Citizen's Arrest....Citizen's Arrest !
Posted on 10/19/2006 7:25:52 AM PDT by Froufrou
If you catch someone smoking in a non-smoking area in Omaha, Neb., call the police. The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is encouraging city residents to call 911 in the wake of the citywide ban on smoking that went into effect on Oct. 2.
Teresa Negron, sergeant in charge of public information of the OPD, explained that the department encourages observers of infractions to pick up the phone to report the infraction -- just like they would for any other crime they observe being committed.
"Citizens or business owners that observe a violation to the smoking ban are urged to call 911 and report the violation," Negron told Cybercast News Service. "[It's like] any other crime that happens in any city -- if somebody sees a crime happen, they can call 911 and report it."
Negron did not necessarily endorse immediately calling 911 but still saw it as a viable option.
"What I would recommend for people to do is bring it to the attention of the management, and if that doesn't stop, then obviously contact us, and we'll respond and we'll handle it," she said.
However, the calls are not high priority.
"The first week, we had maybe 10 calls in the entire city," said Negron. "Calls concerning the smoking ban were not high-priority calls, so we have a system in place that calls that come in and have a higher priority will be handled."
The penalty is a citation and fee for individuals caught violating the ban -- $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for the third and subsequent offenses, according to a summary of the city ordinance posted online.
"Obviously, they would receive a citation for violating the smoking ordinance," said Negron.
According to some, however, the new law will encourage people to become "snitches."
"I think that it's one thing for people to monitor themselves," said Amy Kauffman, research fellow for the Hudson Institute. "It's another thing to ask people to monitor their friends, neighbors and cohorts. It is turning people into snitches."
Kauffman called this "a horrible thing" and a waste of city resources.
"To use 911 for this purpose goes against what 911 is designated for. It is an emergency service. These are not emergencies," Kauffman said.
She further classified the situation as over the top.
"To take 911, which is supposed to respond to someone within I guess one to three minutes, and use it for this and to clog the lines with busybodies phoning in on their neighbors is ridiculous."
Mark Welsch, president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution (GASP) of Nebraska, disagrees.
"It's not an over-reaction, it's a good use of our city resources" that are being squandered on smokers, according to Welsch.
"I think about 13 percent of our total Medicaid expenses are caused by tobacco," Welsch said. "So, I'm paying too much. I don't want to subsidize tobacco use in my state. We should have just enough to break even. For next year, we would have to raise the tobacco tax by about 50 cents per pack -- just to break even."
Smoking isn't the only problem that needs fixing to trim down the costs, Welsch said. There's also a problem with food consumption that needs attention.
"We're such a fat country, by and large. Somebody needs to do something, or our Medicaid and Medicare costs are just going to continue to go up and up, not just because of smoking, but because of people being overweight and too lethargic to take their butts outside and walk," said Welsch.
Kauffman noted that smoking is not good for your health but insisted that 911 calls are not the answer.
"Smoking has been proven to be bad for one's health," she said. "But I really think that sometimes, these people go a little bit too far. It is a trend, but this is different because not only is it a trend where they're saying 'no smoking,' but now they're asking people to actually phone in and report other people."
Citizen's Arrest....Citizen's Arrest !
I really am at a loss for words! What are we as a nation becoming? This is just pure insanity!!!
My sister-in-law is a nurse. She says the nurses who use those areas are often from the unit that is charge of lung issues. As Dave Barry would say, "I am not making this up."
Yes, I rarely wear a seat belt, for instance.
That sounds like a liberal attitude
Au contraire, foolish people pass foolish laws. Blind obedience to stupid laws is dangerous to the Republic.
And encouraging citizens to rat on each other is profoundly dangerous.
I thought 911 was the new taxi cab
Wow! Is this not a gross misuse of the emergency number? Why not call the Police Department number instead?
Next thing you know we will be dialing 911 because someone used the "n" word in 1970!
If this CRETIN were dressed as he really should be, he'd be wearing a turban, bernouse, or whatever them TALLYBANZ wear over there. He's nothing but a NAZI with too much time on his hands and a highly inflated sense of his importance and value to this planet. To me he's worth no more than the mess my dog squeezes out his hind end....
> That sounds like a liberal attitude
>
> Au contraire, foolish people pass foolish laws. Blind obedience to stupid laws is dangerous to the Republic.
Like I said, this is EXACTLY the same rationale used by the liberal left whenever they disobey a law they don't like. Can you tell me what the difference is between your attitude on this and the attitude on the left for ANY law that they don't like?
You either win at the ballot box or you lose. You (and we) lose even more by not obeying laws you just don't like. The only other option is a shooting rebellion.
See: The American Revolution.
Mark Welsch, president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution (GASP) of Nebraska, disagrees. "It's not an over-reaction, it's a good use of our city resources" that are being squandered on smokers, according to Welsch.
You can only hope that some time in the future this guy finds a gun in his face, and all 911 lines are tied up with no-smoking nut calls.
That is exactly what I was getting at. Are you ready to lead a shooting revolution over this?
I hardly think not wearing my seat belt leads inevitably to becoming Pancho Villa.
maybe not, but it could lead to dancing.
random street BMI tests soon to come : cops armed with fat pincers.
Which could lead to armed revolution.....
I see your point.
random street BMI tests soon to come : cops armed with fat pincers.
I wonder how many will be shot "resisting measurement?"
No actually, I am just being realistic. I originally said that there was absolutely no difference between your attitude and the attitude of the liberal left. You both want to be able to obey laws you agree with and disobey the laws you disagree with. You still have not explained what the difference between you and them are. I think the reason is because there is no difference.
The same reason that makes them take one last huge drag on their butt (before flicking it onto the sidewalk for someone else to pick up) then walking into a non-smoking business and exhaling out a big cloud of stench. They want to flaunt their disregard of the rules and get in their little dig.
Nadler should rent out his tummy for advertising.....Goodyear?
Aren't you the guy that coined the phrase "Nostradumbass" right here on FR? (regarding some Johns Hopkins professor or somethin' like that?)
Attention all Omaha area bank robbers: Before robbing a bank, have a few accomplices light up in public places near the target bank. Not too close, of course. The idea is to have the local citizenry call 911 and have the SWAT teams deployed to those locations. They can't come looking for you when there are dastardly smokers on the loose! By correctly locating your smoking cohorts, you will create a bubble in the area's police coverage with the bank comfortably in the center of that bubble. Failing this, enough smokers will cause the city's 911 system to collapse; allowing you adequate time to complete your robbery.
Think what you like, it's of no concern to me.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.