They can confiscate your cash if you’re carrying “too much” because, obviously, only drug dealers carry cash. Your laptop, iPod and other electronics can be confiscated at the border because you might have illegally downloaded music or videos. Remember the days when it was only cops in Northern Mexican towns shaking people down for bribes and you thought, that could never happen here?
Sobriety checkpoints in California are increasingly turning into profitable operations for local police departments—operations that are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed motorists than catch drunk drivers. An investigation by the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley with California Watch has found that impounds at checkpoints in 2009 generated an estimated $40 million in towing fees and police fines—revenue that cities divide with towing firms. In addition, police officers received about $30 million in overtime pay for the DUI crackdowns, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
In dozens of interviews over the past three months, law enforcement officials and tow truck operators say that vehicles are predominantly taken from minority drivers, often illegal immigrants. In the course of its examination, the Investigative Reporting Program reviewed hundreds of pages of city financial records and police reports, and analyzed data documenting the results from every checkpoint that received state funding during the past two years. Among the findings:
• Sobriety checkpoints frequently screen traffic within, or near, Hispanic neighborhoods.
• The seizures appear to defy a 2005 federal appellate court ruling that determined police cannot impound cars solely because the driver is unlicensed.
• Departments frequently overstaff checkpoints with officers, all earning overtime.
Steve S. – Given the ruling in United States v. Martinez-Fuerte(1976) these checkpoints are allowed despite the given scope of the checkpoint. I agree this may need to be reviewed and possibly this will occur if a good case comes forward given the new makeup of the Court.
back in 03 I got caught in one of those checkpoints, they pulled me over the side and another cop asked me where my license was, said i lost it but I had University ID + vehicle registration and I knew my ID number by heart. Gave him my ID number and he called it in, 1 min later I was on my way.
these checkpoints are these to catch drunks, illegals, or people wit suspend licenses and I have no sympathy for them.
Easy fix… Make it a law that impound fees are paid for by the law enforcement agency for the first 7 days. Any other vehicle code infractions are fair game through the court system. So if the owner shows up with a license or licensed driver (+ insurance) to pick up the next day, then no harm no foul except for the ticket to the driver. Tow companies are some of the worst highwaymen ever known. Making the cops pay the upfront will make them think twice before impounding a car.
Papers Please!
I’m zorry zir, your papers are not in order! You will have to come with me!
# 23 Nick:
“[...] Tow companies are some of the worst highwaymen ever known. [...]”
True; they are even more corrupt than the Mafia-owned trash hauling companies. When the cops and courts get in bed with the towing companies, look out! Whoever you are, your odds of losing your car just went up twenty-fold overnight.
How many of the cars they are impounding are worth as much as the impound fee? They might as well just flat out take them, the effect is the same.
Becoming? I thought that was the ENTIRE idea of these.
Keep the check points going ! Great idea.
Reading between the lines of this poorly researched and poorly written report clearly illustrates what every California citizen with a legal license already knows:
That the majority of illegally driving drunk drivers, illegally unlicensed drivers, illegally driven unregistered vehicles, stolen vehicles etc…. in California are Hispanics, and a whole lot of those are Hispanic illegal aliens.
And that is true, no matter what the percentage of Hispanics in whatever California city or town.
This is not news to any California drivers.
That illegal aliens (Hispanic or other) are unlicensed, driving illegally, and driving unregistered & uninsured vehicles (also against the law), are often caught up in the checkpoints is not surprising to any California drivers either.
Raise your hand if your car has ever been hit by an unlicensed illegal alien driving an unregistered, uninsured vehicle in this state.
My hand is up, and I can guarantee that there are thousands of other legal licensed drivers in this state with their hand raised right now.
Who paid for our damages? WE DID.
How many of the impounded vehicles were unlicensed? unregistered?
How many were uninsured?
How many were stolen?
How many of the drivers carried stolen, and fraudulent IDs?
How many had warrants for prior crimes?
No data is included.
The researchers did not find that relevant information?
Or they did not include it, because it does not justify their objective? To skew data, to hide facts in order to paint a picture that is untrue, in order to make a statement about the way in which specifically Hispanic illegal aliens are handled by local police departments in our state. As if they are handled badly, when they are not.
Most cities and towns in southern California (if not the entire state) have a high percentage of Hispanics (30% or more), because Hispanics are not a “minority” in this state (although Hispanic advocacy groups would like to continue with that farce, to hijack as much minority funding from the state coffers, as long as they can).
So of course more Hispanics are going to be stopped in most cities, simply because there are more of them.
Most illegal aliens in California are Hispanic.
The fraudulent attempt by this piece to make it appear that Hispanic illegal aliens are being unfairly singled out is a sham.
Illegal aliens do not have any “right” to enter the USA illegally, or to overstay a visa. They do not have the “right” to live here illegally, they do not have the “right” to work here.
Illegal aliens do not have the “right” to drive in this state.
NOBODY has the right to drive without a legal license, without a legal, current vehicle registration, and without current insurance, and that INCLUDES illegal aliens (Hispanic or not).
Judging from the slant of this piece of propaganda, the researchers and/or “reporter” seem to think that Hispanic illegal aliens should get some special privilege, be treated “special”, in fact be treated BETTER than legal, law abiding citizens are treated.
You could not be more wrong.
I don’t care how many vehicles are impounded from illegally driving illegal aliens (Hispanic or other).
I would like to see them all OFF the roadways.
In fact, I really wish the police would start calling ICE in to pick up all of those (Hispanic or not) illegal aliens who are caught violating yet another law, to get them deported as soon as possible, before that unlicensed illegal alien gets behind the wheel of yet another unregistered, uninsured car, and hurtles down the highway, drunk again, to harm another law abiding citizen (Hispanic or not).
Get the picture?
We got a load of the one this bogus “research” (propaganda) is pushing, and we aren’t buying it.
“”"We should never drink and drive, but I still like to know where checkpoints
will be in Orange County, San Diego, and LA. I may use calcheckpoint
(www.twitter.com/calcheckpoint) to find out where they are.”"”