@hedkandi1984_21 Said They won't stop you. They'll be stopping the black and Asian kids who spend all their time loitering
Unfortunately, there have been a lot of violence with these groups recently, so I can see why they're planning on doing it.
Even then though, you say loitering, I say "waiting for the bus". You say loitering, I say "just bumped into an old friend on the way into town and stopped for a chat".
There are dozens of completely legitimate reasons for a young person of any color to be standing in the street, alone or in a group.
Previously police needed "just cause" to stop and search these individuals. This measure would remove the protections that stop an overly suspicious, racist, or just plan over-keen copper from searching youths who happen to waiting for a gym to open, or waiting for the parents to pick them up, etc...
The thought of police having the power to stop and search you without just cause "just in case he's breaking the law" is chilling indeed.
I imagine that the intent of this bill is not to deliberately encroach on our freedoms, but rather to reduce administration since a copper will no longer have to justify his stops. It would probably also make prosecuting criminals easier, since they couldn't get off based on the stop being judged unjustified and hence illegal by a court. In
theory the number of stops should not increase, and should still be justified by "just cause". In practice though, I doubt this will be the case.
Jan 30, 2008 @ 20:02:37
