etc.

They do have an obligation to protect someone when they are in their
custody but that's about it.

The recent behavior of the Uvalde police standing around while
children were being shot may not have been their proudest moment but
they violated nothing by doing so.

 https://www.thenation.com/article/society/uvalde-police-supreme-court/

So let's try to extrapolate that to the internet and LEOs...good luck!

   and warrant charging under breaking
   and entering statues.)

   Now welcome to the Internet…  paint all your windows black, remove all
   lighting save for one small bulb
   over your front entry.   Sit back and enjoy the continuous sounds of
   rattling doorknobs and scratching at
   the windows.

   If/when you find a digital culprit creeping around inside the home, your
   best option is burn down the place
   and start anew with the copies you keep offsite in storage elsewhere.  
   Similarly if you find a “trap” (e.g.,
   a phishing email) placed on your patio or amongst your mail… discard such
   cautiously and hope your
   kids use equal care.

   “Best practice” for handling these situations on the Internet is
   effectively to cope as best you can despite
   being inundated with attempts – i.e. most Internet security professionals
   and law enforcement will tell you
   that the idea of actually trying to identify and stop any of the culprits
   involved is considered rather quaint
   at best – i.e. we’re instead going to engage in the worlds longest running
   game of “whack-a-mole” by just
   blocking their last known website/mail server/botnet and the wishing for
   the best…  


Enjoy your Internet!
/John

Disclaimers:  My views alone - use, reuse, or discard as desired.   
                     This message made of 100% recycled electrons.


   On 22 Jun 2022, at 12:04 AM, bzs@theworld.com wrote:


   When I lock the doors etc to my home I'll often mutter "ya know, if
   someone is rattling my door knob I already have a big problem."

   I suppose when I'm home it might give me a warning if I hear it.

   There must be a metaphor in there somewhere.

   I do recall as a teen noticing that one of the closed store's on the
   main drag's door was unlocked late one night walking home (this was in
   NYC.)

   I saw a cop and told him and he scolded me angrily for rattling door
   knobs, I could be arrested for that! But verified it, looked around
   inside with his flashlight, and called it in.

   I forget how I noticed but I wasn't in the habit of rattling stores'
   door knobs, I think the door was just a bit ajar.

   There must be a metaphor in there somewhere.

   On June 21, 2022 at 10:01 mpalmer@hezmatt.org (Matt Palmer) wrote:

       On Mon, Jun 20, 2022 at 02:18:30AM +0000, Mel Beckman wrote:

           When researchers, or whoever, claim their scanning an altruistic
           service,
           I ask them if they would mind someone coming to their home and
           trying to
           open all the doors and windows every night.


       If there were a few hundred people with nefarious intent trying to open
       your
       doors and windows every night, someone doing the same thing with
       altruistic
       intent might not be such a bad thing.

       - Matt


   --
          -Barry Shein

   Software Tool & Die    | bzs@TheWorld.com             | http://
   www.TheWorld.com
   Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD       | 800-THE-WRLD
   The World: Since 1989  | A Public Information Utility | *oo*



--
       -Barry Shein

Software Tool & Die    | bzs@TheWorld.com             | http://www.TheWorld.com
Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD       | 800-THE-WRLD
The World: Since 1989  | A Public Information Utility | *oo*