PO'd at police

[Pops15]

Speaking of license plates... have you seen these cameras that are mounted to a vehicle, and the vehicle drives up and down the rows in the mall parking lots and it reads the plates and passes it through a database to find cars that haven't been plated, insured, safety inspected, or reported stolen, etc....? I can't remember where I read about them, but man, you better have your i's dotted and t's crossed!

Hmm, cops driving around on private property looking for reasons to cite people (raise revenue). As far as I'm concerned there are far more important things for the police to be doing.

My BIL was an officer in a small town. He did indeed have quotas to fill but they didn't call them quotas.
Most of the officers around here are good people, but one town in particular has a bunch of Barney Fife types. I've worked for a bunch of cops from other departments. They poke fun at the officers from the one department suggesting that they spend more time trying to solve some serious crimes (like a couple of unsolved murders!!!!) rather than meeting their ticket quotas.
I have a friend that's a judge and a customer thats a judge, and another customer thats a retired judge. They all talk about the overload of cases waiting to be heard. I suspect that all three would have been upset with the officer the OP encountered for not using discretion.

 

[Pops15]

I may not be the sharpest barb on the wire but I do know this; if you don't break the law, you won't have a problem with police. Most state laws say you have to carry current proof of insurance. My company sends me three copies--One for the wallet, one for the vehicle and a spare. They're also readily available online. And they come about a month or two in advance of renewal! If you (the OP) don't have time to update your paper work, why should it be the fault of the officer? His task is to finish the contact as soon as possible and get back to work. It's not his job to verify your insurance. It's YOUR job.

As a side note: Texas just started linking insurance to vehicle tags. They can tell in a second if the vehicle is covered. All they have to do is key-in the tag number. Which they do quite frequenly just sitting in traffic not just at contact stops.

I got ticketed for not having a city sticker. I don't live in the city nor do I need a city sticker to do business in the city. The ticket was dismissed but it cost me allot of time that I could have been working. It was just a cop looking for ticky-tack stuff to fill his quota.

As for the insurance cards. I get ONE for each truck and trailer. The page with the cards is usually stapled to the back of my policy. Awhile back I got thinking that I didn't remember getting a new card with my last policy. I checked the glove box and found all my old cards going back to when I bought the truck in '04, but not the current card. I checked my desk, file cabinets, etc. I finally found the card. The page with the cards was in the middle rather than the back of the policy! I get a new policy once a year. The mid year cards are mailed separately. One year the insurance company didn't issue the new cards. I had made some changes to my coverage and they somehow failed to mail the new cards. My agent investigated why I hadn't gotten the new cards then printed new cards for me.

 

[two_bit_score]

>>>As a side note: Texas just started linking insurance to vehicle tags. They can tell in a second if the vehicle is covered. All they have to do is key-in the tag number. Which they do quite frequenly just sitting in traffic not just at contact stops.<<<

Sad thing is there are some 'featherlegged' cops who will misuse that technology and will spot a unregistered or uninsured vehicle at a mall parking lot and actually set up on that vehicle to stop it when it hits the street while letting several stolens or felony wanted vehicles go by.

 

[Pops15]

I know that we all fail to know and/or understand the details and workings of professions other than our own, but you'd be hard pressed to find more misinformation and mistaken beliefs about law enforcement anywhere in the world than in this thread. Unbelievable!

Please enlighten us.

I built a house for an officer, built room additions for two others, and I've done major remodeling for at least three others. I also have a BIL that is a retired officer. I had a neighbor that was a retired officer. My oldest son's first baseball coach was an officer, and my son had a good friend who's father was an officer. I have a good friend who is a judge, and I have two judges for customers. Another officer worked part time for my Dad for over ten years. In addition two guys I went to school with are now officers. The father of one of my friends when I was in school was the Chief of Police in the town where I grew up. The police I know, work or worked for the smallest of rural department all the way to the Illinois State Police. Some are/were beat cops, some detectives. Some are/were on special task forces. In other words they represent a pretty good cross section. I've talked with these people away from their work and most are very candid about how their respective departments operate. I think I have a pretty good understanding of their profession (and I'm glad I'm not in part of it). Having said that, I think most of what's been posted is true.....someplace. Maybe not everyplace, but someplace.

 

[Hawghauler]

Police have a very tough job. Additionally, while government jobs seem to be fireproof regardless of competence, cops are the least protected of the protected class. The large majority perform a job professionally without issue. I am not suited to be a neutral when dealing with meth addicted, wife beating scum of the earth. Drunks and punks don't impress me and I doubt I would react and behave politically correct if these were my average daily customer. I admire and respect those policemen who can maintain their cool year after year. I would also understand and forgive the occasional night sticking and accidental discharge to the forehead. Police can't be expected to act like prissy lawyers when in a combat situation, and when they are under attack the normal reactions should be no different than a soldier would have when confronted with an enemy insurgent in Iraq. How a soldier behaves around the peaceful inhabitants is what wins the hearts and minds of those you are trying to peacekeep with. It is not hard to turn a shop keeper into a jihadist. Likewise, a cop (especially a new one) needs to establish a rapport with the community that employs him, and based upon the original email, telling the citizen to buckle up for his own safety and carry his insurance card would have been an adequate action accomplishing his civic duty. That the ticket is legal is not in question. This cop chose to go straight to the fine and let the operator drive away. He accomplished nothing constructive for the community he serves other than generate a few bucks that will probably be misspent on some public project. I don't ever recall seeing a public referendum or vote on whether or not I wanted fines for seatbelts. These were not hatched by a local vote. Government employees made this up to fund government employees. These fines don't go to lower hospital or insurance bills and reduce public debt when unissured get injured. I haven't had a ticket in decades, but when I did (young guy with a 1967 442), I made them prove every one of them in court. Every one of them was dropped before jury selection. I did not roll over, and the courts decided not to fight. You can pay the fine and move on. That is certainly the easiest and cheapest course of action. That is what the bureaucrats prefer you do. BTW, has revenue from police fines ever lowered your taxes? Are they even forecasted in the public budget as anticipated income? If not, all fines should lower your taxes and you should expect a dividend check.

 

[mmurphy]

Speaking of license plates... have you seen these cameras that are mounted to a vehicle, and the vehicle drives up and down the rows in the mall parking lots and it reads the plates and passes it through a database to find cars that haven't been plated, insured, safety inspected, or reported stolen, etc....? I can't remember where I read about them, but man, you better have your i's dotted and t's crossed!

I bet they are looking for illegals, or better yet terrorists called average American citizens.:laughing:
I think we truly are a country devided. Nanny states versus freedom.

 

[Bedlam]

Here is a link... YouTube - ALPR Licence Plate Reader 2 - Featured on Hacked Gadgets
When you park take your plate off. (wing nuts)

 

[/pine]

I know that we all fail to know and/or understand the details and workings of professions other than our own, but you'd be hard pressed to find more misinformation and mistaken beliefs about law enforcement anywhere in the world than in this thread. Unbelievable!

The biggest problem with many "local" police departments is the total lack of "professionalism"...

Sorry, but just going through (graduating from) a regional police academy hardly makes one a "professional"...just because an individual chooses law enforcement as a "profession" does not make them a professional...

 

[dave1949]

Here is a link... YouTube - ALPR Licence Plate Reader 2 - Featured on Hacked Gadgets
When you park take your plate off. (wing nuts)

Where will it all end? Take your plate off and your auto may get towed or reported as an abondoned vehicle.

Dave.

 

[tallyho8]

Here is a link... YouTube - ALPR Licence Plate Reader 2 - Featured on Hacked Gadgets
When you park take your plate off. (wing nuts)

Yes, if you are a criminal you can take your plates off but then you will get stopped for no plates.

The link above clearly states that the cameras are used to search for license plates that fall into 4 databases:
1. wanted felony vehicles
2. local wanted vehicles
3. stolen vehicles
4. lost or stolen license plates.

I WANT the police to catch these criminals and am very happy that they have this technology available to them.

If you don't want the police to catch these criminals then I won't feel bad if your car is the next one to get stolen.

There is no mention of them using these cameras for minor offenses such as no safety inspection or no insurance.