View Full Version : Gone Fishing: These Cops Have Setup a Revenue Collection Trap Like No Other



Achilleslastand
07-06-2014, 12:31 PM
Gone Fishing: These Cops Have Setup a Revenue Collection Trap Like No Other | The Free Thought Project (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fishing-cops-setup-revenue-collection-trap/)


A video uploaded to facebook Monday shows what low levels police will sink to in order to generate revenue.

The Somerville Police Department has devised an ingenious method for catching dangerous criminals.

It is against the law to enter a crosswalk while there is someone crossing the road.

Obviously a driver can drive through a crosswalk while simultaneously remaining cautious and being aware of pedestrians. But where would all this extra revenue come from?

Somerville police are using undercover crosswalkers to set up questionable traps at crosswalks throughout the town.


The undercover just walks back and forth in the crosswalk all day long, while the unit pulls over the unsuspecting “criminals” to issue a citation.

What do you think? Is this really protecting and serving?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGZd1AbSMfQ

Dennis Heaton
07-06-2014, 12:58 PM
Well, it does appear to be a "problem area" that maybe some concerned citizen may have called the City about. I don't see a problem with this.

I do wish the Police Department could drive through the various parking lots around town (including apartment complexes) and ticket all the cars with expired tags. And if they are more than a year old...have it towed and impounded.

kevinpate
07-06-2014, 02:13 PM
I can think of two different spots on Robinson in Norman that when traffic gets out of hand speed wise at times. The police will line up three deep for radar enforcement / stops.
Well, they try to do so. Folks ignore the posted limit to such a degree it can be a real challenge for the officers to keep even one car in wait mode for very long, let alone get all three in place to just sit and wait. And in truth if they had the manpower to do it permanently, they'd stay busy permanently. Robinson isn't the only place in Norman that has the issue of spped limits being casual suggestions, but it is one of the few places I see triple tag team action.

gjl
07-06-2014, 02:37 PM
Seems the cop went through the cross walk while the pedestrian was in it. I think this would call for a ....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9efgLHgsBmM&feature=kp

Dennis Heaton
07-06-2014, 02:47 PM
Seems the cop went through the cross walk while the pedestrian was in it. I think this would call for a ....

One of my all time favs!

rezman
07-06-2014, 07:42 PM
Well, it does appear to be a "problem area" that maybe some concerned citizen may have called the City about. I don't see a problem with this.

I do wish the Police Department could drive through the various parking lots around town (including apartment complexes) and ticket all the cars with expired tags. And if they are more than a year old...have it towed and impounded.

The police already have that capability in the form of scanners mounted on the outside of the patrol cars, that allow the police to drive through parking lots, residential side streets, or even just sitting at a red light... and can scan visible liscense tag around them. I've seen Edmond PD with them, and OKC and other area PDs may have them as well. They look like flat boxes, about 1-1/2" thick x 6" wide x 4" deep, mounted on both sides of the patrol car, either on the roof or rear deck lid, pointed forward and at a 30 to 45 degree angle to the patrol car.

kelroy55
07-07-2014, 06:53 AM
Somerville police are using undercover crosswalkers to set up questionable traps at crosswalks throughout the town.


The undercover just walks back and forth in the crosswalk all day long, while the unit pulls over the unsuspecting “criminals” to issue a citation.

What do you think? Is this really protecting and serving?

Do you know if the area has had problems with drivers and the safty of people in the crosswalk?

Is it a low level to protect the pedestrians if drivers are ignoring the law and being unsafe? Massachusetts law states that 'the driver of a vehicle shall yield right of way... to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk.' I think that most of the time the police are assigned to problem areas and this sounds like it was becoming one. I doubt the police would want to use civillian to go back and forth across the road in order to catch careless drivers so the idea of using an "undercover crosswalkers " is a good one. If this was being ignored by drivers and putting people's lives at risk then it should be done. If the police knew this was a problem and did nothing and somebody was killed the same outlets whining about this would be screaming because the police failed to do anything about it.

cagoklahoma
07-07-2014, 07:25 AM
It won't take very long for drivers to understand the law and that it is being enforced and then the crosswalks become safer for pedestrians. Seems like a win/win. You could rename this thread
“Police Support Pedestrian Safety Awareness Campaign.” Good for them, now if we could get OCPD to enforce the bike lanes being for bikes and not cars.

mkjeeves
07-07-2014, 07:57 AM
Cops thought this up, not someone concerned about education. It would be better as an educational tool to put up signs like they have around the health complex off 13th and Lincoln saying something like "State Law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians in identified crosswalks." Most drivers should know this but depending on where they drive, might not see crosswalks all that often and have forgotten from whenever they read the laws to get licensed.

bombermwc
07-07-2014, 08:21 AM
I've seen similar set ups in other cities with higher pedestrian traffic. In fact, I've been in a car pulled over for just that (although I wasn't driving). We were just given a verbal warning since we were just visitors (this was in NOLA). But part of the problem with this is that people aren't aware that in pretty much any city, this is the law. Unfortunately, drivers aren't well educated about it. And most drivers feel they are larger, so they should be the ones in the right and that the walkers should get out of their way. The law says its the other way around :) Sometimes this type of "trap" is the only way to get the drivers that frequent the area to acknowledge and follow the law. For many, it's their first introduction to that law (outside of drivers ed 30 years ago).

I know it can feel like a bad trap, and I'm not so sure that I agree with the use of an undercover officer to lure people into it. But in general, I would agree with pulling them over if it were done in the real world. It 100% falls into the trap game when they're trying to get people to break the law and sure smells like a revenue stream generator to me. It would have been better to park and wait for it to happen. If it really IS an issue in that area, then they won't have to wait long for it to happen.

Jim Kyle
07-07-2014, 08:23 AM
I do wish the Police Department could drive through the various parking lots around town (including apartment complexes) and ticket all the cars with expired tags. And if they are more than a year old...have it towed and impounded.My gripe in this area is the lack of enforcement on paper tags I see on "newly purchased" cars. Since the necessary paperwork to get a real tag often doesn't arrive from the dealer for more than 30 days, I have no problem with giving people an extra month to register -- although I think it would be better to change the time period from 30 to 45 or even 60 days -- but I've seen a few that are more than a full year past their expiration date!

Dennis Heaton
07-07-2014, 08:32 AM
My gripe in this area is the lack of enforcement on paper tags I see on "newly purchased" cars. Since the necessary paperwork to get a real tag often doesn't arrive from the dealer for more than 30 days, I have no problem with giving people an extra month to register -- although I think it would be better to change the time period from 30 to 45 or even 60 days -- but I've seen a few that are more than a full year past their expiration date!

I agree with that! I have seen this sooooooooo abused. I am not sure what the law states about "Used Car Dealers" (this particular dealer is in Edmond) notifying DPS when the dealer issues a Paper Tag...but when I see a neighbor getting a NEW Paper Tag from month to month to month to month...I just gotta wonder?????

kelroy55
07-07-2014, 08:40 AM
Cops thought this up, not someone concerned about education. It would be better as an educational tool to put up signs like they have around the health complex off 13th and Lincoln saying something like "State Law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians in identified crosswalks." Most drivers should know this but depending on where they drive, might not see crosswalks all that often and have forgotten from whenever they read the laws to get licensed.

It seems the crosswalk area is clear to see with bright yellow crosswalk signs and the white painted area on the road, do you think another sign will help? Also isn't in the drivers manual that you should stop for people in crosswalks?

RadicalModerate
07-07-2014, 08:51 AM
The Nazis tried this in Berlin not long after they took power. The only cars they didn't ticket were Volkswagens. Apparently it was a ploy to increase sales of The People's Car.

Just the facts
07-07-2014, 08:58 AM
Gone Fishing: These Cops Have Setup a Revenue Collection Trap Like No Other | The Free Thought Project (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/fishing-cops-setup-revenue-collection-trap/)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGZd1AbSMfQ

You know what would be even better - a round-a-bout or traffic circle that would be safer for pedestrians, safer for drivers, AND slow traffic down. Alas, that would be an actual solution and for the most part we don't invest in solutions in this country. There is too much money to be by keeping the problem going.