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[Thalassamania]

Call it racial profiling if you want, but the bottom line is, college age blacks were attending an event and caused a lot of damage. To protect the citizens and the property, the police decided to proactively attack the problem. It would seem prudent to stop groups of black college age people in the area...stopping white college age people would be rather counter productive. I realize there are fine lines and profiling can be taken to far, but there are times...and these seems like one of them, where profiling was a legimate tactic. It's no different than stopping all the fat white guys in pickup trucks to try to prevent a clan rally.

Racial profiling is illegal, so is stopping someone from attending a Klan rally.

 

[Cacia]

being fat is about to be against the law

HEY the FBI goes to clan ralleys to protect their civil rights, i think

 

[TJcop]

While everyone is making good points, let's steer this thread back on track.

My intent (over 2 years ago!) was for this to be an area for you to ask police/legal/related questions. Funny questions are great too (donuts, coffee, etc). But, let's try to keep it to questions and brief, related responses.

Thanks guys!

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

so racial profiling is ok when it makes everyone else feel better? w.t.f?


as for the Klan, being fat, white and ignorant isn't against the law either (even if I don't agree with the KKK organization).

It's not about making people feel better, it's about protecting citizens and property. Everyone profiles based on race, gender, age, etc every day of their life. Stopping an old grey haired grandmother heading downtown isn't going to protect the citizens and property and despite the dirty word it has become, that's what profiling is, targeting individuals who meet a certain description or type that has the highest probability of being an issue. If they did it every day, that would be misuse, doing on the days that the party is scheduled, that's prudent police work.

It may not be illegal to be fat white and ignorant but if there is a klan rally planned for Sat and the mayor has refused them a permit, being a fat white male in a pickup heading for downtown on Sat is probable cause.

 

[Cacia]

If you see an officer with someone pulled over on the side are you supposed to change to the far lane?

 

[TJcop]

If you see an officer with someone pulled over on the side are you supposed to change to the far lanes?

In the state I live in, Wisconsin, you MUST move over/slow down for police, road crews and other equipment along the side of the road. This is something we HIGHLY enforce as it is so dangerous.

 

[pafindr]

I spend my life remembering references in my field and a whole passel of allied disciplines, I hope I may be excused for not committing to memory something that I looked at once in passing. In point of fact using nothing more than the information I provided I was able to find the report I was thinkin about as wall as a whole buch of others, almost all of which contain something like:

Although statistical data is limited, there is some evidence to indicate that in certain areas minority drivers are stopped more often than whites. Harris (1997) found that for a three year period in the late 1980s, of 1,100 videotaped traffic stops on I-95 in Volusia County, Florida, more than 70% of the drivers stopped were either African-American or Hispanic even though these groups comprised only 5% of the drivers on this highway. Even though only 9 of the 1,100 stops received a ticket, 80% of about 500 searches involved African-American or Hispanic drivers and these groups were also detained on the average twice as long as whites. Harris (1997) also reported that 75% of the 732 motor vehicle searches conducted by the Maryland State Police from January 1995 through June 1996 were with African-American motorists.​

Thank you for the stats. You know 57% of stats are made up so I like to see them when they are quoted.

I love it when people would rather trash someone than use many less keystroke and google ...

I wasn't trashing you and I'm not the one that should do the work if you are the one making the quote

it tells you so much about their underlying personal agendas.

Yup, EVERYONE has an agenda just because you don't like mine doesn't mean it's bad.

 

[mike_s]

we have a situation where we live that has really grown in past years.

The influx of illegal hispanic immigrants into the area.


The issue is that most of them don't have drivers licenses, which is required to get auto insurance and to register a vehicle (and pay taxes on the vehicle). So most of them un-insured and aren't paying their auto taxes.

So if they are in an traffic accident or caught speeding or DUI, then police could only write them a ticket or arrest for DUI. Since they don't have a drivers license and have no real proof of who they were and often living under fake papers, basically the tickets were worthless and cops wouldn't even bother ticketing them because they would never pay the tickets or show up for court for speeding fines.

of course other than hispanics were doing this, but they seemed to be the main offenders.

The city passed a new ordinance that allowed the officer to tow the vehicle if the driver didn't have a drivers license (or be verified they had one if they weren't carrying it).

They towed 100 cars easily the first month, and about that the next few months.

the end result was safer roads as it took people without drivers licenses off the roads. (including whites, blacks, hispanics, other).

in following months, police reported a 20% to 30% decrease in working accidents because of this.

 

[TJcop]

Mike: We also have a good amount of illegal aliens in my area (not just hispanic). Unfortunately, unless they are on a terrorist list/watch, we have been told flat-out not to notify immigration or take an other action. The best I can do is arrest/cite them like anyone else. However, I won't just say "fuggadaboutit" just because they might be using false names. It's very likely they will continue to use the false name/info and it will fall back on them.

 

[mike_s]

It's not about making people feel better, it's about protecting citizens and property. Everyone profiles based on race, gender, age, etc every day of their life. Stopping an old grey haired grandmother heading downtown isn't going to protect the citizens and property and despite the dirty word it has become, that's what profiling is, targeting individuals who meet a certain description or type that has the highest probability of being an issue. If they did it every day, that would be misuse, doing on the days that the party is scheduled, that's prudent police work.

It may not be illegal to be fat white and ignorant but if there is a klan rally planned for Sat and the mayor has refused them a permit, being a fat white male in a pickup heading for downtown on Sat is probable cause.

in the US though, being a dumb-ass in the Klan is still protected as free speech.

I don't agree with their hate group tatics and have seen the problems that they sometimes cause, but they still have a right in the US to be that stupid. (yeah I know it's not right sometimes, but heck...)


I live in the south and ocassionaly the Clan comes to town and wants to rally. to prevent the occurance of this happing all the time, we have an ordinance requiring any large gathering like that to have a parade permit, which is approved by the chief of police. They also only allow one permit per day to be issues to keep some group against the first group from having it's own parade at the same time. so far it's working...

Ironically, until recently we've had a black police chief who approved them. (and he does approve the permits). go figure.

they even let them do it 'on the courthouse steps'. why? because it keeps the idiot from doing it in our large public parks and reduces the amount of people affected by it.

so for the most part these idiots get up there and rant and no one else has to listen to their stupidity.

If you see an officer with someone pulled over on the side are you supposed to change to the far lane?

we have that law in our state. I think it's a good law. it give an extra margin of safety to everyone, including the officer, the person he pulls over and anyone driving by in traffic.