Our view: Police checkpoints may please crime-weary residents, but are they legal?
September 9, 2009
It's hardly surprising that residents of Southwest Baltimore are gratified by the new attention they're getting from police and municipal officials. Carrollton Ridge was the site of a shooting this summer that left a 5-year-old girl critically injured, and Mill Hill was the scene of a fatal shooting a few weeks later. Both communities have suffered from crime and neglect of basic services. So it's to be expected residents there might view the city's recent decision to flood the area with uniformed patrol officers, fire inspectors and sanitation and housing department workers as a sign things may finally be turning around.
Yet the most visible police tactic at the moment is setting up barriers to redirect the traffic of people entering and leaving the area. Police defend the practice as a way of preventing drug dealers and other violent criminals from operating in the community. They say such "Safe Zones" help officers get to know residents and determine who belongs there and who doesn't.
That may be true, but civil liberties groups say the barriers may still be on shaky legal ground. This summer a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that checkpoints set up by police to stop and question motorists entering a crime-ridden neighborhood there may have violated the Constitution's 4th Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. In that case, the court acknowledged that some checkpoints set up for specific purposes - such as apprehending drunk or unlicensed drivers - are permissible. But a mere "general interest in crime control" doesn't justify erecting checkpoint barriers.
Other courts across the country have raised similar objections, and at this point it's not clear whether the Baltimore's use of the barriers would pass constitutional muster, even though city officials say officers are not routinely stopping and questioning people. Moreover, attorneys for the plaintiffs in Washington who sued to bar checkpoints argued the barricades weren't even effective in reducing crime. Murders in the neighborhood where the checkpoints were set up dropped while they were in effect, but homicides in some other parts of the city nearly doubled over the same period.
The best thing about the city's drive to crack down on violent crime in these areas is the recognition that police are just one part of the solution and that real progress depends of meeting the needs of troubled neighborhoods on many different levels. Enforcing fire and housing code regulations, clearing blighted areas and collecting the garbage are as vital to cleaning up an area as more police, and in some cases they may even have a more long-lasting effect. Baltimore could certainly use even more social workers, drug treatment counselors and health and recreation officials in its most troubled neighborhoods.
But citizens shouldn't have to trade their civil liberties for security. The potential for abuse in police checkpoints is obvious, even though many citizens are for the moment content with the intrusion. But one can reasonably question whether setting up checkpoints and barricades at the entrance to communities is a reasonable, necessary or even particularly effective way of reducing crime. If, despite the courts' misgivings, police in Baltimore still believe that it is, they owe it to the public to explain why.
Philly is as scary. Glad I was drunk last time I visited. Too stuppid ta know...or give a shit!
Troll said
1:14 AM, 09/13/09
Sep 13, 2009 12:19 am US/Eastern
Police Investigate Double Murder In NE Phila.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)
Philadelphia homicide detectives are investigating a double murder involving a married couple in their Northeast Philadelphia home.
Just before 5:30 p.m. a 40-year-old man and his 39-year-old wife were each found stabbed multiple times in a house located on the 100 block of Greycourt Road. Police recovered three bloody knives at the scene.
According to neighbors, the man was a supervisor for the city's water department and his wife was a school teacher in Northeast Philadelphia. Each of the victims were found in separate bedrooms.
Police do not know what led to the incident because none of the neighbors reported any fighting or screaming.
According to police, the couple's two young boys, who neighbors say are in fifth and eight grade at the St. Albert's The Great School, were not at the home during the incident.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released and police continue to investigate the incident.
CBS
Troll said
5:25 AM, 09/14/09
Homicide Statistics September 14, 2009 As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
211
2008
232
2007
299
-29.43% : 2007-2009
Homicides in Last 72 Hours: 2
Troll said
8:38 AM, 09/15/09
Overnight Shootings Leave 1 Dead, 5 Wounded
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)
Philadelphia Police are investigating a rash of overnight violence that left one person dead and five others wounded overnight.
Police said a 25-year-old male was shot multiple times on the 1600 block of West Bristol Street in Nicetown Tioga just after 12:30 a.m. The unidentified victim was rushed to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 1 a.m.
One suspect was apprehended on the 4300 block of N. 15th Street while a second remains on the loose.
Several hours earlier on the 2200 block of Bonaffon Street in Southwest Philadelphia, gunfire left three young victims wounded.
Police said a 14-year-old male was struck in the chest and a 19-year-old female was hit in the thigh during the shooting at about 10:30 p.m. A third victim suffered a graze wound.
The two teens were rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The young male is said to be in critical condition while the female's condition is unknown.
The suspects reportedly fled the scene in a white Lincoln.
While police were at the scene of the triple shooting, a 20-year-old male was shot in the ear near 67th and Woodland. The suspects reportedly fired from a passing vehicle.
It is unclear if the incidents were related. No arrests have been made in either incident.
--
At about 1 a.m. in West Philadelphia, police said a 20-year-old male was critically injured by gunfire on the 5100 block of Parrish Street.
The victim was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a gunshot wound to his side.
No arrests have been made.
Uke said
9:15 AM, 09/15/09
Pay-day. Lotsa robberies taday. Stay far away from those 'check-cashing' joints...
Buckethead said
1:34 PM, 09/15/09
Uke wrote:
Pay-day. Lotsa robberies taday. Stay far away from those 'check-cashing' joints...
Yea! The Banks are a breeding ground for crime!!!
Troll said
8:10 AM, 09/21/09
Chester......honorable mention....a CSX crew was robbed at a stop signal there....
Teen Killed, 4 Wounded In Chester Shooting
CHESTER CITY, Pa. (CBS 3)
One person is dead and four others wounded after a hail of gunfire near a Chester basketball court Sunday evening.
Police were called to the Pulaski Playground after reports of gunshots near 8th and Caldwell Streets at about 7 p.m.
The shooting left four wounded and a teenager dead. The teen, identified by friends as Feliz Pizaro, 19, was a 2009 graduate of Chester High School who was scheduled to begin a new job this Thursday.
The wounded victims, whose identities have not been released, were rushed to Crozier Chester Medical Center in stable condition.
A white Ford believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle was found unoccupied a half mile from the scene near the William Penn Housing Complex.
No arrests have been made and a motive for the deadly incident is under investigation. It is unknown if the victims were the intended targets
A 19-year-old was killed and four others injured by gunfire in Chester.
CBS
Troll said
8:22 AM, 09/21/09
Homicide Statistics September 21, 2009 As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
214
2008
238
2007
302
-29.14% : 2007-2009
Homicides in Last 72 Hours: 2
Troll said
11:56 AM, 09/21/09
Troll wrote:
Homicide Statistics September 21, 2009 As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
214
2008
238
2007
302
-29.14% : 2007-2009
Homicides in Last 72 Hours: 2
Oooops......make that 215.
Man Killed In Overbrook Shooting
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)
A 20-year-old male has died injured during a shooting in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia Monday.
Police were called to 64th and Callowhill after reports of gunfire just before 11 a.m.
The victim later died at an area hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to his arms and chest.
No arrests have been made. Further details were not immediately available.
Just a few blocks away starts the Mainline where all the old money is.
Troll said
2:13 AM, 09/22/09
Store Owner Fatally Shot In Southwest Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)
Police are searching for a suspect following the deadly shooting of a store owner in Southwest Philadelphia Monday evening.
The fatal shooting happened at about 7:00 p.m. at the Peralta Grocery convenience store located at 66th and Dorel Streets.
According to investigators, the store owner, identified as 54-year-old Domingo Rodriegez, and his wife were located behind a plexiglass enclosed counter when an armed suspect entered the store.
Police said the suspect opened the glass door behind the counter and confronted Rodriegez.
The gunman shot Rodriegez once in the chest. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he was later pronounced dead.
"He just fires a shot for no reason at all and as the owner falls to the ground, he goes through his pockets," Lt. John Walker explained.
Following the shooting, the gunman fled on foot and made off with approximately $2,000.
Rodriegez was married and had two daughters; ages 11 and 13.
So far, police have not made any arrests. The incident remains under police investigation.
The fatal shooting happened at about 7:30 p.m. Monday evening at the Peralta Grocery convenience store located at 66th and Dorel Streets.
CBS
Troll said
7:13 AM, 09/28/09
Homicide Statistics September 28, 2009 As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.southwest09sep09,0,7870467.story
baltimoresun.com
Crime barriers
Our view: Police checkpoints may please crime-weary residents, but are they legal?
September 9, 2009
It's hardly surprising that residents of Southwest Baltimore are gratified by the new attention they're getting from police and municipal officials. Carrollton Ridge was the site of a shooting this summer that left a 5-year-old girl critically injured, and Mill Hill was the scene of a fatal shooting a few weeks later. Both communities have suffered from crime and neglect of basic services. So it's to be expected residents there might view the city's recent decision to flood the area with uniformed patrol officers, fire inspectors and sanitation and housing department workers as a sign things may finally be turning around.
Yet the most visible police tactic at the moment is setting up barriers to redirect the traffic of people entering and leaving the area. Police defend the practice as a way of preventing drug dealers and other violent criminals from operating in the community. They say such "Safe Zones" help officers get to know residents and determine who belongs there and who doesn't.
That may be true, but civil liberties groups say the barriers may still be on shaky legal ground. This summer a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that checkpoints set up by police to stop and question motorists entering a crime-ridden neighborhood there may have violated the Constitution's 4th Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. In that case, the court acknowledged that some checkpoints set up for specific purposes - such as apprehending drunk or unlicensed drivers - are permissible. But a mere "general interest in crime control" doesn't justify erecting checkpoint barriers.
Other courts across the country have raised similar objections, and at this point it's not clear whether the Baltimore's use of the barriers would pass constitutional muster, even though city officials say officers are not routinely stopping and questioning people. Moreover, attorneys for the plaintiffs in Washington who sued to bar checkpoints argued the barricades weren't even effective in reducing crime. Murders in the neighborhood where the checkpoints were set up dropped while they were in effect, but homicides in some other parts of the city nearly doubled over the same period.
The best thing about the city's drive to crack down on violent crime in these areas is the recognition that police are just one part of the solution and that real progress depends of meeting the needs of troubled neighborhoods on many different levels. Enforcing fire and housing code regulations, clearing blighted areas and collecting the garbage are as vital to cleaning up an area as more police, and in some cases they may even have a more long-lasting effect. Baltimore could certainly use even more social workers, drug treatment counselors and health and recreation officials in its most troubled neighborhoods.
But citizens shouldn't have to trade their civil liberties for security. The potential for abuse in police checkpoints is obvious, even though many citizens are for the moment content with the intrusion. But one can reasonably question whether setting up checkpoints and barricades at the entrance to communities is a reasonable, necessary or even particularly effective way of reducing crime. If, despite the courts' misgivings, police in Baltimore still believe that it is, they owe it to the public to explain why.
Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
Police Investigate Double Murder In NE Phila.
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)Just before 5:30 p.m. a 40-year-old man and his 39-year-old wife were each found stabbed multiple times in a house located on the 100 block of Greycourt Road. Police recovered three bloody knives at the scene.
According to neighbors, the man was a supervisor for the city's water department and his wife was a school teacher in Northeast Philadelphia. Each of the victims were found in separate bedrooms.
Police do not know what led to the incident because none of the neighbors reported any fighting or screaming.
According to police, the couple's two young boys, who neighbors say are in fifth and eight grade at the St. Albert's The Great School, were not at the home during the incident.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released and police continue to investigate the incident.
CBS
September 14, 2009
As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
2008
2007
Homicides in
Last 72 Hours: 2
Overnight Shootings Leave 1 Dead, 5 Wounded
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)
Philadelphia Police are investigating a rash of overnight violence that left one person dead and five others wounded overnight.Police said a 25-year-old male was shot multiple times on the 1600 block of West Bristol Street in Nicetown Tioga just after 12:30 a.m. The unidentified victim was rushed to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 1 a.m.
One suspect was apprehended on the 4300 block of N. 15th Street while a second remains on the loose.
Several hours earlier on the 2200 block of Bonaffon Street in Southwest Philadelphia, gunfire left three young victims wounded.
Police said a 14-year-old male was struck in the chest and a 19-year-old female was hit in the thigh during the shooting at about 10:30 p.m. A third victim suffered a graze wound.
The two teens were rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The young male is said to be in critical condition while the female's condition is unknown.
The suspects reportedly fled the scene in a white Lincoln.
While police were at the scene of the triple shooting, a 20-year-old male was shot in the ear near 67th and Woodland. The suspects reportedly fired from a passing vehicle.
It is unclear if the incidents were related. No arrests have been made in either incident.
--
At about 1 a.m. in West Philadelphia, police said a 20-year-old male was critically injured by gunfire on the 5100 block of Parrish Street.
The victim was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a gunshot wound to his side.
No arrests have been made.
Teen Killed, 4 Wounded In Chester Shooting
CHESTER CITY, Pa. (CBS 3)Police were called to the Pulaski Playground after reports of gunshots near 8th and Caldwell Streets at about 7 p.m.
The shooting left four wounded and a teenager dead. The teen, identified by friends as Feliz Pizaro, 19, was a 2009 graduate of Chester High School who was scheduled to begin a new job this Thursday.
The wounded victims, whose identities have not been released, were rushed to Crozier Chester Medical Center in stable condition.
A white Ford believed to have been used as a getaway vehicle was found unoccupied a half mile from the scene near the William Penn Housing Complex.
No arrests have been made and a motive for the deadly incident is under investigation. It is unknown if the victims were the intended targets
CBS
September 21, 2009
As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
2008
2007
Homicides in
Last 72 Hours: 2
Man Killed In Overbrook Shooting
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)Police were called to 64th and Callowhill after reports of gunfire just before 11 a.m.
The victim later died at an area hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to his arms and chest.
No arrests have been made. Further details were not immediately available.
The incident remains under investigation.
CBS
Store Owner Fatally Shot In Southwest Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)The fatal shooting happened at about 7:00 p.m. at the Peralta Grocery convenience store located at 66th and Dorel Streets.
According to investigators, the store owner, identified as 54-year-old Domingo Rodriegez, and his wife were located behind a plexiglass enclosed counter when an armed suspect entered the store.
Police said the suspect opened the glass door behind the counter and confronted Rodriegez.
The gunman shot Rodriegez once in the chest. He was rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he was later pronounced dead.
"He just fires a shot for no reason at all and as the owner falls to the ground, he goes through his pockets," Lt. John Walker explained.
Following the shooting, the gunman fled on foot and made off with approximately $2,000.
Rodriegez was married and had two daughters; ages 11 and 13.
So far, police have not made any arrests. The incident remains under police investigation.
CBS
September 28, 2009
As of 11:59 PM Previous Day
2009
2008
2007
Homicides in
Last 72 Hours: 3