Cloak of Protection for California Cops and Bureaucrats
Wed Apr 23, 2008 at 05:54:22 PM PDT
As many as 996,000 vehicles registered in the state of California are currently exempt from traffic citations for running red lights, speeding and other traffic violations usually monitored by cameras.
The vehicles in question are registered to owners employed by or affiliated with a long list of public safety agencies. The owners of these vehicles are able to keep home addresses shielded from public disclosure through a loophole under California’s Confidential Records Programs (CRP).
Critics of the program say it made sense at one time. Before 1990, anyone could use license plate numbers to obtain the home address of most state residents through California State Department of Motor Vehicles records. But the law was changed to make all address records off limits to the general public while at the same time allowing law enforcement agencies access to all home addresses with the exception of those that are protected by the CRP.
The very high-profile stalker attacks of actresses Rebecca Schaffer and Teresa Saldana, led to Public outcry in the late 1980s, which in turn led to the law changes.
But, as it stands now, state law enforcement officers, their families, parole agents, social workers, animal-control officers, judges, city council members, legislators and others working for state agencies are all under a "cloak of protection" that immunizes them from traffic tickets, parking fines and even highway tolls. If they drive past traffic monitors or toll booths and are in violation a ticket is generated, but the authorities don’t know where to send it.
But, it gets worse...
An editorial in the The Monterey County Herald tells the tale of inequity:
The officers and the others get to keep the secret plates when they retire. If they change jobs and are no longer eligible, they can keep the protected plates for three years.
On one Southern California toll road, 3,722 vehicles traveled toll-free in the past five years because of the misplaced confidentiality. Many of those vehicles made hundreds of free trips.
Something should be done.
Assuming it can be accomplished in a way that doesn't jeopardize public safety officials or their families, home address information should be available to other law enforcement agencies. Legislation has been introduced to do that.
Additionally, local agencies that employ people eligible for the program should take an extra step. If the numbers in Monterey County are average, as many as 13,000 vehicles on local roads today are eligible for the special confidentiality. Those involved in enforcing the law understand better than anyone that it works only when it is applied evenly and fairly. Those who have taken advantage of this loophole, this unintended consequence, should be encouraged or even required to pay any outstanding fines and to stop taking advantage.
I know America is unfortunately enthralled in blatant class warfare right now but [in my opinion] this is going way too far. What happens if one of their vehicles is involved in an accident resulting in injury or even death. Whether intentional or not, this loophole is the equivalent of giving diplomatic immunity.
Most of the people protected by this law are bureaucrats, their families, and anyone else driving their vehicles – not diplomats or foreign heads of states.
Peace
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