Copley said his department has focused on traffic safety, resulting in a 43 percent increase in traffic stops from 2004 to 2005. Citations increased by almost 35 percent, while vehicle searches and driver searches increased by 44.2 percent and 45.1 percent, respectively.
The increase in vehicle searches is, in part, attributed to a problem Copley calls "fishing." He says young and aggressive officers are looking to make big arrests with vehicle and driver searches without much reasonable suspicion to base the searches on, "hoping to get lucky on the search."
"There are at least six individual officers who appear to be conducting a lot of searches without success," Copley said. "Now that the problem and the officers have been identified, we are working with the officers to alleviate this problem."
Copley said officers will get more "coachable sensitivity training" and information on the legalities of conducting searches.
QPD also will do a better job in the search reporting process and require officers to explain why the search was conducted.
"We want to get away from searching the vehicle just because we can," Copley said. "We want officers to have a good reason before they ask a person."
8 comments:
Copley said his department has focused on traffic safety ???
What ?? Meth labs on wheels? Nice to see where our "focus" is at.
I don't think QPD is into racially profiling, I think they are pricks towards EVERYONE, they are equal oppurtunity #ssholes.
I personally think that the Conservation Police and IDNR need to step in and issue each member of the QPD a ticket for fishing without the proper state issue lisense. Hey, if I admitted I was fishing without a lisence, I am sure I'd be ticketed!
;)
Here's a question that has aways bugged me:
Why are all "safety checks" conducted during night hours ??? Statistics prove that more people would be caught during daylight hours on simple "safety violations"...
If it looks like a road block, has a breathalizer handy, staged after dark, call it what it is. A DUI roadblock !!!
It just seems like in the year Quincy has turned into a police state. You see way too many police checking for speeding, too many safety checks. The situation with the school zone tickets, in all honesty, was completely rediculous & out of line. When they get 4-5 people you work with in one week & the fines are what they are, jeez. Pardon me for trying to drive to the job, work for a living & support myself. It's just that the QPD has been a little over zealous lately, and it's disturbing. My bro-in-law goes through a "safety check" after working 3-11 shift, and they ask him where's he's going. Why tdo they have to ask that? What concern is it of QPD where he's going (home form work, duh). It's the land of the free, isn't it. I could see if he's under invetigation for something. Lived in Quincy 40 years, I coulb be wrong, but latley it just seems like a police state. Lootie, if your math is correct, it ain't right for QPD to pulll over 34 % of blacks.
Let's get some people together & go to city council meeting.
I think sometimes we citizens here are too good & "nicey nice", we don't fight for ourselves and our rights, because we're too busy trying to make a living, earn our way, pay bills, and feed ourselves and our children. No one wants to rock the boat or be called a "rabble rouser" or an instigator, etc, we just accept the status quo no matter how unjust it is. We don't want to get the inevitable backlash. Think maybe we're too civily obediant in these days. We take what is dished out and don't complain, and as we do, the more we end up losing, both economically and our rights (almost forgot Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, do we still have those?) Seems like we all have "Gouge me, over tax me, and take my rights away" written on our foreheads.
Maybe the officers ought to know the legalities of search and siezure, and their ass from a hole in the ground, before we put them out there in cop cars and they start violating peoples constitutions and rights.
Don't we pay for them to be trained? How long is their training? Are they tested after teaining? Should con law be day 1 of the training? Should they be disciplined for violating rights?
"Don't we pay for them to be trained? How long is their training? Are they tested after teaining?"
Yes we pay to have them trained, it costs the city about $30,000 per officer to send them to the academy. Thats why I bitch so much about us having 4 patrol officers sitting behind desks instead of on the street thus lowering the total number of officers needed overall. 6 weeks or 8 weeks, knew this at one time but memory must be going. Yes they are tested.
"Should con law be day 1 of the training?"
Yes, but appears they either are not getting that training or forgetting it when they get thier badge.
"Should they be disciplined for violating rights?"
DAMN RIGHT they should!
What exactly is the verbiage of laws that govern the search of vehicles? I always hear the term "probable cause" thrown about.
If a cop pulls someone over on suspicion of drunk driving, then smells alcohol, I'm pretty sure no warrant is necessary. Is it totally the officer's discretion?
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