http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/27/oregon.gps.surveillance/index.html
According to CNN, Law Enforcement will now be able to secretly put GPS trackers on cars.
When I read this article I could not help but think this is a really great idea. But on the other hand, it is also a violation of privacy that is kind of "creepy".
Having a GPS secretly installed on a vehicle to track illegal activity would be safer for Law Enforcement and lessen the risk of being noticed.As far as i'm concerned the suspect Mr. Pineda-Morena thought he was getting away with a crime but instead he had been outsmarted. Personally, if I was tracked by GPS Law Enforcement would be very disappointed. They might find that I have plants......... but they are defintely the legal kind.
Overall I think it is a great idea if they have reasonable suspicion for usage of the GPS and not just randomly pick people to track for no reason. If it keeps out Law Enforcment safe and gives them more time to be on the streets I am all for it. Now if they come up with a device to track moving violations, thats another story,and we might all be in trouble.
Interesting article, Susan, but I'm afraid all I can hear is the government tearing up the Bill of Rights!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I'm very much in favor of protecting Law Enforcement. If you're in L.E. in this area, you've probably heard of my uncles, Doug and Don Seneker; proud to be counted among them.
If my uncles were alive to ask, I'm confident they would tell you they wouldn't trade the 4th Amendment for good police work. They'd rather obtain a warrant the old-fashioned "probably cause" route, and THEN attach a GPS, if it's not a chipping away at the Bill of Rights.
I'm not willing to have 'big brother' move into my house...OR start following me via a GPS when I'm driving down the highway.
Let's put our tax dollars to work providing what our officers need [like new equipment; BETTER pay, benefits, & training; MORE officers; secure jails, etc.], and help them be safer THAT way.
I'd rather leave the Bill of Rights where it belongs...in the hands of The People of The United States of America.
~ Just one American's view
I understand both side of what Susan is saying and what life in a nut shell said. I agree that the Bill of Rights shouldn't be violated. By the Law Enforcement being about to put GPS's on people's car would violate the Fourth Amendment. I also believe that the Law Enforcement should have to go through the proper procedure to get a warrant. I understand that by making the Law Enforcement to do this would take time but I believe that it is the right way of doing it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, while the LEOs' (law enforcement officers') excuse was thin--hello, it's not just the fourth amendment being violated here, but the fifth, and personal property rights as well--Mr. Pot Grower didn't actually have no trespassing signs posted, nor had he parked his personal property in a garage that they'd have had to break into.
ReplyDeleteThat said, while my husband and I are also boring people, I think I'd be checking my car regularly (if we lived in one of the states that permitted that), and removing any GPS devices placed thereon. I might well put it in a mailer, postage due, back to the PD that put it on my car. My business is NOT law enforcement's business.