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By Kenneth Emmel,
Published Sunday, February 17, 2008 A Fargo police official recently stated quite accurately that police cannot solve crimes all by themselves. Police need the help of the public to effectively fight crime.The best way to enlist the help of the public is for police to stop harassing innocent, law-abiding citizens. Police harassment is at an epidemic level, and has been for many years. We have a number of overly aggressive, overly suspicious, incompetent police among the ranks. Too many people are in law enforcement for all the wrong reasons. Police rarely apologize for their many mistakes and their public image is less than desirable.
The numerous checkpoints (read: roadblocks) set up by police under the guise of “sobriety” are unconstitutional. Police have been stopping, harassing and inconveniencing thousands of citizens needlessly. The “success” rate from these KGB-style tactics is dismal. One or two drivers are found to have been slightly over the legal blood alcohol limit, and these few would likely have arrived home safely. The business of questioning everyone with the hopes of getting lucky is reminiscent of the days of the former Soviet Union. I’ve been harassed by police so many times over the years, I could write a book about it. A motorist can’t even pull off the road for a few minutes without some pushy, wise-guy, paranoid cop showing up demanding one’s identification, running background checks and badgering a person regarding one’s whereabouts. The impression police are projecting tells people to avoid police like the plague and have nothing to do with them. Police are much more apt to hassle and interrogate anyone volunteering information, rather than going after the real criminals. That’s why crimes will continue to go unsolved, and provide job security for police failing to perform their duties professionally. If we could shape up police departments so that officers would respect individuals’ constitutional rights, the public’s perception of police would improve, and we could get the cooperation needed for more successful law enforcement. This reflects upon the management at upper levels. More integrity and common sense is needed. We’re currently living in a police state, growing worse each day. The silence from lawyers, lawmakers and watchdog groups is deafening while our constitutional rights are violated more and more as time goes by. Emmel lives in Wahpeton, N.D. Source: http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=192031§ion=Opinion&freebie_check&CFID=6021942&CFTOKEN=74199993&jsessionid=88309938ccb51712492d
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