About 3 months ago, in Barron county, Washington, a manhunt began for Jayme Closs, who disappeared on the same night that police found her home broken into and her parents shot dead. Today, she reappeared on the streets Barron county, and was quickly recovered by police and sent to a nearby hospital. Meanwhile, police also arrested a suspect Jake Thomas Patterson and is now being formally charged with kidnapping and the murder of Jayme's parents.
However, in the time before she was found, lots of unsavory theories ran rampant:
- A Meth dealer found the wrong door to confront someone
- “This is the No. 1 problem in northwestern Wisconsin,” Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald on methamphetamine
- "James or Denise Closs could have killed their daughter earlier in the day outside of the home, killed their spouse, then took their own lives. "
- An abductor Jayme met online or a secret boyfriend committed the crime
- Closs herself murdered her parents
If I were a relative, I would be quite offended by the last one. Then again, speculation by the public can sometimes help the police investigation.
Do you think rumors and speculation by the public is good (helpful), or bad (disrespectful)?
Does this case make you reconsider the privacy/safety tradeoff?
(I for one wish we would get more cameras on the streets)
It really depends on the case, speculations by the public can be good and helpful when there aren't any good leads. As for the privacy/safety tradeoff, I do think that it would be nice to have a few more cameras on public streets, but that will most likely never happen due to the politics of it. Too many people would say that it violates their rights which may or may not be true. I don't know enough about it to create an informed opinion.
ReplyDeleteI believe that rumor and speculation by the public are not beneficial because it turns into a case of "he said she said." The public should only come forward with solid evidence because rumors can be misleading and effect the investigation. I highly doubt that putting more cameras on the streets will happen because people will claim that it is a breach of privacy. This case doesn't necessarily make me reconsider the privacy/safety trade off because realistically, there was probably an interaction between Jake Thomas Patterson and a member of the family prior to the murders. That member of the family probably wanted the privacy because of the matter of the situation. If we were to receive less privacy and more safety, people would consider it a violation of our rights.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matthew that rumors and speculations from the public are not beneficial as they may cause authorities to get confused and follow dead ends. The public should help investigations only if they are eye witnesses or have solid evidence that could help a case. Futhermore, the suggestion about expanding the use of cameras would cause some people to believe that their privacy is being breached. I believe that the use of cameras in only public areas would help as it would help provide evidence for crimes that occur and possible deter some crimes from happening. They would help some people feel comfortable because someone/something is watching in case something happens.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the rumors were unnecessary ,however, there is no way to prevent rumors from spreading since it is a famous ongoing case. But rumors could help sometimes if people start to see something off and mention it, the police may investigate it as well. I think it would be helpful to have more cameras on the street, enough to cover the whole road, and not be taking video of personal property.
ReplyDeleteI agree with matthew as well because while rumors could be good to think about all of the possibilities, but these still are just rumors and there is nothing besides talking to back up the information. However, while it is not beneficial, I agree with Grace that rumors are inevitable. While having cameras on the street would help get down to the truth, I think if it does film private property it would be an invasion of privacy. I think cameras on just the roads could be good because you can see who is entering property and other precautionary measures on the street view.
ReplyDeleteRumors and assumptions are never welcomed. Rumors like that put the victim under a bad light and causes the public to have different views on people that are otherwise innocent. Rumors on such mysteries are inevitable but such rumors causes problems that can be irreparable
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