Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Now that's zero tolerance

In the U.S., paramilitary police units are regularly used to roust people for non-violent drug offenses, and have even been dispatched to disrupt poker games. The results can be deadly for people on the receiving end of the raids -- and also for police officers invading private homes.

Believe it or not, though, it could be worse.

According to The Daily Telegraph of the U.K.:

More than a million motorists a year face having bailiffs force their way into their homes to collect unpaid parking fines under legislation before MPs.

Action could be taken even when the motorist is unaware that a ticket has been issued or that the debt has been pursued through the civil courts.

Raids on homes to collect parking tickets? You better believe it. Parking fines are big business all over -- and in the U.K., local authorities have been gaining the authority to keep fines. That gives them enormous incentive to issue tickets -- and to use any means allowed to collect their pound of flesh.

The Brits have been enthusiastically adopting American policing tactics as it is, including SWAT raids for peaceful drug infractions. Inevitable, that has led to frightening consequences, including police battering down the doors of innocent people. This may be the first time that the mother country has taken the lead on violent law enforcement, by invoking brutal tactics for the most trivial reasons.

Of course, the big difference between the U.K. and the U.S. is that Britons are much less likely to shoot back at cops than are their American cousins. Strict gun control laws mean that law-abiding people have relatively little access to firearms (real criminals, as always, can get any weapons they want). That means that police officers can kick in doors with little concern for the consequences.

So, if the idea of enforcing parking laws is going to be adopted in the U.S., look for the tactic to take root in some relatively disarmed jurisdiction.

Any New Yorkers out there?

Labels: ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home