While traffic stops may seem routine, they have a high potential to be dangerous. For example, an officer can pull over a driver for speeding not knowing they posses drugs and/or weapons.
In these situations, the driver generally does not want to be brought in. The stop goes from ordinary to dangerous very quickly.
Civilian Patrol
However, one Northern California city has decided that Peace Officers are not the answer. The city will replace Peace Officers with a traffic enforcement team made up of unarmed civilians.
According to the Guardian, Berkley Mayor Jesse Arreguin said. "There may be situations where police do need to intervene, and so we need to look at that."
Officers may still need to respond to stops initiated by civilian traffic enforcement personnel, even though they were initially deemed unnecessary.
The problem with this system is that traffic calls can become violent very quickly and Police may not arrive in time to prevent deadly escalation.
In the Name of a Level Playing Field
The city of Berkley took these measures in July of 2020 in response to community pressure following nationwide anti-police movements.
Many called traffic enforcement just the beginning. Veena Dubal, who is a law professor as well as a former Berkley police review commissioner, said, "Black and Brown men are disproportionately pulled over for minor traffic violations, and that’s when we see this escalation … That is where you see the violence unfold.”
Dubal's thoughts were echoed by Mohamed Shehk, who said that movement needs to be taken further.
“We also need to be dismantling the systems of fines and fees that keep communities that are targeted by these policies in poverty.”
Mohamed Shehk
One Step at a Time
Falling in line with the belief that this idea does not move the needle quite far enough, activists call for immediate changes. However, the city will not create the initial department immediately.
It will take time for the adjustment to be made. However, for obvious reasons, many in law enforcement are not on board with the idea.
Mark Cronin, Los Angeles Police Protective League director, says," I think what Berkley is doing is nuts. I think it's a big social experiment. I think it's going to fail."
Unfortunately, people may get hurt in the meantime as this experiment unfolds.
Responsibility to Residents
The fact that the city enacted this policy without consulting Law Enforcement professionals is highly concerning.
Berkley has an obligation to its residents. The city is responsible for keeping them safe. This policy is a dangerous one and hopefully will be reversed before lives are lost.
Gonna get a lot of people hurt!
Haha,Ignorant to Say the very least.
Are these people in California stupid, or jus Terminally stupid. Just inquiring as they seem to make the same errors again and again.
No wonder ordinary people are leaving the state.
These idiot college Professors such as Veena Duvall need to be on the Frontline for These unarmed Civilian traffic stops. They are Dangerous fools who are going To get people killed.
Communist california has been run into the ground by these Marxist idiots. Empty prisoners onto the streets and make gun ownership by law abiding citizens illegal.
Small wonder the Gruesome Newsome is about to be recalled.
lets see what happens when these citizens get killed trying to give a traffic ticket!
I live in California and the town of Berkley is the training ground for the NUT JOB'S in California!
Just wait tell people start getting killed now that people found out about Berkley!
We will have Another Dinner of love just like Seattle's dinner of love 💘! They a have a pimp watching out for people!
Way to go!
Leave to Brain dead IDIOTS to think something like this up....
Idiots, only in the land of nuts and fruits!
Probably scrap that idea after 5 or 6 of them get hurt or killed, I wouldnt even walk around that crap hole place
Leave it to a Pelosi type idiot that's why I am leaving calif Dummys can have it.
How dumb can you be ?!
When the innocent civilians get killed maybe you idiots will learn. Cops put there life's on the line daily. Traffic stops are one of the reasons they get killed!!! Leave it to the DUMB liberals. MORONS.
Will these CITIZENS be given the same training that officers get so they know citizens rights in the constitution so they don't violate them
They should use drones with cameras and voice features.
Same stupid idea as standing down when they burned the campus at Berkley, it will be Reminiscent from the 90's "BURN BABY BURN"
Which citizens would approach a car to give a ticket, and end up lying in a pool of blood, no volunteers, wonder how this job pays? will they be depeties or sworn in as officers of the law, what a conundrum, or is that the right word?
Next time in CA i will be sure to avoid that city. Of course CA is my least favorite State because of sanctuary status. I only go there because of relatives. I only go to NY because of friends.
This would be funny if not so dangerous. Cannot believe the city leaders are as dumb as a box of rocks. First let them does this for just one week then this city would have some new leaders no so dumb. Stupid is a stupid does.
Please do insult a box of rocks, im sure they are Smarter than those making the stupid decision to replace trained officers with civilIan’s.
OK, this is an accident waiting to happen-each city leader that backed this better be ready for huge lawsuits when these people get injured or killed!! It'll be neighborhood watch on steroids!!
Apparently this is the "new idea:" for "population control" from the land of fruits and nuts, sending unarmed civilians after armed criminals. That should get quite a few "eliminated". (as the "left" protects their criminal "friends".)
ROFLMAO.....go get 'em tigers.......er pansies.
Idiots, it will not be long before the unarmed are killed.
With nO thanks to those dems that control mexifornia and want all legal citizens to disappear just like the police........It will be a GREAT day when DEMS/RINOS are all voted out of the political scene.
This could only Happen in the land of fruits and nuts!
They want unarmed, untrained citizens to risk their lives on traffic stops !!! But “ those in authority” live behind a fence topped with razor wire and
Covered by national guardsmen and women?
The people who are pushing this agenda should make the traffic stops Around the clock for just one week. !!! They will change their minds quickly.
The stupidity is astounding
Who in their right mind will take this job?
Gee more black and brown drivers are pulled over than white drivers? I wonder why.
Readers you all drive and when you do, do you pay attention to the drivers who violate rules of the road? Duh that is why less whites are pulled over.
I am sick of hearing that the united states have more people in jail than any other country!!!!! This is the reason america is america. It was based on law and order and there is not better country in the world.
Law and order is what made america great and that is why more people are in prison than other countries because you usually can not pay your way out of jail by bribing some Politician but this is going to change with the CHINA joe and the demoncRATs in office. Is the trial of the officers involved with the career criminal george floyd going to get a fair trial or the jurist afraid if they do not find the guilty (which they are not) that the thugs, criminals, blm and antifa going to kill more innocent people and burn their city down again. This POS career criminal died from a drug overdose and a bad heart and for committing another crime and then resisting.
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