Our Novato Police department has upgraded their fleet with new squad cars, a fleet of motorcycles (including dirt bikes), and cameras that constantly record license plates with time and location. Now, I understand that tools are needed to protect police, and streamline back round checks. (Here comes the but) But what is the limit to the devices, tools and weapons the are allowed to have? Who approved the cameras any why wasn't a public opinion? Recently Marin county sheriff bought (with DHS aka federal money) a Bear Cat. The Bear cat is a APC (armored personnel carrier) just like the ones that our military and UN uses. The police departments in America are looking more and more like military troops and is not really getting any attention.
I would like to have a discussion on the license plate recorders. No, not the dashboard cams, the cameras on top of a couple squad cars to record and ID a currently registered or stolen vehicle. Arguments against the plate readers are that it records the date and location of YOUR car and dumps the information on a server somewhere. Arguments for the camera is that it speeds up catching criminals and scofflaws.
In my opinion, there should be a limit to what tools the police can use to basically babysit the stupid and write vehicle violations. At the very least, a public hearing or committee of civilians to make a determination is these new tools are necessary to a officer, and not going beyond what is needed to perform his/her duties.
Thank you for reading my first blog! Please speak your mind on this issue. Don't hold back!
This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.
The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?
