Texas is one of fewer than a dozen states that prohibits warrantless searches of motorists. Random roadblocks have been unlawful since a 1994 state appeals court decision ruled that they must be pre-approved by a “politically accountable governing body at the state level.” Thanks in part to pressure from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is now considering the Texas Public Safety Commission’s written request to approve random roadblocks under its own authority. (Note the politically-shaded euphemism “drivers license checkpoint.”) This is the same august body in front of which a twenty-seven year veteran of the state police testified about drunk driving (DWI) arrest quotas. “Some of the troopers that have earned vacation and putting in requests for vacation are being told that their vacation request will not be considered unless they are getting a certain amount of DWIs,” retired Trooper Coy Lorance told the quango. [click here for the full story from TheNewspaper.com]
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And we slip ever more into a police state, much like East Germany – but bigger.
Thank God I live in a bastion of freedom and government accountability like NJ.
**weep**
These checkpoints are worthless. I can’t have any guests for Thanksgiving because the police block off the major road to my house with a massively long wait. Of course, I live in the People’s Republic of California.
As I said before, about a friend of mine who was cop. They always wanted him to write more tickets, but they could not tell him how many. No matter how many felony arrests he produced.
As I said earlier, it comes down to money (not public safety).
Airhen, when you post things like that, it only proves that you don’t care about the children…
The “random” DUI checkpoints routinely held around Pittsburgh PA usually net about 10 DUI’s per 1300 drivers stopped, with an “additional” 5-or-so “drug busts”.
Taking the numbers, that’s 1.2%.
I dunno – are they really doing anything to help the problem (i.e. reducing deaths caused by drunk drivers), or just eroding civil rights with little positive effect?
I’m more concerned about the time they waste on the 98% of drivers they stop who have done NOTHING wrong.
THAT…is a kick-ass picture!
“Some of the troopers that have earned vacation and putting in requests for vacation are being told that their vacation request will not be considered unless they are getting a certain amount of DWIs…”
So THAT’S why that troopie was buying me drinks all night long…
And here I thought he liked me. :(
Interesting. I’ve lived all my life in a land where the police can stop and search any car for no reason, and no-one has ever considered it a “threat to civil liberties” or such. I guess that’s what you get for living in a social democratic welfare state.
The high price of gasoline has had a salutory effect on the local police state….
They have had to make draconian cuts in patrols so instead of seeing four cops per mile, sometimes you dont see any.
Amazingly, I still feel safe
Change!
Outdated notions of probable cause, and prohibitions against unreasonable searches are so last century. Aside from that driving is a privilege, not a right, even though the roads are an asset held and paid for by the public. Detaining people, when time is money, is not not actual theft from individuals without compensation.
It’s a good thing the we won the cold war, otherwise those commies would have checkpoints to ensure that you had your traveling papers. Erosion of freedom could never happen in the good ole USA, not as long as that Lee Greenwood song plays over the 4th of July. True patriots would never stand for such a thing.
Aside from all that, we shouldn’t be using our cars anyway, we should be using the freely available public transportation which makes all of the US quickly and conveniently accessible. Remember, buses and trains aren’t subject to time wasting searches, and as a bonus, they don’t produce any pollution either.