^^^LMAO at both of you two, lol. Funny stuff...

 

+1, I couldn't agree with you more.

p.s. I'm scared of the way you think.

 

What's the problem here? The citizens have no power to enforce anything and the police cannot use any of that to give you a ticket now or in the future. These people are not trained law enforcement and even if they have you on tape the best they could do is use it against you in future court proceedings. That's the one nice thing about most traffic laws. the cop actually has to witness the event and give you a ticket on the spot. Red light cameras are different but they don't allow points and are not considered a criminal action, but a civil penalty.

 

I used to think so to, then on a local forum, a rider posted up about how he was stopped by a guy in a truck for a citizens arrest, they called the local police, and the guy ended up getting a ticket for failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign (he was at a softball field). He stopped, but balanced the bike so he didn't have to put his feet down. In addition, the guy in the truck didn't have any video, just his word.

 

I'm sorry, but if that ticket was not thrown out of court, then the guy who got the ticket is a mental moron. Citizens are not experts on speeding or stopping, nor are they properly trained or certified to calibrate, interpret, or operate radar equipment. If I were EVER given a ticket based on a normal citizen's word or their use of a radar, I would have that sh*t thrown out so fast it would make my CBR look like a scooter. Most tickets, even by cops, are actually surprisingly easy to beat if people just made the effort to interpret the laws and fight instead of bending over and mailing your money to the po's.

 

Shoortbuss, I know exactly what you are talking about. On another forum I used to frequent a lot there was a guy who got a ticket in his hometown in FLA. He was doing the speed limit on a 40mph street and the cops set up this sting where the cop would step off the curb onto a crosswalk (no stop sign there) and then step back up on it and the person would get pulled over if they did not stop. According to the poster the cop did this just as the poster was passing the cop and there was no way to stop yet the guy got a ticket anyway. I looked up the FLA laws and showed them to the guy. The laws were all about how a pedrestrian has to make sure it's safe to step out into the street and how the car only needs to avoid or slow depending on the time they have to act. Basically, the way the laws were written the police were acting illegally in what they were doing. Some other moron on the forum actually was advocating paying the ticket because it would have only been $100 or so. [:@][:@][:@]

 

Just a fair warning to all you cats, Citizens' Arrest is legal in a handfull of states. You'd be better off finding out if yours allows it because you'll get yourself into more trouble.

For the rest of you, "I don't see a problem," type-people, two things...

One, I used to be LE so it's kind of pointless to tell me how concnerned I should or shouldn't be, and;

Two, if you can't see the ramifications of OD handing out notebooks, pencils and radar guns to anyone who has a buddy and can dial a phone, then I don't know what to tell you.

You say at most it could only be used in court - THAT WAS MY WHOLE POINT.

No, it's highly unlikely someone could find themselves in the situation I described earlier, but it's still possible. Like I said, if you get into an accident 2 years from now in a certain area and someone gets seriously injured (i.e. not you), what would happen if the prosecuting attorney got his hands on a tid bit of information that you were observed and documented speeding in the particular area 2 years prior? You think that wouldn't play on a jury?

See, I have this off-handed type of logic in my world, it's called being held accountable for what you did, not what you've done. Everybody makes mistakes and you're telling me you've got no problem letting your little brother getting sent to the pokey because some bored broad wrote his plate down a year ago?

And we've only hit on criminal proceedings...

What happens when someone decides to use this information against someone in a civil suit? If you people thought the requirements for probable cause and prosecution were heinous - do a bit of research on the requirements of a civil suit, it'll blow yer fvcing mind.

Again, I have no problem with anyone sharing their opinion, hell that's what we're here for. But once again, if you care to comment educate yourself a bit because, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, "what's the big deal," certainly doesn't apply here.

Not to mention the whole idea just sounds like a bad start... "Local PD began issuing citizens radar guns and notepads in an effort to curb speeding in designated areas..."

Come on people, "what's the harm?" Just one more small, seemingly insignificant loss of liberty, is all. Now not only are we paying police to most often times simply frustrate us, but we're going to allow our aunts and uncles and other private citizens the right to scrutinize our actions even more.

What happens when someone find out who has been sending the po-po's information? What if it was your aunt that snet someone's plate in because she is a good person and cares about her community? What happens if someone decides to go vigilante and make a statement?

Okay, certainly I've shown that, "what's the big deal" isn't going to cut it... I see a lot of potentially bad things happening here for the sake of not much, especially when PD is quoted as saying no one will receive a ticket. I'm not saying the effort is in vein, but you've gotta ask yourself...

"What's the trade-off here?"

 

Ever notice when something is out of the governments control they send out teams of information collectors?Now obviously research is the key to understanding any, "problem," however it is far more common to obtain general information rather than information that can ultimately lead anyone to your front door.

Let's see what we could get from a plate number if we were so inclined (from a LE POV)...

All of your personal information (work, banking, SSN, income status, spending habits)
how many vehicles/residences you own
your driving habits (i.e. where you go, who you see, when you go there).

The list goes on and I may seem as if I'm a bit presumptious of what could happen, and hopefully, that's all it'll be. Supposition. But what if it isn't?

Once again, if I ran the world the law would be, "Do unto others or be banished from civilization." We've got plenty of islands in the world for folks who can't seem to cope in society. There is no reason I need Betty Jo hiding in her ****ing car with a radar gun and notepad to feel safe. Sorry, I just don't need that and furthermore I'm offended that my fellow Americans don't see their liberties being tread on... again.

What next? Toddlers in diapers with camcorders to catch playground bullies? We gonna send the offenders a note, too? Or do we send it to their parents?

 

SB,
I agree, it's BS, but the fact that he now has to take time out of his day, and go to court, to prove his innocence to someone who was not a professional, that just rubs me the wrong way.

He hasn't gone to court yet, so I'm still eating popcorn in the wings for the verdict of how it pans out.

Kid- In the states that allow citizens arrest, doesn't it break down even further into what the city laws are?

If I were king of the world.... well, I don't even think I'd be allowed to live there.

 

Kid, you are making FAR too big a deal out of this. Don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. Your last 2 posts are some of the most paranoid rambling sessions that I have ever taken witness to. You made your post, people gave their opinions, and it's like you're mad because everybody isn't up in arms like you. I don't even care to comment on your specific points raised because they are so irrational, assumptive, and paranoid that they fail to appeal to the logic of a sane person.

I mean, really....What's the harm???