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Post by zuyuri on Dec 12, 2022 19:59:08 GMT
Jack entered his room with his arms filled with graded assignments. To say he was pleased with the workload his students were putting in was especially pleasing. So far, hardly any students had gotten below average on this last quiz on criminal reporting. Today was the day he’d go over what exactly people missed - a lesson for both himself and the students.
“Hola, classe. I just finished your reporting quizzes and I must say, very good work. Every hero needs to know proper measures.” He began handing the papers back. “Most of you made vast improvements since the beginning of the year.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 16, 2022 0:59:09 GMT
Utena and Bella's heads looked up as Jack walked in. Criminal Investigations wasn't something they'd particularly thought about too hard before starting school, but Jack certainly made the subject interesting, even if Bella still got squeamish around the idea of dead bodies. Utena found it a little interesting though, and it was a somber reminder that while superheroes tried to save everyone, they couldn't be perfect. And if they were too late, the best they could do was bring the villain to justice.
Spike, meanwhile, didn't look up as he absentmindedly pressed the back of his mechanical pencil, seeing how long the lead would extend before it broke. While some of his exploits prevented him for turning in a paper or two, flunking his classes too hard would mean facing his parents' ire. He kept it up just enough so teachers wouldn't ask questions. Of course, he figured they at least had suspicions that something was wrong with him. Heck, some probably even knew what had happened to him. If they ever brought it up though, he would always say he was fine. It was easier that way.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 19, 2023 4:49:10 GMT
Albedo paid Jack no mind as he walked into the room. He was fully engrossed in his newest engineering book. He was quite fascinated with Zelda's tablet and wondered if he could incorporate the same technology to his own belongings. But he wanted to know what he was talking about before he started asking Zelda further questions on the matter. After all, tablets were entirely different than ice cream machines or portable handheld heaters.
Ruby burst into the class in a tiny explosion of rose petals. She gave a nervous giggle when she realized, she was slightly late to class and hurried to take her seat. The petals drifted through the room lazily before fading away. She really hoped that Professor Jack wouldn't ding her for her tardiness. She really did try to be on time. Really. But she had overslept a little.
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Post by zuyuri on Jan 19, 2023 5:30:54 GMT
Zelda looked at the quiz given back to her. 94%. Passing as she expected. The quiz had been easy if you bothered to do the homework the night before after all. She slid it into her folder and stole a glance if any familiar faces were sitting around. The only faces she recognized were Albedo and Spike. Everyone else were total strangers, but there was at least one person that she could rely on with this class.
Once the papers were returned to their rightful owners, Jack dusted a rose petal his lapel. Ah, yes, Ruby Rose. Tardy again. But she was earlier than yesterday. “Remember, you can correct your papers and at the end of the semester, I will adjust your scores.” He paused to let that reminder sink in before going to the board. “Now, since it’s winter, I figured we’d start discussing cold cases. So, who can tell the class what a cold case is?”
Immediately, Zelda shot her hand up. TV and podcasts were making money off these. White mothers would come home and listen to a bored man read summaries of them, complete with a glass of wine.
“Yes, Ms. Kaiser?”
“It’s a case when all clues don’t lead to any clear answers. After time has passed, the case gets folded until new evidence is discovered.”
Jack began scribbling an annotated version of her answer on the smartboard. Knock on wood, it was faring better than his last few times he had something to write on for his lectures that didn’t turn into dust. “Good. Now, at least half of criminal investigations turn into cold cases. Some say it’s a lack of technology. Others say that people don’t give information until much later. But there are other reasons, so, what do you suppose one reason cases go cold?@
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 20, 2023 1:07:50 GMT
Bella saw Utena smile as a girl entered in a flurry of rose petals. Was that her Ruby friend that she'd mentioned? She certainly seemed to have a lot of energy. Jack dove right into the subject for today: cold cases, the situations where an investigation was stopped dead in its tracks. Utena bit her lip. She wouldn't know what to do if she came across a situation like that. She wasn't a great problem solver. Most of her solutions involved charging in head first with brute force.
One kid came in quietly, but Ruby was a little of the opposite. Spike gave a salute in her direction. Maybe he'd stay awake this time around. Zelda answered Jack's question immediately, which wasn't surprising. She was a nerd, after all. Spike wondered if the other kid was too. He'd walked in with his nose buried in a book.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 20, 2023 5:34:26 GMT
With a sheepish smile, Ruby took a seat next to Spike. She couldn't believe she had overslept again. Worst of all, she got her test back from last time. 67%. But she had studied so hard for it. Her dad wouldn't be mad at her, but if he gave her his usual video call, it would certainly have the 'I'm disappointed' look when she had to inevitably explain herself.
Albedo took the paper handed back to him, skimmed it and nodded before putting it into a folder. His grade was as expected. He sighed before putting a bookmark to mind his spot in his reading. He leaned back in his chair, not even bothering to pull out pen or paper to take notes. Maybe he should look into creating assistant bots to help officers on duty? It could very well be his senior thesis project since artificial intelligence was a difficult thing to develop accordingly.
"Cases go cold because of the overabundance of crime that then overwhelm the current law enforcement," Albedo responded. "With crimes outnumbering the available officers able to respond to them, they are spread too thin to effectively do their jobs."
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Post by zuyuri on Jan 25, 2023 15:33:45 GMT
“Correct.” Jack scribbled Albedo’s responses on the board in small bullet points. Breaking down the comments and answers made for easier note taking. It was the students’ goal to take away any verbal cues he said in the lesson. Written or listened to, it didn’t matter how students absorbed the lesson. It was also why he videotaped his lessons and posted them for the students that couldn’t come to class via illness or a mental block. “So, with all these place, the question I present to you, how can supers or adoring supers help whenever a case almost becomes a cold case?”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jan 27, 2023 0:29:25 GMT
Bella made a few notes in her notebook, but looked up at Jack's question.
Spike responded first though. "Ponder it over with a cold one?" he joked.
Utena sighed. That was a lame joke. However, Jack did pose an interesting question. Although she wasn't quite sure how to answer it. "Get people with appropriate powers involved?" she guessed. "Like maybe someone that has visions?" Usually, people like that saw the future, although a few were known to get visions of the past as well. They could be difficult to make sense of though, and getting a past vision of a murder or something along those lines probably wouldn't be pleasant.
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Post by skyeknight on Jan 30, 2023 0:32:44 GMT
"According to theory of escalation, heroes do not actually help curb crime," Albedo said. "Instead, by being prominent in day to day going-ons, seeing superheroes encourage other individuals with powers commit more crimes because they are inspired by heroes."
Ruby made a face. What a dark and awful way to see things. She didn't want to think that some criminal would see her and think it was a good idea to rob a convenience store just so he had an opportunity to meet her. Plus, she was a half glass full person, unlike this Albedo guy. She wanted to believe that heroes actually could make a difference and leave the world a better place than when she left it.
"We can help the civilians fight crime by assisting police officers when we see something bad going on!" Ruby said. "Or helping patrols!"
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Post by zuyuri on Jan 30, 2023 3:28:17 GMT
Jack's invisible eyebrow arched when Albedo put forth his answer. So far, what the class had brought up were reasonable discussions, and even a few quips to lighten the mood. He had written down only the two that were suggested; Utena's mention of the use of psychics and Ruby's suggestion of playing nice with authority, assisting with patrols.
Zelda, meanwhile, became a bit more hectic when typing her notes on her laptop. Albedo's comment was realistic, however that didn't mean that every person that saw heroes saw them as the bad guy. The silver eyed girl's optimism was contagious, and her own memories of Link being praised for his true heroism were pushing hard on her chest. Typos were appearing as the thoughts swirled and finally, she had to stop and say her piece otherwise she would explode. "Yes, the criminal rates can grow, Albedo," she faced him directly, "but on the flip side of that argument, there are those who are inspired by heroes and will probably volunteer however they can, super or not supers."
Jack tapped a bony finger to get the class refocused. A discussion on why people committed crimes was a lecture for another day. But he did admire the enthusiastic debate. "Theory of escalation aside, there is also a factor of your suggestions. Future visions are difficult. For example, in the early 1950's police trusted the word of a 'psychic'" his air quotes were hard, "named Peter Hurkos. Hurkos was not a super psychic. Instead, he was simply suffering brain activity from a head wound which resulted in claims of psychic abilities. He had been asked to help in the Manson cases, which, well, we don't need to go into those. He also identified a possible suspect of the Boston Strangler, but was eventually discovered as a phony when that claim was deemed false, along with his accusations that eventually led to Melvin Rees."
A hand was raised by someone sitting in the back close to Spike. Riku could care less about all this "work with the police" bullcrap that professor was spouting. But something about the police going to a stranger that said he was psychic was interesting. It was just weird that people were calling upon self proclaimed carnie acts to investigate very intense situations. People had been killed. "Why did they ask a phony psychic to help in the first place?"
"Remember, technology back then is far different than what it was today," Jack answered, "Also, at the time, having a famous person be involved meant that the public could be more upfront about a dangerous individual being on the loose. Moral of the story is be extra careful about expressing powers, be they true or otherwise."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 1, 2023 1:04:02 GMT
Spike looked at Albedo. Was he normally like this or did he wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Ruby's answer was a bit more optimistic though, and Zelda shut down Albedo's pessimism hard. "Ooo, the bookworm's got some fire," he commented. This girl was full of surprises.
Jack settled things quickly though, and Bella and Utena looked back at him once he brought the conversation back on track. They got what he was saying though. Certain powers liked to be taken advantage of, and superheroes had a delicate line to walk between helping as much as they could while also taking care of themselves. "Or if they're not run into the ground, they get burned at the stake," Utena commented. People with powers were dated pretty far back, but it took a while for them to be understood, and they weren't always thought of as good things.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 4, 2023 5:17:08 GMT
"Phony psychics have always been particularly drawn to inserting themselves into criminal cases because when they're right, they're lauded as heroes." Albedo commented.
He wasn't at all put out by everyone's disapproval of his cynical approach. It was a realistic view, backed by statistics and numbers. Those were the things he knew best. He wasn't an emotional person. The emotional approach to things were as foreign to him as teaching some of his fellow students coding. Zelda excluded, he doubted any of them were as technical minded as he was.
"Well, I think, that if the police were in a desperate situation, they might have taken any help they could get," Ruby said. "Like... the tip hotlines! Where people call in with tips about bad guys."
She knew the police had their hearts in the right place. They had done whatever they could to get the crimes solved. And if they were backed into corners, with high profile cases, if someone offered a sliver of hope, who wouldn't try to take that leap of faith? Though her heart boiled with rage at the sorts of people who took advantage of that hope.
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Post by zuyuri on Feb 4, 2023 18:15:59 GMT
"Now be careful with tip hotlines. The individuals who give advice could have their own agendas. Is there anything wrong with tipping authorities to someone suspicious? No. But, and Mr. Kreideprinze can double check my numbers on this, 35% of claims end to be false." He bit his tongue, feeling the frustration start to boil as he recalled the personal investigation of Maria's death. No, not in front of students. Break time would be around the corner. Luckily, a thread connected when he saw his writing, and he continued his lesson. "This is where we get into what officials call 'biased based policing'," Jack scribbled that phrase on the board. "It's a decision in which everyone, super and law officials alike, make claims on their own personal experiences."
Riku raised a hand. "Is that legal? I mean, saying someone did a crime because they're in black is pretty stupid."
Jack faced the class. "No. Some people confuse it for profiling, which is legal. And while yes, factors such as clothing color is considered does blend in with the two, the difference is what I said; personal viewpoints. When an accusation is personal, then it turns into biased policing, which will get people into trouble. Your instincts could be right in that someone who has reminded you of a great uncle was the one who commited a felony, but unless there is proof other than personal experience, the leads will go unchecked."
Another hand raised slowly. This hand was from Zelda, who had opened a tab on her laptop. Her notebook was splayed in front, revealing her handwritten notes from multiple lectures. "Is it true that supers tend to be higher targets for biased policing?"
Jack pursed his lips. "Very good question. Intent usually gets muddied when it comes to us heroes. At the end of the day, it is up to us as heroes to decide how we want the public and our partners in justice to perceive our abilities. I suppose to answer that, the answer is present your best self with your powers. Some powers are more difficult than others, yes, I should know; I accidentally made a park bridge collapse from rotting the wood with my touch. No one was hurt, but it was still embarrassing explaining my mistake."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Feb 5, 2023 22:11:17 GMT
Bella hoped she wouldn't be guilty of bias thinking once she became a hero. Her nervousness made her a little suspicious of anyone new she met. She could be won over fairly quickly, but still, god forbid she end not trusting someone just because they made her a little anxious.
"They can't get too mad if it was an accident, right?" she asked when Jack mentioned some of his own mishaps in the field. "I mean, accidentally making a bridge collapse is different from, like, intentionally doing it."
"Unless some destruction is needed to stop the bad guy," Utena pointed out. "Cars and buildings tend to get destroyed a lot in these things."
"Insurance companies must have a fun time around here," Spike commented. No doubt their offices were flooded with calls anytime a monster attacked.
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Post by skyeknight on Feb 6, 2023 4:49:35 GMT
Albedo gave a slow nod. He absolutely understood what it meant for such a huge rate of police tips to be so inaccurate. Unfortunately, since it was accessible by everyone, it meant people with less than savory intent also had access to it. Making it illegal for people to report incorrect information would only prevent people from actually reporting true crimes because they would be too afraid of being punished for 'inaccuracies'.
"It's why we gotta put the bad guys down fast!" Ruby said.
To minimize damage as much as possible. Save as many lives as they could and make sure everyone made it home safely. And she just naturally liked to go fast. Her days weren't fulfilled until she had crammed as much into it as possible.
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