Fake Squeegee Kids Nab Traffic Scofflaws

Reuters ^ | 7319-2002

[Cagey]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Drivers in Burnaby, British Columbia, should make sure they are buckled up the next time a "squeegee kid" approaches offering to wash their windshield.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Vancouver suburb have been posing as the car window washers at major intersections in a bid to catch people who are breaking the law by not wearing seat belts when they drive.

In a four-hour period this week, officers issued 90 tickets. "It's been very successful," Constable Phil Reid said on Thursday.

The undercover officer washing the window looks inside the car to see if the seat belts are properly attached. If not, they give a quiet signal, and the car is stopped again by a uniformed officer a short distance down the road.

"If you're lucky, you just get your windshield cleaned." Reid said.

It is actually illegal to offer street window washing in Burnaby, but Reid said police are allowed to break some laws as part of the undercover operation.

Reid said police have also learned how difficult life can be for squeegee kids, with officers being yelled at and spat at by drivers who do not want their windshields cleaned or refuse to pay.

Money collected by the squeegee officers is being donated to a local food bank.

[Cagey]

Canada has long been compulsed with seatbelt compliance. I think it's their number one priority.

[Slyfox]

Thanks for posting this article. I'm going up that way in a few weeks.

[mc5cents]

Why the subtrafuge? What is wrong with doing it the good old-fashioned way like we do it here in the good ole U.S. of A, Nazi style roadblocks? (YOUR PAPERS PLEASE!)

[underdog]

Yet another blatant attempt to make us believe there are now 2 sets of laws, one for the sheeples, one for the police/politicians.

Some bright spark will hopefully fight this...I think it's called entrapment?

[End Times Sentinel]

In a four-hour period this week, officers issued 90 tickets.

Look, I’ve long been on the Pro-Police side of almost every issue, traffic enforcement too. However, this is a ridiculously stupid law and the attempt to ambush drivers serves no purpose other than to raise revenue.

ONLY the driver is endangering themselves by not wearing a seat belt. This isn’t speeding or red light running we’re talking about here.

Owl_Eagle taking the anti-police side of an argument? That’s surely a sign of the apocolypse…”

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[Mark was here]

2 sets of laws, one for the sheeples, one for the police/politicians.

some animals are more equal than others....

[E Rocc]

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Vancouver suburb have been posing as the car window washers at major intersections in a bid to catch people who are breaking the law by not wearing seat belts when they drive.

Sounds like a prototype for the TIPS campaign.

-Eric

[Just another Joe]

It is actually illegal to offer street window washing in Burnaby, but Reid said police are allowed to break some laws as part of the undercover operation.

Ah yes, even in Canada it's, "One law for thee and one law for me."

[Slainte]

It's good to know that there is so little actual crime in Canada that the police can expend their resources in nabbing that most henious of all scofflaws, the driver not wearing his seatbelt.

But I'm unsure of how it could be considered entrapment. Canadian law could differ from US law, but whatever you think of the method of discovery, they aren't luring or otherwise inducing these drivers into removing their seat belts in order to then bust them for removing their seatbelts.

And that's the point of entrapment- it protects the individual who might not have beeen otherwise disposed to commit the crime had it not been for the direct involvement of the police in providing the idea, egging on the individual on, or otherwise inducing the person to commit the crime. That just doesn't sound like what's happening here.

You can look right in the window and see if the driver is wearing a seatbelt, so there's no unreasonable search going on either.

[Razz Barry]

In a four-hour period this week, officers issued 90 tickets. "It's been very successful," Constable Phil Reid said on Thursday.

Wonder how many rapes, burglaries, murders... happend in those 4 hours?

[Cyber Liberty]

Now I have a good excuse to tell the squeegee bums to eff off....

[mhking]

It is actually illegal to offer street window washing in Burnaby, but Reid said police are allowed to break some laws as part of the undercover operation.

???!!!???

[Flyer]

posing as the car window washers at major intersections

In Houston they don't go undercover. They just walk between the lanes at busy intersections, catch you in the freeway overpass u-turn and they have even shut down an entire freeway and checked each car. I haven't been through one of these checks yet, but when I do I am going to give the officers my best Gomer imitation with "Shame, shame, shame!"

---

[Badray]

" Wonder how many rapes, burglaries, murders... happend in those 4 hours?"

Details, details. And the biggest details are these:

1] Writing tickets produces revenue and

2] Seatbelt law violators don't resist or shoot at the ticket writers. Well, at least not yet. ;-)

[Cagey]

Wonder how many rapes, burglaries, murders... happend in those 4 hours?

It's so much more profitable to write 90 dollar tickets.

[underdog]

I guess you've got a point about entrapment..too bad.

It's still pathetic though, more and more often the police get away with breaking the law. There must be some legal precedent about law enforcement breaking laws to enforce them.

Besides the obvious cash cow of ticketing, this behaviour is just sickening.

[dfwgator]

Wonder how many rapes, burglaries, murders... happend in those 4 hours?

Or how many terrorists slipped past the US border, for that matter.

[AppyPappy]

Because people can maintain they unbuckled to get their wallet.

[AppyPappy]

However, this is a ridiculously stupid law

Not in Canada. They have socialized medicine.

[underdog]

LOL...I actually missed that during first read through, UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS...

Lets see - "Yes ma'am, we're running undercover ticket operations"..sssh...don't tell anyone!