Free Republic

Since Hurricane Ike struck — pitching much of the city into darkness — Houston police have made about 280 arrests every day. Most were for nonviolent offenses, including 388 for public intoxication and 335 for drug possession, police said. The totals actually show a decrease from pre-Ike levels, when Houston police were arresting about 370 people daily, according to department officials. "A lot of the credit goes to the visibility of the officers. We're trying to deter as much crime as we possibly can," said HPD spokesman John Cannon. Arrests for looting have dwindled. Of the 168 arrests made since...

Private companies in the US are hoping to use red light cameras and speed cameras as the basis for a nationwide surveillance network similar to one that will be active next year in the UK. Redflex and American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the top two photo enforcement providers in the US, are quietly shopping new motorist tracking options to prospective state and local government clients.... The technology would be integrated with the Australian company's existing red light camera and speed camera systems. It allows officials to keep full video records of passing motorists and their passengers, limited only by available hard...

Patrol fires 12 troopers in cheating case Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:21 AM FROM THE (CANTON) REPOSITORY CANTON -- Twelve officers accused of cheating on a certification test for a device used to gather evidence against intoxicated drivers have been fired from the State Highway Patrol. Patrol spokesman Lt. Tony Bradshaw said it's the first time in the law-enforcement agency's 75-year history that so many officers have been let go at once. The patrol said the three sergeants and eight troopers from the Canton post and one Wooster trooper cheated on a certification exam for administering breath tests to determine...

Criminal charges were dismissed Monday against Jane Balogh, the Federal Way woman who registered her dog to vote — but not without a hiccup along the way. King County District Court Judge Mariane Spearman dropped a misdemeanor charge of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, based on Balogh's completion of the terms of a plea agreement reached in September 2007. Balogh, 67, a grandmother and Army veteran, paid $240 in court costs and completed 10 hours of community service at the Tacoma Rescue Mission.

Despite the warning signs placed near West University Elementary School, two drivers were caught by surprise this morning as police began enforcing a new ordinance banning cell phone use in the school zone. Parents who were bringing children for the first day of classes praised the new law, which prohibits the use of cell phones or other electronic devices during one-hour periods in the morning and afternoon.... The ban is in effect from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Violators could be liable for a fine of up to $200 for the first offense and...

Allentown police, already busy nabbing bad guys, may soon be on the lookout for good kids too. City leaders are considering having officers ticket youngsters for ''doing something good or for the absence of doing something wrong,'' according to an administration report. Mayor Ed Pawlowski said the so-called positive ticket program could make youngsters feel more comfortable around law enforcement.

Over the past couple years, we’ve noticed a suspicious number of ticket camera editorials by the Orlando Sentinel. After looking more closely, we noticed that nearly every editorial in the Sentinel was strongly in favor of installing ticket cameras. Furthermore, we noticed that nearly every pro-camera article was written by one member of the Sentinel’s Editorial Board, George Diaz.This seemed odd, so we decided to look into it further.After some quick research, we discovered that George Diaz appeared at a symposium held by The National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running in late 2007.As we covered on this blog previously,...

We don't need government to regulate everything. San Francisco - Ever-perceived by the rest of the nation as perched on the fringe of rationality, San Francisco is about to flip its lid once again. The lid's color, if it's any comfort, is green – as in one of the three recycling bins into which its residents will be forced to sort their food waste. The consequences for the unwilling, if the mayor has his way? Fines up to $1,000 from the garbage police. I kid you not. Mayor Gavin Newsom is taking the leap from voluntary environmental engagement to an...

Jon Tennett loves to tinker in his garage. It's not an uncommon pastime for an 81-year-old man, but what is unusual is the city's response. Because Tennett fixes his neighbours' lawn mowers and other small machines, the City of Pickering has charged him with operating an illegal business - even though he's never charged a penny for his work. "They could get a lot of revenue elsewhere than looking at an old 81-year-old man trying to keep his mind busy," he points out. On the same street, a retired nurse is facing a similar problem. Janice Saroop has a lush...

How is it possible that chronic behavioral malcontent George Miley assaulted a female police officer three weeks ago, but only ended up spending four days in jail? After all, his July 6 attack on Officer Lisa Frazer was followed by his 106th arrest since 2001. Most everyone says the system for punishing quality-of-life crimes like public drunkenness and aggressive panhandling is broken in San Francisco, but Miley seems like an extraordinary case. How can he be on the streets today? The answer is both complicated and simple: Lenient San Francisco juries, clogged courts, and judges who are more willing to...

I can't help but notice that the NYS Police, the Sheriff's, and the local town and city cops no longer walk the beat or do much "protecting" They are trained now to make their primary priority issuing minor tickets that have big fines. Offense: Cell phone use = $150 bucks They also are trained to scan your auto inspection sticker, one day out of inspection and you may pay $200. Speed traps, you name it, Police are now a profit center first and foremost, more reason for people who want to prtect themselves to purchase the guns of their choice.

55 mph is So 70s: Voters Oppose Lowering National Speed Limit Monday, July 07, 2008 A proposal to conserve energy by reducing the nationwide speed limit to 55 miles-per-hour is strongly opposed by the nation’s voters. Voters continue to prefer solutions that lead to finding more energy rather than relying upon conservation efforts. Majorities support both drilling for oil in both offshore wells and in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% of voters oppose the lower speed limit and 34% support it. Democrats are fairly evenly divided on the proposal with...

The Prince George's County Revenue Authority, its tax receipts sputtering as home prices plunge, has adopted a novel way to brake the slide. By cracking down on front lawns that resemble used-car lots and on trucks parked in residential areas, the authority reckons it can collect some of the $15 million in unpaid tickets and make neighborhoods more attractive to potential home buyers and prospective businesses. "A lot of the enforcement is for aesthetics because things are disorderly looking, but we also want to increase property values and make the community more livable," said Troy Thompson, director of parking operations...

A High Point pastor faces misdemeanor charges after being accused of soliciting sex online. Randleman police said they arrested Otis Durham outside the Wal-Mart here at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Durham, 55, is pastor of the Sandy Ridge United Methodist Church in High Point. He was charged with solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of crimes against nature and is free on a $1,000 bond. Det. R.K. Hardy said today that a Randleman woman contacted police Friday after getting an unwanted sexual solicitation online. Hardy said he posed online as the woman and arranged for a time and place to meet the...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Some cash-strapped US municipalities are resorting to slapping fuel surcharges onto tickets issued to speeding drivers in order to fill dwindling city coffers hit hard by skyrocketing gas prices. Beginning July 1, the Georgia town of Holly Springs, near the city of Atlanta, will add a surcharge of 12 dollars for each moving violation as a means to avert a budget deficit brought on by high fuel prices. "It's a creative and innovative idea of our police chief," said Holly CothranDrake, spokeswoman of the city administration which on Wednesday received queries from several American municipalities that are...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York state Legislature has given final passage to a bill that would charge $250 for pet owners who don't pick up after their dogs in some parts of the state. That would more than double the current fine. Dog owners currently have to pay $100 if they don't pick up the poop. The change would apply to the five boroughs of New York City, Albany and Yonkers. The Assembly passed the bill Wednesday and the Senate had already passed it. A spokesman for Gov. David Paterson said the governor will review the measure.

Heather Squires was the designated driver. Never exactly a fun thing, but a college buddy of her husband's was driving up from Tucson to celebrate his acceptance into law school. So when her husband, Jason, asked, Heather said yes. It's not safe to be the designated driver these days, either. At Chuy's in Tempe, Heather's brother and her husband and the soon-to-be-law-school student knocked off four pitchers of beer. Everybody was having a great time. Around 9:30 p.m., they decided to head home. So they piled into Jason Squires' new pickup truck. As planned, Heather drove. They didn't get very...

The businessman was meeting with clients for lunch at Mimi's Café when he noticed the woman. Sitting a few tables over with her 4-year-old boy, she seemed groggy — yet she was drinking a mimosa. It got worse. The woman ordered a glass of white wine, then another. She was so out of it, the businessman would later write in a statement to police, that she looked ready to fall asleep at the table. When the woman paid her bill and left the restaurant, the businessman was right behind her, cell phone in hand. When she ran a stop sign...

Among the thousands of drivers who have been issued $40 fines after being nabbed by Montgomery County's new speed cameras are scores of county police officers. The difference is, many of the officers are refusing to pay. The officers are following the advice of their union, which says the citations are issued not to the driver but to the vehicle's owner -- in this case, the county. That view has rankled Police Chief J. Thomas Manger and County Council Member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg-Rockville), who chairs the Public Safety Committee. "You can't have one set of laws for police officers and...

RED LIGHT CAMERA SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND PLACEMENT FOR INTERSECTION SAFETY WEB SEMINAR Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Time: 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Eastern Credit: 1.5 PDH/.15 IACET CEU Background: Red light running is a serious safety issue at many intersections in the US and other countries. Cameras that automatically record red light violators and provide the means for issuing citations by mail have been shown to reduce the collision toll under some circumstances over the past few years. However, the success of a camera program depends upon many good decisions being made by the responsible jurisdiction and engineers. This course will...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A lawyer who watched a police officer park illegally in front of a restaurant, then wait around while his meal was prepared, issued the officer a series of citizen-initiated violations. Eric Bryant said he was sitting at the restaurant March 7 when Officer Chad Stensgaard parked his patrol car next to a no-parking sign and walked inside to wait for his food, the Portland Mercury reported Thursday. Bryant told the weekly paper that when he asked Stensgaard about his car, the officer asked Bryant: "If someone broke into your house, would you rather have the police be...

A driver nailed by a roving radar truck in San Jose is taking his case to court in hopes of getting back the money he spent on speeding tickets and increases in insurance costs for himself and others mailed fines by the city. The city killed the program that put white radar photo vans on the streets to cut down on speeding after questions were raised in 2006 about the legality of having city engineers - not cops - write citations. But that was after officials had issued about $5 million worth of tickets through the decade-old program. In 2006...

A Brooklyn, N.Y., company is marketing a breath mint that may be so curiously strong it is raising eyebrows of concerned consumers. It’s called "AntiPoleez," and is advertised as a way to eliminate bad breath caused by alcohol, tobacco and food, My FOX New York reports. Critics say the name and marketing angle could promote alcohol abuse, leading people to believe they can pass a police breath test, or encourage underage kids to drink alcohol and attempt to cover it up. The company’s president denies that is the intention of his product. The Swiss president of the company, RNY Group,...

SACRAMENTO – Saying that government employees shouldn't be able to evade traffic tickets because they have secret license plates, Assemblyman Todd Spitzer said Monday that he will propose legislation to help traffic enforcement agencies pierce the shield. Spitzer was responding to an Orange County Register investigation that showed that a Department of Motor Vehicles program designed to protect law enforcement from criminals was giving them another kind of protection: They can drive on toll roads without paying, run red light cameras with impunity and park illegally. For example, 3,722 public employees have run the 91 Express Lanes in the past...

"When it comes to avoiding a ban for speeding, the courts hear every excuse in the book. But yesterday one motorist offered what must be a unique reason why he should keep his licence. Mohammed Anwar said a ban would make it difficult to commute between his two wives and fulfil his matrimonial duties. His lawyer told a Scottish court the Muslim restaurant owner has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow - he is allowed up to four under his religion - and sleeps with them on alternate nights. He also needed his driving licence to run his...

It's 1:45 p.m. on a Wednesday in February and a Toyota Camry is driving west on the 91 Express Lanes, for free, for the 470th time. The electronic transponder on the dashboard – used to bill tollway users – is inactive. The Camry's owners, airport traffic officer Rudolph Duplessis and his wife, Loretta, have never had a toll road account, officials say. They've never received a violation notice in the mail, either. Their car is registered as part of a state program which hides their home address on Department of Motor Vehicles records. The agency that operates the tollway does...

BOSTON - A federal bankruptcy judge was arrested for driving drunk last week, but perhaps the most shocking part about the ordeal was that he was wearing women's clothing at the time. Robert Somma, 63, was arrested on Feb. 6 after his Mercedes-Benz hit a pickup truck on a Massachusetts road. When authorities removed him from the vehicle, they said he wore a black women's cocktail dress, fishnet stockings and high heels. Wednesday, Somma struck a plea deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded 'no contest' to a misdemeanor DUI charge and agreed to pay roughly $600 in penalties. He...

Program officials said the executive director of a nonprofit agency that gives classes to DUI offenders has been suspended after the Palm City woman received a DUI herself. Margot Cioffi has been suspended from her job as executive director of the Comprehensive Offender Rehabilitation and Education program. The program, which operates in Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties, will continue. According to a deputy's report, Cioffi was arrested in Palm City on Monday night. She's facing charges of DUI with property damage, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly intoxication....

BRADENTON In Florida, the law on red light cameras puts cities and police departments in an odd position. They can install the cameras, photograph cars that go through a red light and send the driver a warning. What the law does not allow, however, is sending the driver a traffic ticket. But some cities and counties have found a way around that. Across Florida, local officials are using the cameras and a loophole in the law to issue "civil violations" instead of moving violations to fine drivers for running red lights. It is the same method governments use to go...

Son got his first ticket. Policeman said he didn't stop at a stop sign. It was dark, not even street lights in this area, but he saw this difficult-to-tell action in the dark, when Nathan says he had come to a stop. He didn't argue though. But then he wanted to search the car. We've always told son not to agree to that, there is no reason. (actually, his former-cop dad told him don't agree to it) Dad is not in the picture, so I have to ask you all. This was his first traffic stop and he was nervous....

On February 15th 2008, the leftist terrorist group called The Student Democrat Society(SDS) took it upon themselves to attack the Armed Forces Recruiting Station at 13th and L Streets N.W. at 18:00(6 p.m.). The violent leftists terrorists entered the recruiting station and proceed to trash the place of their own free accord as DC Police simply stoodby and did nothing about it. The terrorists took joy in reporting and recording their terrorist actions(http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/142455/index.php). This is the second time that DC Police have stoodby as the terrorists who call themselves the SDS have runamuck in the city, this past summer they...

Thousands of drivers who ignore their red light camera tickets are receiving an unusual giftfrom Orange County courts: Their cases disappear. No fine. No points on their driving records. Meanwhile, the drivers who face up to their mistake and respond to their tickets face a $346 fine, driving school and sometimes, a spike in their insurance rates. "It's not a real good message to get out there to the public," Superior Court CEO Alan Slater conceded in an interview. An Orange County Register investigation has found that police and court workers throughout Orange County rarely complete the time-consuming process required...

Cody Hauer is an enthusiastic Ron Paul supporter, but it could cost him more than $550 after receiving four citations in one week for having a large decal on his rear window. Hauer, 18, decided to support the Republican presidential hopeful by displaying a 13-inch-by-40-inch "Ron Paul Revolution" decal on his Buick Park Avenue. The problem is, such decals are illegal if they obstruct the driver's view. Still, Hauer questions whether he was targeted and says he plans to contest each citation in court next month. "I support Ron Paul, the city Police Department doesn't," he said. "They gave me...

Once again, homeschoolers across the country are facing the threat of daytime curfews. Within the last year, city councils in California, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas have considered such curfews. Daytime curfews are unnecessary for good order. They are often touted as a way to reduce truancy and juvenile crime, but there is little or no evidence to support this. The impact on law-abiding youth, however, is undisputed: restricting a young person’s freedom to move about during the day creates an atmosphere of fear reminiscent of totalitarian states, and often leads to harassment of homeschoolers. Daytime curfews can be...

Another new year, another list of new laws affecting California motorists. This year's batch includes restrictions on cell phone use, a law making it easier for vehicle owners to replace lost keys, and a prohibition of smoking in vehicles that contain minors. Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Anaheim, voted against two bills that will go into effect this year. "It starts to cross over to a nanny state when law enforcement officials are trying to regulate every aspect of everyone's lives," Spitzer said of the smoking ban. Similarly, Spitzer voted against the cell phone restriction, which will require motorists to use hands-free...

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- For years, the idea of taxing soda to beat back obesity has been tossed around in medical circles. But now, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is proposing a tax on beverages high in fructose corn syrup. Newsom says obesity accounts for tens of millions of dollars in city health care costs. He cites a recent San Francisco Health Department survey that found nearly a quarter of the city's 5th, 7th and 9th graders were overweight and that high sugar drinks make up a tenth of a kid's daily calorie count. Newsom reportedly wants all big box...

How free are we really? By Selwyn Duke web posted December 17, 2007 We Americans take great pride in our freedom. We call ourselves "the land of the free, home of the brave," have Lady Liberty in New York Harbor and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. America is synonymous with freedom in the minds of most. Much of the rest of the world, however, is thought a land of darkness which doesn't benefit from our unencumbered bliss. Thus do we speak of the free and unfree worlds. In reality, it's not that simple. There is neither such thing as a...

The investigation of men accused of plotting to attack soldiers on Fort Dix led Wednesday to a guilty plea in a very different sort of case. Cherry Hill municipal court clerk Debra H. Benecke admitted fixing two traffic tickets for one of the suspects. "She made a dumb decision to try to help out someone who really couldn't help himself," her lawyer, Scott Schweiger, said in an interview. Benecke pleaded guilty to tampering with public records. Benecke, who worked for the courts for 14 years, faces probation when she is sentenced on Feb. 1. The 49-year-old is also barred from...

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- The agency that oversees training and hiring standards for police departments in Maryland is looking at a proposal that would let noncitizens with green cards become police officers. The proposal is being championed by Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger. He said it doesn't make sense that legal immigrants can join the U.S. military but can't become law enforcement officers. The Maryland Police Training Commission could vote on the issue next month. Critics said it would be difficult to check the backgrounds of noncitizens applying to be officers, and they said the proposal could allow terrorists to...

Investigative reporter Wendy Saltzman discovered more than 100 law enforcement officers have been arrested in Georgia for driving under the influence. Her investigation found some of them asked for favors, some wrecked department cars, and some were given special treatment. "I think that is outrageous frankly," said police psychologist Dr. Anthony Stone. "I can't imagine their being fit for duty, because almost by definition they have a drinking problem," Stone said. Habersham County Sheriff’s Captain Freddie Chapman has been arrested 4 times on alcohol related charges spanning back to an underage alcohol violation in 1988. His offenses also include three...

WALLER COUNTY, Texas -- Houston police started testing unmanned aircraft and the event was shrouded in secrecy, but it was captured on tape by Local 2 Investigates. Neighbors in rural Waller County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. KPRC Local 2 Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense. Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky and operated by remote control.

An internal police investigation is under way after a formal complaint was filed against a Utah state trooper who was videotaped Tasering a man who refused to sign a speeding ticket. The officer's conduct has been called into question after a videotape of the incident was posted on YouTube. The video, taken from a Utah Highway Patrol dashboard camera, shows Trooper John Gardner using a Taser on Jared Massey during a traffic stop on State Road 40 in Uintah County on Sept. 14.

Man cited for porn on wheels By DEANNA BOYD dboyd@star-telegram.com FORT WORTH -- This X-rated movie was moving, Fort Worth police say. Literally. Monday morning, a 24-year-old Irving man was cited after a Fort Worth police officer spotted porn playing inside the man’s car. The officer was conducting extra patrol at a club at in the 100 block of S. Main Street, south of downtown, when he saw the car drive by, then park near the club, said Lt. Dean Sullivan, police spokesman. According to a police report, a 10-inch screen pointed toward the rear of the vehicle showed “multiple...

HONOLULU (AP) - Another actor on the hit TV series "Lost" was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Thursday by Honolulu police—the fourth actor on the ABC series to run into trouble with the law while filming in Hawaii. Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Korean tough guy Jin-Soo Kwon, was taken into custody before 3 a.m. local time, police said. He was booked at the downtown police station and released after posting bail. Wearing a solid-white polo shirt and shorts, Kim hid his head from cameras as he was escorted by police officers to a waiting vehicle after his...

A 6-year-old Park Slope girl is facing a $300 fine from the city for doing what city kids have been doing for decades: drawing a pretty picture with common sidewalk chalk.

Virginia Republican leaders defended the controversial abusive-driver fees that level high-priced tickets for excessive speeding, drunken driving and other violations while vowing to add out-of-state drivers to the plan to make it more fair during a campaign stop in Manassas. “The abuser fees are working,” Republican House Speaker William Howell said of the fines of up to $1,000 a year for three years for traffic offenses. “Democrats want to give [abusive] drivers a free pass.” Some driving violations are down 20 percent because drivers are mindful of the new reforms, Howell said, adding the tickets make for safer, better-funded roads....

WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — Nearly 100 drunken-driving suspects in this southern Ohio town avoided convictions or jail time last year after making voluntary $1,000 donations to the police department, county records show. More than a third of the drunken-driving cases filed by Waverly police in Pike County Court last year were dismissed, according to a report published Sunday in The Columbus Dispatch.

New Jersey appellate court decision upholds a DUI for a man sleeping in a parked truck under the influence. New Jersey Superior Court logoA New Jersey appellate court yesterday upheld the principle that convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) can be imposed on individuals who were not driving. David Montalvo, 36, found this out as he responsibly tried to sleep off his intoxication in his GMC pickup truck while safely stopped in the parking lot of the Market Place Deli on a cold February morning last year. At around 5am he awoke to see a Hamburg Police...

SARASOTA -- The company that manufactures the state's drunken-driving breath-test machines must turn over the computer code that runs the machines or face stiff fines, a county judge has ruled. Defense attorneys have argued that having their experts examine the Intoxilyzer 8000's "source code" is the only way to ensure the machines correctly calculate a driver's blood-alcohol content. The Intoxilyzer 8000's first glitch was discovered in April, a month after it was implemented, when state officials realized it failed in certain situations. The state then upgraded the software in machines across the state. In Manatee and Sarasota counties, more than...

It'll be up to patrons, bars to ban smoking City will not beef up tactics for enforcement When the city of Houston's smoking ban expands next month to include bars, it largely will be up to bar managers and their customers to enforce the new rules. The city is not beefing up enforcement tactics — it only has one smoking-enforcement officer, as well as 43 sanitarians who can issue citations — primarily because officials expect the ban to be self-enforcing, said Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, the non-smoking public likely...