Posted by
IamMagnus on Friday, February 02, 2007 5:05:46 PM
I am not sure if the residents of Rhode Island will be happy with the latest bills going through the legislature when they find themselves having the thin layer of protection offered by their law enforcement being stripped thinner and thinner by PC politicos.
I recently saw an AP article about a bill being introduced into the state legislature after pressure was brought to bear by the ACLU after several traffic stops by police came under ACLU and media scrutiny.
The bill, if passed, would prohibit police from asking passengers of a car for
identification after a traffic stop unless criminal activity is
suspected, would require police to document in writing their grounds for
searching a vehicle, and bar officers from asking a person about their immigration status except in limited circumstances.
I am the first to state that racial profiling is wrong and should not be used as probable cause for a traffic stop or a detention. Their is a nasty but useful tool in law enforcement called a "pretextual traffic stop". This is when officers use a traffic offense or violation is used to justify a stop so that an investigation can follow into other possible avenues of criminal activity. The practice is completely legal and a needed tool for law enforcement. Once an officer has a lawful reason for the stop and detention, the officer can use the most effective profiling tool at his disposal, behavioral profiling.
I have no doubt that officers in Rhode Island are doing pretextual stops if they are doing their jobs and the citizens of Rhode Island should applaud them for it. There have been some notable arrests made after traffic stops that began as traffic violations and grew to much more important arrests, most notable to me are Ted Bundy and Timothy McVeigh.
Courts throughout the country are trying to tie the hands of law enforcement to conduct field interviews and investigations after traffic offense based stops. Police officers use traffic stops as the key to open the door to investigate much bigger crimes. When officers are no longer able to use traffic stops to investigate occupants and conduct reasonable and legal searches bases on facts and circumstances at the scene, we all lose our ability to move about safely and freely as those who choose to commit crimes and lead lives that are violent and dangerous have a state issued pass to prey freely on all of us on the roadways.
Officers on the street are having their hands tied by legislatures who are selling out our security for assurances they are being thoughtful and not allowing officers to "victimize" the minorities of Rhode Island. I believe the ACLU and other minority based groups are using rare incidents to justify a policy that holds us all hostage to political correctness and the idea that our laws and rights are equal to a suicide pact.
Residents of Rhode Island should stand behind the police and refuse to surrender to the PC politicos who are selling us all out.
Read the article and post your own comments....