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A determined group of Anaheim citizens with the aid of a councilman petitioned the "suits" in Washington and got permission to have an INS agent stationed in the Anaheim, CA jail.

Originally we asked INS to train a select number of local police to access their database via computer at the jail to check the legal status of ALL ARRESTEES. INS nearly had a stroke, so we said "okay give us an agent."

Why check residency upon arrest? Because when the Anaheim cops took the perp to court, the judge often let them out on their own recognizance (trust them to show up for trial without posting bail) That was a big failure! especially when they were here illegally.

Now the judge is advised in court "this guy's here illegally." The judge naturally holds them over in jail until trial. Many of the arrests were for drunken driving, burgulary, and sex offenses. By the way one of the illegals selling drugs in the city park was a RUSSIAN!! So EVERYONE IS CHECKED! NO PROFILING!

I think this is a practical approach: Make INS share their database and select certain cops to be allowed access. (Every shift commander and his relief man for example.) By the way, attach a salary increase for those qualified to check residency status and watch the cops "volunteer" for this new duty!

Why check residency upon arrest?

Heavens Nancy.. We might offend someone.

Oh my.. OH MY!

Maybe Austin citizens can start spitting in their employees faces(Austin PD) Would their employees turn the other cheek at this?

Now the judge is advised in court "this guy's here illegally." The judge naturally holds them over in jail until trial. Many of the arrests were for drunken driving, burgulary, and sex offenses.

You must be mistaken Nancy, all the illegals in our country are just hard working lawn and garden folks taking care of their families.

"Originally we asked INS to train a select number of local police to access their database via computer at the jail to check the legal status of ALL ARRESTEES."

Good idea, and nothing in the APD's policy prevents that. This is about checking the residency status of witnesses and victims.

Personally, I think that all the small-government conservatives here eager to turn the APD into a branch office of the federal government are really onto something. But let's not stop with the INS; there's lots of overworked and underpaid federal agencies that need our help!

Anytime someone is mugged and reports the crime to the police, the APD should audit him for the IRS. Anytime a woman is raped, the cops should give her a drug test for the DEA. Anytime a car is sideswiped by a hit-and-run driver, the highway patrol should check its emissions level for the EPA. Anytime a home is burgled, the police should ransack it looking for pirated videotapes and bootleg MP3s. Anytime a business is vandalized, Austin's finest should conduct a thorough review of its hiring practices and workplace safety.

And so forth. I'm sure the folks in Washington can provide us a list, since we Texans are too left-wing, ignorant and provincial to be trusted with setting our own law-enforcement priorities. This plan would have three important benefits:

First, of course, we'd finally start to put a dent in crimes like these that the federal government just doesn't have time to pursue.
Second, we'd ease the pressure on the pared-to-the-bone federal budget, moving the costs of enforcement from the cash-strapped feds down to the local level, where police departments have more money than they know what to do with.
Third, and best of all, crime statistics would drop through the floor. Why, I'll bet you'd see at least a 25% drop in reported crimes the day this policy went into effect! And fewer reported crimes to solve leaves the APD even more time to pursue other federal crimes—endangered-species habitat destruction, CFR spending-limit violations, you name it.

Sure, some Austin police officials might whine that the job they were hired to do is to protect the lives and property of Austinites. But I know I speak for all Austinites when I say that anyone who expresses such feeble excuses should be first on the list for investigation, because he obviously has something to hide. Any true public servant should know that his first duty is to Washington, D.C. Only after the workload of federal employees is properly lightened can those lazy, bureaucratic, good-for-nothing beat officers be permitted to squander my tax money chasing after burglars, murderers, rapists and other petty criminals who merely violate state and local laws.