Fashion world

Police fashion statements, we don't mean the uniforms.

Although a few photos of 1960s Berlin, Germany, police played a role in getting us to think about it.
The black clad police foot patrol we saw in Frankfurt made us smile a bit because we inferred, maybe incorrectly, a choice of color influenced by American customs. Or was it that they liked the anarchist black because it gives the most scrawny, stubble beared teenager an aura of power?

None of this is what we mean when we talk about "fashion statements". What we do mean is police work that seemingly out of nowhere exhibits an unexpected new focus.

A focus not claimed to be the result of "adapting to a changing threat matrix".
Law enforcement beefing up work on, for example, burglaries when there is a rash of incidents, that's not a "fashion", that's good police work.

A fashion in the sense of this post would be, for example, a sudden emphasis on miniscule "lifestyle" crimes like the sit-lie mess in San Francisco, CA.  Where you replace low-paid social workers with highly paid cops to make the squeaky inhabitants feel better.

Or, and we finally get to a German example,  when police raids the home and office of a blogger for this alleged crime: illegal use of the title "doctor".

Had the blogger claimed she was a Doctor of Neurosurgery and operated on some politicians because not much can go wrong when you do brain surgery on politicians?

No, her children had bought her an American "Dr. h.c. of Ministry" for a few bucks for the fun of it. Her crime: she had blogged about the joke and said, well, I guess, you could call me a doctor of ministry now. 

To someone with a well functioning perception, the joke would have been evident. Someone with a less keen sense of humor might have sent her a letter asking for clarification. 

And then there was a DA and a herd of policemen, and a judge who was either overworked or out to put the cops in a bad light.

DA stands for District Attorney....it is important to make this very, very clear.

So, they raided her home and office. US dollars 39.90 (our guess) translated to several thousand euros in no time, not counting the time of this blogster and the journalists who reported nor the material resources (oil, coal, rubber) expended to enforce, produce and distribute.

Why is this an example of a fashion in law enforcement?

Because of a rash of scandals around PhDs in Germany in the last couple of years that saw several politicians stripped of the title, saw journalists investigate the lucrative trade in doctorates, saw everybody outraged. But no one really goes to court.

Disproportionate resources thrown at ridiculous problems, many declared "crimes" for the sole purpose of placating someone, without any regard to real damage the offending behavior causes. 

The real problem with law enforcement fashions resides in the consequences, in our example, a joking post can get you a year in jail and ruin any career.
 
No joke.