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courtjester · 05-25-2014, 07:56 PM

I got no problem with having big brother watching....as long as he and his department pay up if they screw up. I know what my rights are and as a cop, you better know as well. I pay a price if I mess up and so should you if you do as well. Trouble is, there aren't many law officers that agree with that. Most have all sorts of excuses, but in the end, they want a free pass if they make a mistake...just like I wish I could at times. It is, or should bre, a two way street.

GaryKD · 05-26-2014, 07:16 AM

Power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts. As long as humans try to enforce their version of the law on other humans there will be a predator and a victim. Over time the predator is not always the criminal.

Mekanic · 05-26-2014, 12:51 PM

I have seen traffic cameras done right. Kinda rare but I have seen it.

There is a section of US route 60 in western WV. that has cameras at EVERY intersection.
No they are NOT red light cameras
No they are not Speed Cameras
They do have a flood light or/Flash to capture Red light runners.
But the state/city of Huntington is only using them to reference who had what light when there is a traffic Crash.
These have been up for about 3 years, And I've never heard about anyone who has "got a ticket in the mail"

I'm fine with cameras used in this manner.
Speed cameras are a waste of resources, They need outlawed.

I used to go though a dozen of these intersections on my way to work.

chasfm11 · 06-03-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaryKD

Power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts. As long as humans try to enforce their version of the law on other humans there will be a predator and a victim. Over time the predator is not always the criminal.

I think that you meant that the victim is not always a criminal. I agree with that.

I have mixed feelings about automated enforcement. I certainly like the idea of automated detection of wanted criminals. Too often, law enforcement resources seem to be applied in many areas besides catching bad guys and getting them off the streets. The latter part of that assumes that they are caught with enough valid evidence to assure a successful prosecution.

As one of the posters quoted from a LE offical, all of us mess up and if we were followed long enough, we would all be guilty. That is because, in my view, there are way too many things to be guilty of, not because we are all incipient law breakers. We can only hope that whatever computer data base is behind automatic detections has enough integrity to avoid targeting innocent people. In Texas, we've had a spate of otherwise innocent people targeted inadvertently because of mistakes in addresses and data base information. We certainly don't need those sorts of things automated. If the stores can do a reasonably good job of matching the prices of items on the shelves with what computer in the checkout lane says, law enforcement computers should be carefully controlled and constantly checked for the quality of their data.

sirpurrcival · 06-04-2014, 01:03 AM

I guess the reality is that if you are out in public, you really don't have much of an expectation of privacy. Between all the store security systems, traffic light camera's, toll readers, OnStar (if applicable), credit and debit card transactions, cell phone calls and tower pings, most of what you have done in a particular day and where you have been is already in hands of others. Having Law Enforcement Technologies take notice of you as you go by is hardly going to add to that which is already available and on balance, if I had a choice, I would probably more ok with that than the Phone company being able to track my wherabouts throughout the course of the day by my cell phone.

Bigd9 · 06-04-2014, 06:11 AM

My original post was a comment on the absolute amazing advances in technology these days! When my grand kids are discussing "what I want to be when I grow up" I just shake my head at the possibilities. Just look at the unmanned drone technology that has exploded in the last few years. Even policing agencies are using these eyes in the skies. You can fly an airplane and not even leave your office! Driver-less cars are just around the corner, how do you feel about that? GPS so accurate it can locate you within 10 feet of any spot on this great big old earth, and probably within inches if you use the military version.

I have been driving for almost 50 years now, and I have only been harried by the police once in all that time. That was in 1968 when a car full of us "hippies" were driving home from college between Tennessee and New Jersey. It was dusk, and we got pulled over just as we entered a small Tennessee town. The officer, after checking ID's let us go with a warning "get haircuts before y'all come back through my state hear me". I laugh at that now.

One last comment before I go back to my breakfast with the good feeling I am safe because of the man/woman in blue; I work with all policing agencies from the small towns cops to the alphabet soup of agencies like FBI, ICE, Secret Service, military and private “cops”. I can assure each and every one of you, these gals and guys are, for the most part, the greatest dedicated servants you can have looking over you. Sure there is going to be a bad apple once in a while, but don't paint the entire policing agencies with a broad brush of distaste.

Well, that is my opinion and I am entitled to express it because of the laws in this great country.