The Use and Abuse of Civil Forfeiture

[Libertarian666]

That's a pretty good example of the abuses.
So what are the non-abusive uses?
(That's a trick question.)

[MediumTex]

Rat traps are all around us.

Be careful.

I hate to sound cynical, but many of these "public servant" types simply aren't your friends.  They wish harm on you, and they have convinced themselves that somehow by harming individual members of society it will make all of society better (or maybe they haven't thought about it that deeply and are just strung out on a career-long power jag).

[Pointedstick]

Rat traps are all around us.

Be careful.

I hate to sound cynical, but many of these "public servant" types simply aren't your friends.  They wish harm on you, and they have convinced themselves that somehow by harming individual members of society it will make all of society better (or maybe they haven't thought about it that deeply and are just strung out on a career-long power jag).

Yup.

Rather than being outraged, I try to use such stories to incrementally improve my rat trap avoidance powers. Lessons we can learn from this nightmarish episode:

1. Don't travel with anything that could be considered drug paraphernalia
2. Don't carry large amounts of cash from point A to point B; withdraw the cash directly at point B, or use a check if possible
3. Never, ever, consent to a police search
4. Be aware of the racial prejudices of those who control any regions you are traveling through

[Libertarian666]

Rat traps are all around us.

Be careful.

I hate to sound cynical, but many of these "public servant" types simply aren't your friends.  They wish harm on you, and they have convinced themselves that somehow by harming individual members of society it will make all of society better (or maybe they haven't thought about it that deeply and are just strung out on a career-long power jag).

Yup.

Rather than being outraged, I try to use such stories to incrementally improve my rat trap avoidance powers. Lessons we can learn from this nightmarish episode:

1. Don't travel with anything that could be considered drug paraphernalia
2. Don't carry large amounts of cash from point A to point B; withdraw the cash directly at point B, or use a check if possible
3. Never, ever, consent to a police search
4. Be aware of the racial prejudices of those who control any regions you are traveling through

5. Don't travel from or to any "known drug location".

[Pointedstick]

5. Don't travel from or to any "known drug location".

It's harder to know that in advance, though. And furthermore, anywhere in the American southwest and most major cities in the USA probably qualify.

Perhaps it should be "5. Don't travel" 

[MediumTex]

Rat traps are all around us.

Be careful.

I hate to sound cynical, but many of these "public servant" types simply aren't your friends.  They wish harm on you, and they have convinced themselves that somehow by harming individual members of society it will make all of society better (or maybe they haven't thought about it that deeply and are just strung out on a career-long power jag).

Yup.

Rather than being outraged, I try to use such stories to incrementally improve my rat trap avoidance powers. Lessons we can learn from this nightmarish episode:

1. Don't travel with anything that could be considered drug paraphernalia
2. Don't carry large amounts of cash from point A to point B; withdraw the cash directly at point B, or use a check if possible
3. Never, ever, consent to a police search
4. Be aware of the racial prejudices of those who control any regions you are traveling through

5. Don't travel from or to any "known drug location".

6. Even as you move through life in the unavoidable role of prey in some situations, learn to see the world through the eyes of the predator and make yourself unappealing as a potential meal (or as potential entertainment to the sport-predators).

Much of law enforcement is the criminal justice equivalent of sport fishing.  A lot of the guys out there in the squad cars/fishing boats don't really give an oink about justice or public safety--they just want to catch something, preferably something that will put up a good fight before they get it in the squad car/fishing boat.

[Pointedstick]

Much of law enforcement is the criminal justice equivalent of sport fishing.  A lot of the guys out there in the squad cars/fishing boats don't really give an oink about justice or public safety--they just want to catch something, preferably something that will put up a good fight before they get it in the squad car/fishing boat.

As I was driving home from work the other day and was about to get on a freeway onramp, I caught sight of two police cars nestled in a little alcove hidden behind a bunch of foliage. I realized that this was their hunting blind, and they were hunting for people who committed the crime of turning right on red a minute or two after it becomes illegal to do so (as it is on certain times of day and days of the week). Not that this would represent any kind of danger to the public. But because it gave them an opportunity to hurt people the law allows them to hurt without consequences.

I was not pulled over.

[Pointedstick]

I wonder if the intense regulations on hunting have anything to do with this trend. If hunting were less legally burdensome (and outright impossible in some places), perhaps more people would hunt animals instead of joining law enforcement to hunt people?

[MediumTex]

Much of law enforcement is the criminal justice equivalent of sport fishing.  A lot of the guys out there in the squad cars/fishing boats don't really give an oink about justice or public safety--they just want to catch something, preferably something that will put up a good fight before they get it in the squad car/fishing boat.

As I was driving home from work the other day and was about to get on a freeway onramp, I caught sight of two police cars nestled in a little alcove hidden behind a bunch of foliage. I realized that this was their hunting blind, and they were hunting for people who committed the crime of turning right on red a minute or two after it becomes illegal to do so (as it is on certain times of day and days of the week). Not that this would represent any kind of danger to the public. But because it gave them an opportunity to hurt people the law allows them to hurt without consequences.

I have been nabbed by this low-tech drone:
[img width=206 height=116]http://www.thepelicanpost.org/wp-conten ... camera.jpg[/img]

Normally, the sport hunters are against such practices because it takes much of the "sport" out of the chase.  See discussion of "internet hunting" below.

Internet hunting is the practice of hunting via remotely controlled firearms that can be aimed and shot using online webcams. The first internet hunting website, Live-Shot.com, was created in 2005 by John Lockwood, who saw it as a way to provide an authentic hunting experience for disabled persons. According to the Humane Society, the operation consisted of "a fenced pen stocked with animals [where Lockwood] set up a tripod with a camera and a firearm".

Almost as soon as internet hunting was introduced in the U.S. state of Texas, strong opposition to the practice developed among pro-gun and pro-hunting organizations, including the National Rifle Association and Safari Club International, as well as among animal rights and environmental groups. The majority of hunters do not consider the practice to be hunting, as it does not conform to the rules of a "fair chase".

Maybe the police are okay with the stoplight cameras because it allows the payment of their salaries by the automated theft from unwary drivers, which frees them up to do more exotic forms of hunting such as high speed chases and petty drug arrests that are more exciting than writing traffic tickets, but less profitable from a municipal finance perspective.

The motorcycle cop sitting on the side of the road in the middle of summer writing tickets for people who are going 49mph in a 45mph zone is sort of like one of those guys drinking cheap beer and fishing off a highway bridge in some muddy creek.  The fisherman fantasizes about a great deep sea battle with a noble Marlin, while the motorcycle cop dreams of Christmas morning with a nice spread of riot gear under the tree and the chief calling on him like Santa calling on Rudolph to be the lead vehicle in a convoy of SWAT trucks that are going to be driving through fog on the way to a raid.