MovieChat Forums > Brooklyn's Finest (2010) Discussion > Problem with the Jurisdiction Thing

Problem with the Jurisdiction Thing

posted 11 years ago by WWFoverWWE
4 replies | jump to latest

Eddie told Melvin to not intervene with the pimp slapping his girl because it was out of their jurisdiction. The way Eddie went about it made it sound like they could never under any circumstance stop a crime that occurred out of their jurisdiction. Eddie basically told Melvin that if he comes across a shooting, stabbing, or bank robbery that happens out of their jurisdiction, he can't do anything to stop it just because the crime occurs outside their area. It wouldn't be right to teach that it's only ok to stop certain crimes in that situation. I really had a problem with that rule and the way it was taught and applied here. Anybody else feel the same way?

[–] Daveyhaze 11 years ago

I must admit I found that a bit strange. In England, the cops have authority throughout the whole of England and Wales so even if they are in a different force area they can make arrest. If off duty they can sign onto duty anywhere in the country if they are required to.
So it would seem a bit odd that an NYPD cop couldn't arrest "out of zone" if a crime was blatantly being committed in front of them, that would constitute a neglect of duty over here.

I thought the issue here was that Eddie was out buying his fishing tackle on work time and was doing so in a place where he shouldn't be. Therefore not wanting to intervene or make the arrest to avoid answering the awkward questions as to why he was there in the first place. However this would seem somewhat strange given the whole 7 days until retirement thing and how little he seems to care about the job anymore.

[–] Laqueesha 11 years ago

I'm pretty sure he was just exaggerating. Eddie was so depressed and tired in life, that he didn't even want to do any real police work if he could avoid doing it, for it would be just more stress for him to deal with.

[–] Devans00 9 years ago

I think Eddie was talking politics, not actual ability to arrest people out of jurisdiction. Being an old school cop, he probably knows Melvin could get a lot of grief from local jurisdiction cops if they think he's out of line, invading their territory.

No two persons ever watch the same movie.

[–] padzok 8 years ago

Two things:

Firstly, Eddie was lazy. So a supposed "rule" about not arresting someone off your own turf was just a convenient excuse for him to turn a blind eye to stuff which - at best - would have given him extra paperwork and - at worst - might have put him in physical danger. I am not saying the rule does not exist at all; just that it was not as rigid as Eddie claimed.

Secondly, Eddie was supposed to be working. The fact that he was in a different precinct, going shopping for fishing gear, is something that he would not want his superiors to know about. Hence he did not want to create any paper trail, which would, in turn, have led him and his partner to explain why they were not patrolling the area they were supposed to be working in.