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Posted on 10/16/2013 3:05:30 AM PDT by markomalley
Dear John: If you were hoping to have a quick "date" with the woman standing on the street corner in Sanford, you may want to think again.
Starting this week, the Sanford Police Department will send "Dear John" letters to registered owners of vehicles spotted lingering in areas known for prostitution.
(snip)
Sanford police said Monday that letters will only be generated when an officer is confident the driver is circling the block looking for a prostitute, and not, for example, driving around lost.
Automated license-plate readers placed on patrol vehicles will be used to capture images of the suspect vehicles, police spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said.
(snip)
Police agencies in Baltimore and Oakland, Calif., are among those that send out "Dear John" letters.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.orlandosentinel.com ...
 Click on the thumbnail above to see a sample letter |
So they are using those automated plate readers to track the movements of citizens...advertised initially to be able to more easily track criminals, they will be used to track people who are in the wrong place.
I love this: Sanford police said Monday that letters will only be generated when an officer is confident the driver is circling the block looking for a prostitute, and not, for example, driving around lost.
No definition of what makes an officer "confident" -- just the standard, "trust us, we're the government and we're here to help" line.
How would you like to be the happy recipient of a letter like that? Or...how would you like to respond to your wife when she opens up such a letter?
I know, there's plenty of you who will say, "if you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about..."
I remember back a long time ago when this country used to be the bastion of freedom and where you were innocent until proven guilty. I wonder what ever happened to that country.
Sounds something akin to Pre-Crime from the movie Minority Report. Can’t wait to see the first law suit!
Mel
Many years ago, think it was the early 60’s..United Airlines had a promotion, “Take Me Along.” (featuring he very catchy title song from the Broadway Musical) If a businessman bought a round trip first class ticket, he got a free ticket for his wife..IOW “Take her Along”..it was a very successful campaign..generated lots of business...until some idiot in the PR department came up with the brilliant idea of sending a little gift and note home to the wives..hoping that they enjoyed their little min-vacation, and that’d they fly United again. So imagine what happened when several corporate CEOs came home and found their wives demanding an explanation. The campaign ended, there were lawsuits..several people got fired, and several divorces resulted..
Newark NJ used to publish the names of people caught soliciting prostitutes in an attempt to deter the “Johns”; combined with a poster campaign in which large posters in those areas proclaimed “Sex with an infected prostitute can give you AIDS”, it seemed to have moved it deeper underground. It used to be very open at some intersections; now I rarely see them.
Notice this from the top of the letter:
You’re Vehicles License Plate: YF2VV
They can’t even get the basics right on this letter. It should read:
Your Vehicle’s License Plate: YF2VV
Or, unless it's the end of the month and a quota needs to be met.
Will there be signs?
WARNING!
Entering Prostitution Zone
Do not linger
Leaving Prostitution Zone
Resume Lingering
So I go to the repair shop and pick up a part for my whirlpool range. It is in an area frequented by hookers. And my house is mailed a notice saying I was most likely frequenting prostitutes and my wife read this?
LAWSUIT? Heck this town is looking at losing their shirt.
Dad was a cop at the 41st precinct in Bronx. Fort Apache it was called. . It was on Simpson street. The hookers plied their trade right there. Because it was safe from violence cause the cop shop was there to protect them
Can’t wait for the first lawsuits on this one.... How many innocent men are gonna get hauled into divorce court over this?
One of the various types of car mounted readers below. You will also see them mounted to fixed positions on street corners in urban areas.
yeah the cops have to have something to do while they are ignoring all the people murdering each other
What, did they run out of dogs to shoot?
Back in the day, many moons ago...I was a sales rep for a soft drink company...part of my territory was an area were the “ladies” plyed their trade...I got to know many of them by name because they would always ask me if I wanted some “sugar” and we would banter back and forth when I stopped in the retail businesses...
I’d probably would have generated a dozen “Dear John” letters every month...
...and no I didn’t ever get hooked up...I like being disease free..!!!
Didn’t Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia do something similar, in NYC, back in the 1930’s?.
A little computer work and internet search can provide letters to city officials, police officials, police officer, and the paper boy. Just a funny thought.
innocent until proven guilty. I wonder what ever happened to that country.
It’s called hope and change.
So the intent here is to punish someone for NOT committing a crime?
What business is it of the government if you drive around in circles for a half hour?
Some enterprising lawyer will set these stupid ass cops up. Just wait......
Ok, serious question about these "automated" plate readers. So the officer supposedly sees behavior and then what, triggers the system? Or is the system on and reading and recording all plates all the time? Isn't there a concern about unreasonable search and seizure (of information) associated with grabbing all plates?
Makes one think of going down there intentionally just to be able to sue them.
Just clear the plan with the wife, first, though.
I’ve read that you can coat your license plate with a clear coat of flat enamel and foil the reader. Looks the same to the naked eye
Same principle as the red light cameras. Several companies sell plate cover that allow human eye viewing of the plate but block photo / mechanical reading of it.
“innocent until proven guilty.”
I’ve always hated those words.
It should read, “innocent UNLESS proven guilty.”
The word “until” makes it sound like a guilty verdict is a forgone conclusion, like a kangaroo court.
I like the suggestion of another poster. It wouldn’t take much research at all to make sure that every person listed on that letter gets a letter.
That is a GREAT idea. Ha!!
Our schools no longer teach the English language, possibly because the teachers were never taught it. Errors such as you cite are incredibly common now, even on FR. Most recent “journalism” graduates would have flunked eighth grade English in my era. Have we ever before had a “president” and a “first lady” who said things in public such as “me and Michelle” or “me and Barack”? I grew up in a community where proper usage was seldom heard in speech and it never bothered me in the slightest but that crap grates on my nerves when people who are supposedly educated obviously don’t know any better. What grates on my nerves even worse than “me and John went fishing” which is the sort of thing I heard growing up is the absurd structure “Joe gave John and I some fish”, even the students who flunked English in the fifties knew that was wrong, now university graduates seem to think it is correct. When people who have sheepskins on the wall make both those errors and don’t seem to know any better it is disheartening to say the least.
I won’t even start on your and you’re, are and our, lose and loose, there, their and they’re, apostrophes in plurals etc.
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