TX: Houston area police department scans license plates for registrants.
This is a concerning story out of Texas. The Memorial Villages Police Department, like many other municipalities, has installed license plate scanners to flag vehicles that travel through their city. Instead of just using the scanners to search for active warrants, stolen vehicles or amber alerts, they use it to flag registrant’s vehicles.
According to this article, Agencies choose which criminal-offense categories trigger a hit.
In addition to stolen vehicles and missing persons, the Memorial Villages Police Department is alerted each time a registered sex offender drives past their cameras. “For the month of December, I had five sex offenders come through the Villages,” Police Chief Schultz said. Because the chief said there are no registered sex offenders living in the villages – he took a closer look. “I was getting hits, but only on Sundays,” he said. “It was someone coming here to go to church.”
It’s pretty sad that this status automatically puts us on a “suspect list” that requires investigation.
For anyone who lives in or near Orange County, FL, Orlando Police use these also. I have been followed several times by OPD cops. I complained to their internal affairs people about it. They told me how it works: “Anytime” an officer’s camera picks up a tag that is on their lists such ad RSO, stolen vehicles, and even terrorist watch list, an alarm sounds on their computer to signal them. The officer then has the option to follow the vehicle to see where it goes and make notes. They don’t really seem to care WHO is driving. So any friend, employee, or family member who drives a car that will fall their system is subject to being followed and stopped if they commit any traffic violations that would give the officers probable cause to stop the car.
I suppose that this means that my wife and my 16 y.o. daughter will be investigated in this scenario as their vehicles are required to be registered with no distinction that they are not my primary vehicle.
How is the lawsuit for family of registrants going?
Jim
According to the registry gods, it is not punishment and You / We / I caused this by our past actions so it is our fault we bring pain to our families. I think I just threw up in their mouths. Apparently, these past actions will be held against us even after we are dead, at least in Florida.
This is a concern also for anyone who travels through an area like Alabama for example. They want you to register any part of a day you are there. I called them when I visited my sick father. It’s so confusing they couldn’t even explain it to me over the phone. If they have tag readers it seems they could arrest you if they hit you tag more than twice in any part of A day.
Do you have any references or documented instances of this happening? This seemed so radically strict I had to check the state wiki, which doesn’t seem to back this up, at least in my first read through.
Obviously there are too many police and they have nothing to do. When they don’t have any murders to investigate, no shop lifters, no burglaries, no car break inns , no car thefts, no drunken drivers, no drive by shootings, no catalytic converters thefts, no domestic violence then they have to go after the next on the list RSOs . Maybe they forgot to list one of their dozens of different identifiers.
DavidM
As a former cop, I can tell you this. Say I get called to a location. I request another officer. Well 10 cops show up and even after they are no longer needed, many of them hang around so they do not have to take another call.
This happens especially with older officers who are just trying to make it to retirement. When my house got broken into, I called 9-11 and they told me if the suspects are no longer there, it would be 4 1/2 hours for an officer to arrive so I could file a report online?
Holy ship 5 registrants in a village to go to church calls for alarm. Give that Chief some Tylenol and his pink slip. Is he the chief of being the village idiot because he would be great .
Brandon
Those registrants should no better than to try and Worship God. Shame on them for doing something holy and constructive. They should stay home and never leave the house????
It reminds me of the movie The quiet place where if you go outside you risk being attacked by monsters that are blind but can hear a sound from miles away. Just replace the monsters with certain cops who have nothing better to do but have us for lunch, metaphorically speaking.
They are mad because we don’t worship them by having shrines in our yards to show honor. They remind me of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space with their big heads aka egos and big shoes aka passing useless bills/laws enhancing their Klown level.
No offense to klowns, outer space, big egos, and big shoes.
Even worse: all of my employer’s vehicles are registered in the off chance I may drive one, but 99% of the time I don’t leave the shop. So, if any company travel was noted in this fashion, it would be wrong.
Ben
Hum, so lets say a repeat offender constantly keeps getting arrested, shouldn’t they register the patrol cars as well ? 🙂