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Police Pull Over More Drivers For DNA Tests

schwit1 sends this news from the Washington Times: "Pennsylvania police this week were pulling people to the side of the road, quizzing them on their driving habits, and asking if they'd like to provide a cheek swap or a blood sample — the latest in a federally contracted operation that's touted as making roads safer. The same operation took place last month at a community in Texas. Then, drivers were randomly told to pull off the road into a parking lot, where white-coated researchers asked if they'd like to provide DNA samples for a project that determines what percentage of drivers are operating under the influence of drugs or alcohol at given times. With uniformed police in the background, the researchers also offered the motorists money — up to $50 or so — for the blood or saliva samples."

11 of 562 comments (clear)

  1. three responses by Speare · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I being detained?

    Am I free to go?

    No, I do not consent to any search.

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    1. Re:three responses by Khashishi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Queue the "stop resisting" while they beat you to a pulp.

  2. WTF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What the **** does a DNA sample have to do with the percentage of drunk drivers?!?!?!?

  3. Re:Um.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Tons of people. People are taught to always listen to cops. Lately I'm more scared of the police than any criminal. Police can ruin your life and easily kill you without repercussions. Cops are trained to always maintain control of the situation no matter how minor or petty. That is why so many people are tazed, beaten, or outright murdered when they tell cops they are wrong or the cops are doing illegal things.

  4. Re:Um.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The thing is, the people who have something to hide because they're drunk or stoned behind the wheel are exactly the same people who won't buy into it. So, the statistics gathering will be highly skewed. Researchers probably know this because it's obvious, and it's likely just a cover story.

  5. Re:Um.... by Khashishi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right. Either the test is voluntary, and suffers from selection bias, or it is involuntary, and is draconian.

  6. Re:Um.... by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's true of individual policemen / women. Whether it applies to the political and financial designs of the 'Police Department' (and associated governmental agencies) is another thing entirely.

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    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  7. Definition of voluntary by tatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Voluntary is having a sign "$50 for a cheek swab, next right". Involuntary is police directing you to testing area. Period.

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    I've always said English was my second language. Had Romeo and Juliet been written in C, I might have understood it.
  8. Re:Um.... by pegr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The overwhelming majority of police are, frankly, pretty good folk who actually enjoy serving the public."

    Ah, no. Good cops cover for bad cops, and that makes them bad cops. No such thing as a good cop.

  9. Sheeple testing by WaffleMonster · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This isn't about DNA or road safety it is a test to see how much shit people will take from their government and what additional compliance can be purchased with money.

  10. Re:Um.... by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you actually believe its about driving drunk, where they already can do a Breathalyzer or blood sample? i have a bridge you might be interested in. Its about getting as many citizens in as they can into their DB, specifically the poor. they know the person driving that Lexus is gonna tell them to get bent while the mother of 3 in that 94 Dodge? Not so much.

    I never thought I'd say this but I'm glad my beloved grandfather and great uncles are gone, they fought against fascism in WWII and this kind of gestapo shit would disgust the hell out of them. I could probably wrap his body in some copper wire and run my entire neighborhood from all the revolutions he's turning in his grave.

    I urge everybody who hasn't seen it to watch Naomi Wolf's lecture which shows how shit like this and the TSA intimidation fits into the bigger picture, because its fucking SCARY folks. This is the same plays that have been run since the time of Lenin and El Duce, get the population used to being confronted, cowed down and intimidated, makes things easier when they inevitably clamp down. Never forget that in 1930 Germany was a democracy and the NSDAP was a fringe bunch of kooks. Countries don't go from free to non free slowly, the shift is VERY fast but there is warning signs that a shift is occurring. I'd say shit like this and the NSA watching everything you do would be good indicators.

    For those that think this kind of shit doesn't have a chilling effect? remember that when the wall fell it was found that the STASI had less than 7% of the population on their lists yet the entire population lived like they were always under the boot because everyone thought that they were one of the 7%. It really doesn't take much to break the will of a populace, just intimidation and fear used in the right places.

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