Question about police computer database laws.

[harmonica]

I was watching the movie The Departed (2006) in the movie the bad cop, was able to delete an undercover cops file, thereby erasing the undercover cop's identity and no one would know he was ever a cop. I thought it was phony and their must be a lot more to it, than erasing a record than that. So I talked about to my friend and she said she once dated a guy who was arrested for drug trafficking and the guy bribed the judge to erase the records of arrest, and to also erase his past records too.

I was appalled! Why is the system set up so any thug on a computer in a courthouse or a police station is able to delete a record that is stored on a federal database throughout the whole country? Is this true? If so why can't it be different?

[Switchback]

Unless your friend is talking about a case in Mexico, your friend is an idiot. Things cannot be undone that easily.

[mobrien316]

Movies are often less than completely accurate. In case you didn't know.

[retdetsgt]

So I talked about to my friend and she said she once dated a guy who was arrested for drug trafficking and the guy bribed the judge to erase the records of arrest, and to also erase his past records too.

One of them is lying. There's no "one button" to push to delete a record. It immediately goes to too many places and there are a lot fewer people who have the power to delete anything than there are to add.

All sorts of stuff happens in movies. Police personnel records aren't subject to one button delete either.

[pac201]

Sigh..................................

[Citicop]

None of that is true or realistic.

[mcsap]

In case nobody has ever told you....what is seen in the movies is not even in the same region as the truth is.

And people can say whatever they want but to have the record of a criminal offense completely wiped out is 100% UNREALISTIC.

A judge CAN find someone not guilty but the police report , arrest file and FBI criminal history are ALL beyond the reach of a judge. Even when someone is found not guilty , that does not erase any and all record of what occurred.

[harmonica]

Yes I know the movies aren't realistic, but I was using that to compare to this to my friend of a friend's situation he confirmed that he pulled it off. Maybe be bribed the judge, the judge said he'd take care of it, but then nothing was really erased.

[Big Sexy]

friend of a friend's .

Is that anything like my friend's, sister's, boyfriends, cousin's, babysitter's boyfriends, uncle's neighbor's, aunt's, daddy's, mother's, grandpa's, wife's, brother's, friend of a friend says they paid off a judge who erased any record of their arrest?

If so, your friend of a friend is still an idiot.

[Citicop]

Yes I know the movies aren't realistic, but I was using that to compare to this to my friend of a friend's situation he confirmed that he pulled it off. Maybe be bribed the judge, the judge said he'd take care of it, but then nothing was really erased.

I think your friend is naive for believing that kind of big shot talk from a guy she was dating.

And (even if we believe that she's telling the truth) that story from her only really confirms that he SAID he bribed a judge to do that, not that he even really tried. It may surprise you to find out that drug traffickers are not known for their honesty...

I could say that I teleported here from the planet xeron in the year 5738 but that does not make it the truth.

-Citicop

[retdetsgt]

Yes I know the movies aren't realistic, but I was using that to compare to this to my friend of a friend's situation he confirmed that he pulled it off. Maybe be bribed the judge, the judge said he'd take care of it, but then nothing was really erased.

Who confirmed what was pulled off? In Oregon, all arrests go to LEDS (the state data base) and records of felony arrests go to the FBI. At best, he might have bribed a judge to do something with the current arrest (though highly doubtful), but no way could the judge have taken off prior convictions.

You seriously need to hang out with better people.

[harmonica]

It's a guy my friend went out with a few times, now does not, cause he was a low character. I don't even know him.

[Citicop]

It's a guy my friend went out with a few times, now does not, cause he was a low character. I don't even know him.

And yet you automatically beleived him when you heard he said that he was able to bribe a judge to not only dismiss his criminal drug trafficiking case but to erase the rest of his criminal history too, in the face of basic common sense about the number of places records exist in a modern computer age.

Why do those two facts not add up to me?

[Safety Steve]

Folks, I saw the movie and it REALLY did happen. I saw it with my own eyes! I could not believe it either, BAM, just like that with one push of the button that undercover cops file was erased

I was once told not to believe anything I hear and only believe about 50% of what I see.




Be Safe.