Bill Would Make ‘Policing For Profit’ Ticket Schemes a Federal Civil Rights Violation

[SMS]

Yea! No more speed limits, drunk driving laws, disturbing the peace, etc. No more laws at all because they are all for raising money. Won't this be a fun place to live?
won't you feel safer? (sarcasm)

I hear you and mostly agree, but there has to be a workable middle ground.

I've read many a story about how the OCPD is short on officers yet nearly every day, for the last year or more, there has been an OCPD car running radar on the downhill side of a rural two lane road, 1/2 mile from the end of city limits. There are roughly 6 houses at that end of the street and everyone they pull over is leaving OKC city limits trying to get home from work. Hard to tell me that operation is truly serving the people of OKC and that officer's services couldn't be better used elsewhere if they are so short handed. (They've never stopped me so its not sour grapes, just an observation).

In the end, if you don't speed or violate other laws then you can't feed their revenue machine.

 

[TedKennedy]

Yea! No more speed limits, drunk driving laws, disturbing the peace, etc. No more laws at all because they are all for raising money. Won't this be a fun place to live?
won't you feel safer? (sarcasm)

You nailed it. Next thing you know, the police will start arriving after a real crime has been committed, and fill out a report.

Since most cops are really good guys, I know most of them wouldn't participate in a chicken###t revenue-raising speed trap, or elevated fines for minor violations.

 

[Blitzfike]

How about electing police chiefs? That would create an interested dicotamy.

You mean like we do County Sheriff's here in Oklahoma? I know that we were not to write "hard" tickets unless the person was doing something that really endangered the community, otherwise it was warning tickets. I always thought that re-election was the main reason for that philosophy. It did work pretty well for us. Got lots of tips on meth labs and other bad things that we wouldn't have if the populace viewed us as "the enemy".

 

[LightningCrash]

I hear you and mostly agree, but there has to be a workable middle ground.

I've read many a story about how the OCPD is short on officers yet nearly every day, for the last year or more, there has been an OCPD car running radar on the downhill side of a rural two lane road, 1/2 mile from the end of city limits. There are roughly 6 houses at that end of the street and everyone they pull over is leaving OKC city limits trying to get home from work. Hard to tell me that operation is truly serving the people of OKC and that officer's services couldn't be better used elsewhere if they are so short handed. (They've never stopped me so its not sour grapes, just an observation).

In the end, if you don't speed or violate other laws then you can't feed their revenue machine.

That would be an interesting thing to model with some sigint.

 

[SM Rider]

Half the towns in Oklahoma would dry up and blow away.

I've never understood the rationale of small rural towns to have a police force. It would seem that the county sheriff could install an annex office in those towns to deal with real crime at a lower cost. That these towns have a city police force makes it obvious that the premise is to raise revenue and nothing more. That residents even consider having a city police force in their town simply reiterates that people are for the most part stupid. Metaphorically shooting themselves in their wallets. Dumb.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

Yea! No more speed limits, drunk driving laws, disturbing the peace, etc. No more laws at all because they are all for raising money. Won't this be a fun place to live?
won't you feel safer? (sarcasm)

Didn't they make a movie like that? The "Purge" or something like that.

 

[jstaylor62]

In 2012 & 2013, nearly 80% of Valley Brook's 900K of city revenue came from their Police Department. I can't understand how abuse at level is allowed to continue.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Good!

^^^This^^^

 

[dx3]

That's the dumbest article I have ever read. Here's an idea - don't break the law. It's not like they are inventing new laws just to try to get money from you... You know the rules. Grow up. Be an adult. Follow the rules. Not rocket science.

 

[LightningCrash]

That's the dumbest article I have ever read. Here's an idea - don't break the law. It's not like they are inventing new laws just to try to get money from you... You know the rules. Grow up. Be an adult. Follow the rules. Not rocket science.

If the bill passes then I'm sure you'll be just as hard on the police departments. "Follow the law, Stringtown PD! You know the rules. Grow up. Be an adult. Follow the rules. Not rocket science."