Tag: Public Safety
-
Explainer: Why DUI Checkpoints Are Legal
By Liam Dillon Many readers of our guide to when police can pull you over raised an interesting question. Police need to believe you’ve done something wrong before they can stop you, otherwise pulling you over could violate your Fourth Amendment rights. But what about DUI checkpoints, which allow police to stop cars and check…
-
Sex-Trafficking Prosecutions Spike in Region
By Amita Sharma Sex-trafficking prosecutions in San Diego County have quadrupled in the last four years. The rise is due partly to a spike in the number of young girls forced to sell themselves and turn their earnings over to their gangster pimps. County prosecutors filed nine sex trafficking cases in 2009. Last year, that…
-
When Police Can – and Can’t – Pull You Over
An SDPD officer makes a stop along Euclid Avenue in Valencia Park. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon It makes sense that traffic stops often become the focal point for allegations of racial profiling. The enforcement of some traffic laws can be nebulous and discretionary, and stops tend to be the most frequent…
-
What It Means to Be ‘Black While Blue’
Benjamin Kelso, head of the local Black Police Officers Association, pictured at the location where he believes fellow SDPD officers racially profiled him at a traffic stop 20 years ago. | Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson By Liam Dillon Benjamin Kelso thinks parents in minority-dominated areas of San Diego should be aware of the color of…
-
San Diego Police and Racial Profiling, By the Numbers
Top SDPD officials respond to questions about racial profiling. | Photo Credit: Brian Myers By Liam Dillon The San Diego Police Department hasn’t followed its own policy on collecting racial data on the people officers pull over during traffic stops. It’s a key finding of our investigation into the department’s approach to racial profiling issues.…