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NYPD To Google: Stop Revealing the Location of Police Checkpoints (nypost.com)
schwit1 shares a report from the New York Post: The NYPD is calling on Google to yank a feature from its Waze traffic app that tips off drivers to police checkpoints -- warning it could be considered "criminal conduct," according to a report on Wednesday. The department sent a cease-and-desist letter over the weekend demanding Google disable the crowd-sourced app's function that allows motorists to pinpoint police whereabouts, StreetsBlog reported. "Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other relevant criminal and traffic laws," wrote Acting Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters Ann Prunty in the letter, according to the website. My $0.02 is that the NYPD loses on first amendment grounds.
Fixed.
This app also assists Lawful and Non-Impaired drivers in avoiding the inconvenience or uncomfortable situation of happening upon an unexpected checkpoint and possibly becoming subject to some search or test that they wish to avoid.
In other words.... this functionality has lawful and beneficial uses, contrary to what their letter suggests.
Furthermore, the submission, sharing, and dissemination of this information about government activity is speech of a political nature among the types of speech most strongly protected by the 1st Amendment of the US constitution, which the NYC PD is not above.
The law says you have a right to not be detained without reasonable cause, and freedom in security of your belongings from unwarranted searches.
Checkpoints prevent these lawful protections.
They get around this in some areas by publishing where these checkpoints will be. All of these actions take away rights by claiming exigent circumstances or public interest. Due to well-deserved lawsuits, they have to restore those rights somehow to prevent abuses.
But you're complaining about how those rights are restored. You are backwards.
Amen to that. You claim it's all about safety and not revenue? Visible cops will deter bad driving more than hidden speed traps and these bullshit "Checkpoints"...
Fuck you and your secret police shit.
I totally agree. In fact I think the hidden speed traps are more hazardousness than they are helpful.
There have been too many times when I'm jamming on the breaks and swerving into the median trying not to hit the car in front of me, or seeing this in cars ahead, because we went from 70 down to 45, just because over a hill or around a corner was a speed trap.
when you see the police just driving in traffic, people slow down, less abruptly, and drive more safely. The speed traps are all about revenue and have nothing to do with public safety.
If you need to swerve to avoid hitting the car in front of you, you are too close. Leave a larger stopping distance for your own safety.