Cops In the Sky + More : )~*
#1
12-31-2010, 07:22 AM
Cops In the Sky + More : )~*
Cops In the Sky
How Police Use Airplanes To Catch You Without Radar
Posted: Dec 30, 2010
If you are driving in one of nineteen states that employs airplane radar, it is in your best interest to drive under the speed limit even if you don't see any police cars around. (Getty Images)
by: Craig Howie
Imagine this: It's a gorgeous spring day in Miami and you're thoroughly tempted to lower the top of your rental car and push the power pedal a little too hard in a bid to break free from the traffic crush on the Palmetto. But, though there may not seem to be a heavy police presence on the freeways on this particular day, you can be pretty sure that someone up in the sky is keeping a close eye on speeding vacationers and the massive traffic tailbacks they're trying to avoid.
Welcome to Florida, and aviation law enforcement from the state's Highway Patrol. It's one of the few states in the U.S. that employs aircraft to monitor speeders reckless drivers and, sometimes, soon-to-be felons fleeing a police pursuit (Nevada and Minnesota are among a dozen others). And if you never quite realized what those strange white lines on freeways mean, well, now you will.
States that Enforce Speeding Laws From the Air Include:
CaliforniaFloridaIllinoisLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMinnesotaNebraskaNevadaNew JerseyNorth DakotaOhioOregonPennsylvaniaTexasViginiaWashingtonWisconsin
Flight Captain Matt Walker, the Florida Highway Patrol's chief pilot, says his job primarily involves monitoring motorists' speed between these painted white lines, which are placed a quarter-mile apart in frequent intervals.
Surprisingly, aviation enforcement doesn't involve radar: it's a straightforward stopwatch time over distance equation that allows a pilot to work out whether a driver has broken the speed limit. Captain Walker, having clocked a motorist driving too fast, then radios the speeding car's information to a waiting state trooper, or ground unit, who stops the car and issues a citation.
That is, if the driver stops. Sometimes, Walker says, they don't, a felony offense. But this is where aviation enforcement really comes into its own. In certain cases, rather than pursuing a fleeing motorist, which can be dangerous for all involved, an order will be given for the troopers to stand down but the pilot will still pursue the driver. Occasionally, the driver will head home, or even go shopping, completely unaware that his movements have been tracked from the air. Planes, after all, operate much more quietly than the helicopters often employed in other states in such pursuits. When the driver is quickly apprehended on the ground, usually they're shocked to hear they'd been tracked from high above.
"The troopers will back off and we'll follow the vehicle," Walker said. "When the person doesn't see the troopers' lights, he'll pull off and stop or he'll drive to his house. And as he's going into his house, the troopers are coming around the corner.
"It takes the fleeing portion out of the pursuit. Sometimes he'll still drive recklessly but the majority of the time he'll operate within speed limits if he thinks nobody is chasing him."
Walker says that a fleet of seven Cessna fixed-wing aircraft operates in the skies above Florida. The combined fleet delivers some 45,000 citations on average each year, and speed will be a factor in about 38,000 of these citations. The rest of the citations are made up of secondary factors, if the driver is drunk or not wearing a seatbelt, for example, or is driving on a suspended license. He says about 150 arrests are made each year where a pilot has spotted a clearly impaired driver, and aircraft enforcement results in the recovery of about 50 stolen vehicles annually.
"The primary use of aircraft is for traffic enforcement," Walker said. "The pilot has a stopwatch and observes traffic going down the roadway. He activates the stopwatch on the first line and calculates the average speed over the quarter mile.
"We'll say, 'the vehicle is a red pickup truck in the inside lane, number 5 behind you, off to your left now, now he's number 1. The trooper looks out his window and will pull in behind that vehicle. We confirm the time and speed and the pilot will return to the lines and do it over again."
The most challenging days for Walker and his team of pilots are busy holidays with heavy traffic and when the weather takes a turn for the worse. He says in those situations, or when a storm is looming, the fleet will be grounded. "We do not fly in inclement weather," he says.
Walker, who was born and raised in Florida, says that any prospective pilot must have logged at least one year as a regular state trooper and 500 hours of flight time and gained a commercial or instrument rating. He says many pilots were former civilian fliers who paid for their lessons out of their own pocket, although they can gain the qualification when they're going through the police training academy. Walker was a trooper for five years before he took to the skies, and now spends about five hours a day in the air. He also has to testify in court should a motorist decide to challenge a citation.
David Haenel, a defense lawyer at fightyourticket.com, has gotten to know many of the FHP pilots well in his long career fighting speeding tickets in Florida courts. He says he has won many cases challenging the basic equipment used to issue a citation -- including radio and the three stopwatches that pilots may use to clock a vehicle -- and discrepancies in the timing of an issued ticket.
He says that a pilot must prove that their stopwatches -- which must be of a certain brand -- have been calibrated in the last six months. He says a description of the car, its time and its speed must be written on the ticket, and that the citation's reliability must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Which means that if there is a discrepancy between the time a pilot says he contacted the trooper and the time the trooper wrote on the ticket, even by a minute, Haenel has grounds to get the citation dismissed.
"First and foremost typically a client will tell me, 'I didn't see the plane in the air'," Haenel said. "But I want to know the locations of where the lines are, if the ticket is written in the appropriate venue [or county] if the troopers come from different stations, if the ticket is valid on its face."
"Every inconsistency goes in the benefit of the driver. The time on the citation is usually the most critical. If the pilot says 3.59, but the ticket's at 3.58, or 4.01, sometimes I don't even take these to trial."
Tread warily the next time you're tempted to put your foot down in Florida. You never know who might be watching. Or from where.
Maybe even from `Space
LOL
How Police Use Airplanes To Catch You Without Radar
Posted: Dec 30, 2010 by: Craig Howie
Imagine this: It's a gorgeous spring day in Miami and you're thoroughly tempted to lower the top of your rental car and push the power pedal a little too hard in a bid to break free from the traffic crush on the Palmetto. But, though there may not seem to be a heavy police presence on the freeways on this particular day, you can be pretty sure that someone up in the sky is keeping a close eye on speeding vacationers and the massive traffic tailbacks they're trying to avoid.
Welcome to Florida, and aviation law enforcement from the state's Highway Patrol. It's one of the few states in the U.S. that employs aircraft to monitor speeders reckless drivers and, sometimes, soon-to-be felons fleeing a police pursuit (Nevada and Minnesota are among a dozen others). And if you never quite realized what those strange white lines on freeways mean, well, now you will.
States that Enforce Speeding Laws From the Air Include:
CaliforniaFloridaIllinoisLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMinnesotaNebraskaNevadaNew JerseyNorth DakotaOhioOregonPennsylvaniaTexasViginiaWashingtonWisconsin
Flight Captain Matt Walker, the Florida Highway Patrol's chief pilot, says his job primarily involves monitoring motorists' speed between these painted white lines, which are placed a quarter-mile apart in frequent intervals.
Surprisingly, aviation enforcement doesn't involve radar: it's a straightforward stopwatch time over distance equation that allows a pilot to work out whether a driver has broken the speed limit. Captain Walker, having clocked a motorist driving too fast, then radios the speeding car's information to a waiting state trooper, or ground unit, who stops the car and issues a citation.
That is, if the driver stops. Sometimes, Walker says, they don't, a felony offense. But this is where aviation enforcement really comes into its own. In certain cases, rather than pursuing a fleeing motorist, which can be dangerous for all involved, an order will be given for the troopers to stand down but the pilot will still pursue the driver. Occasionally, the driver will head home, or even go shopping, completely unaware that his movements have been tracked from the air. Planes, after all, operate much more quietly than the helicopters often employed in other states in such pursuits. When the driver is quickly apprehended on the ground, usually they're shocked to hear they'd been tracked from high above.
"The troopers will back off and we'll follow the vehicle," Walker said. "When the person doesn't see the troopers' lights, he'll pull off and stop or he'll drive to his house. And as he's going into his house, the troopers are coming around the corner.
"It takes the fleeing portion out of the pursuit. Sometimes he'll still drive recklessly but the majority of the time he'll operate within speed limits if he thinks nobody is chasing him."
Walker says that a fleet of seven Cessna fixed-wing aircraft operates in the skies above Florida. The combined fleet delivers some 45,000 citations on average each year, and speed will be a factor in about 38,000 of these citations. The rest of the citations are made up of secondary factors, if the driver is drunk or not wearing a seatbelt, for example, or is driving on a suspended license. He says about 150 arrests are made each year where a pilot has spotted a clearly impaired driver, and aircraft enforcement results in the recovery of about 50 stolen vehicles annually.
"The primary use of aircraft is for traffic enforcement," Walker said. "The pilot has a stopwatch and observes traffic going down the roadway. He activates the stopwatch on the first line and calculates the average speed over the quarter mile.
"We'll say, 'the vehicle is a red pickup truck in the inside lane, number 5 behind you, off to your left now, now he's number 1. The trooper looks out his window and will pull in behind that vehicle. We confirm the time and speed and the pilot will return to the lines and do it over again."
The most challenging days for Walker and his team of pilots are busy holidays with heavy traffic and when the weather takes a turn for the worse. He says in those situations, or when a storm is looming, the fleet will be grounded. "We do not fly in inclement weather," he says.
Walker, who was born and raised in Florida, says that any prospective pilot must have logged at least one year as a regular state trooper and 500 hours of flight time and gained a commercial or instrument rating. He says many pilots were former civilian fliers who paid for their lessons out of their own pocket, although they can gain the qualification when they're going through the police training academy. Walker was a trooper for five years before he took to the skies, and now spends about five hours a day in the air. He also has to testify in court should a motorist decide to challenge a citation.
David Haenel, a defense lawyer at fightyourticket.com, has gotten to know many of the FHP pilots well in his long career fighting speeding tickets in Florida courts. He says he has won many cases challenging the basic equipment used to issue a citation -- including radio and the three stopwatches that pilots may use to clock a vehicle -- and discrepancies in the timing of an issued ticket.
He says that a pilot must prove that their stopwatches -- which must be of a certain brand -- have been calibrated in the last six months. He says a description of the car, its time and its speed must be written on the ticket, and that the citation's reliability must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Which means that if there is a discrepancy between the time a pilot says he contacted the trooper and the time the trooper wrote on the ticket, even by a minute, Haenel has grounds to get the citation dismissed.
"First and foremost typically a client will tell me, 'I didn't see the plane in the air'," Haenel said. "But I want to know the locations of where the lines are, if the ticket is written in the appropriate venue [or county] if the troopers come from different stations, if the ticket is valid on its face."
"Every inconsistency goes in the benefit of the driver. The time on the citation is usually the most critical. If the pilot says 3.59, but the ticket's at 3.58, or 4.01, sometimes I don't even take these to trial."
Tread warily the next time you're tempted to put your foot down in Florida. You never know who might be watching. Or from where.
Maybe even from `Space
LOL
Last edited by Space; 12-31-2010 at 07:24 AM.
#2
12-31-2010, 07:26 AM
How To Screw Up A Car Thief's Day
New Year's Day Is Most Active For Thieves
Posted: Dec 31, 2010
by: Josh Max
It takes less time for a professional thief to break into your car, start it up and drive away as it does for you to walk into 7-11, plunk down three bucks for a bagel and coffee and emerge to watch your ride recede into the distance. And don't presume your elderly clunker's immune; the most stolen vehicle of 2008, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, was the 1994 Honda Accord.
"We know that thieves never miss an opportunity to make a quick buck by stealing a car," says Joe Wehrle, president and CEO of NICB. "They work weekends, nights and holidays and ironically, they are particularly busy on New Year's Day and Labor Day."
While there isn't any way to stop a crook who really wants your ride and has the tools and know-how to make it happen, the following tips can help your car become a less inviting target and slow down, discourage or actually prevent car theft.
Park in plain sight
Holiday Car Theft
HolidayNumber of Thefts
New Year's Day3,017Labor Day2,847Halloween2,727President's Day2,683Memorial Day2,599Independence Day2,584Valentine's Day2,389Christmas Eve1,841Thanksgiving1,806Christmas Day1,267New Year's Eve916
The holidays ranked by number of thefts reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for 2008.
Our natural inclination is to hide something we don't want anyone to steal, but for cars, visibility is the key to safety, say experts. Thieves prefer to work out of sight of people and electronic recording devices, so leave your car in a well-lit, populated area.
Take your keys---always.
If you think this tip falls into the "duh" section of car theft prevention, try Googling the phrase "keys in ignition" or similar and you'll see many trusting souls leave the equivalent of a sign reading "FREE CAR!" hanging from their ignition switches on a daily basis. Car theft is often a crime of opportunity, so shut yours off and pocket your keys even if you're only ducking into a convenience store.
Don't hide your keys anywhere within or outside the car.
You know those magnetic key holders you can buy to store your spare key? Leave it in your house on the fridge, not under bumpers, in the glove compartment or anywhere in the car. Thieves know all the hiding places you do, and probably a few more.
Use a variety of methods to slow would-be thieves.
Car alarms are ubiquitous and often go ignored. When used in tandem with other theft prevention methods, though, they will make a thief naturally try to work faster, and if he comes across other security measures, he may give up altogether and move on. Apply the emergency brake, turn your wheels hard left or right and set the car in "park" or in gear, making it more difficult for you to be quickly towed, and consider using a vehicle recovery system like LoJack or an engine immobilizer device such as Ravelco.
Disable your battery if parking long-term
A thief won't spend time trying to diagnose an apparent engine problem. Consider yanking one of the cable wires to your battery if you're leaving your car parked at an airport or anywhere else where it will sit unattended for more than a few days.
Sign valuable parts
Take the time to embed your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the inside of your trunk, inside your doors, on your sound system components and any other pricey parts thieves like to chop. If you don't feel like doing it yourself, contact your local police precinct or even your insurance company, some of whom offer free VIN etchings.
Go east
California is the number one state for auto theft, according to the National Insurance Crime bureau, with the town of Modesto ranking #1 with 4,235 vehicles stolen in 2008.
The good news for all of us is that auto thefts were down almost 9% overall in 2008, according to the NICB, to less than one million a year in 2008. With foresight and preventive measures that don't take much time, you can help ensure you'll never have to experience that unique nausea familiar to anyone finding a grease spot where their car was parked.
New Year's Day Is Most Active For Thieves
Posted: Dec 31, 2010 by: Josh Max
It takes less time for a professional thief to break into your car, start it up and drive away as it does for you to walk into 7-11, plunk down three bucks for a bagel and coffee and emerge to watch your ride recede into the distance. And don't presume your elderly clunker's immune; the most stolen vehicle of 2008, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, was the 1994 Honda Accord.
"We know that thieves never miss an opportunity to make a quick buck by stealing a car," says Joe Wehrle, president and CEO of NICB. "They work weekends, nights and holidays and ironically, they are particularly busy on New Year's Day and Labor Day."
While there isn't any way to stop a crook who really wants your ride and has the tools and know-how to make it happen, the following tips can help your car become a less inviting target and slow down, discourage or actually prevent car theft.
Park in plain sight
Holiday Car Theft
HolidayNumber of Thefts
New Year's Day3,017Labor Day2,847Halloween2,727President's Day2,683Memorial Day2,599Independence Day2,584Valentine's Day2,389Christmas Eve1,841Thanksgiving1,806Christmas Day1,267New Year's Eve916
The holidays ranked by number of thefts reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for 2008.
Our natural inclination is to hide something we don't want anyone to steal, but for cars, visibility is the key to safety, say experts. Thieves prefer to work out of sight of people and electronic recording devices, so leave your car in a well-lit, populated area.
Take your keys---always.
If you think this tip falls into the "duh" section of car theft prevention, try Googling the phrase "keys in ignition" or similar and you'll see many trusting souls leave the equivalent of a sign reading "FREE CAR!" hanging from their ignition switches on a daily basis. Car theft is often a crime of opportunity, so shut yours off and pocket your keys even if you're only ducking into a convenience store.
Don't hide your keys anywhere within or outside the car.
You know those magnetic key holders you can buy to store your spare key? Leave it in your house on the fridge, not under bumpers, in the glove compartment or anywhere in the car. Thieves know all the hiding places you do, and probably a few more.
Use a variety of methods to slow would-be thieves.
Car alarms are ubiquitous and often go ignored. When used in tandem with other theft prevention methods, though, they will make a thief naturally try to work faster, and if he comes across other security measures, he may give up altogether and move on. Apply the emergency brake, turn your wheels hard left or right and set the car in "park" or in gear, making it more difficult for you to be quickly towed, and consider using a vehicle recovery system like LoJack or an engine immobilizer device such as Ravelco.
Disable your battery if parking long-term
A thief won't spend time trying to diagnose an apparent engine problem. Consider yanking one of the cable wires to your battery if you're leaving your car parked at an airport or anywhere else where it will sit unattended for more than a few days.
Sign valuable parts
Take the time to embed your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the inside of your trunk, inside your doors, on your sound system components and any other pricey parts thieves like to chop. If you don't feel like doing it yourself, contact your local police precinct or even your insurance company, some of whom offer free VIN etchings.
Go east
California is the number one state for auto theft, according to the National Insurance Crime bureau, with the town of Modesto ranking #1 with 4,235 vehicles stolen in 2008.
The good news for all of us is that auto thefts were down almost 9% overall in 2008, according to the NICB, to less than one million a year in 2008. With foresight and preventive measures that don't take much time, you can help ensure you'll never have to experience that unique nausea familiar to anyone finding a grease spot where their car was parked.
#4
12-31-2010, 08:53 AM
It blows my mind how Florida law enforcement will go out if it's way to waste money, then complain about being underfunded.
What is more effective at slowing speeders:
1. Multimillion dollar aircraft/maintainance program
2. An empty patrol car on the side of the road with parking lights and radar on
What is more effective at slowing speeders:
1. Multimillion dollar aircraft/maintainance program
2. An empty patrol car on the side of the road with parking lights and radar on
#5
12-31-2010, 09:11 AM
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Henderson, NV
Posts: 6,996
It blows my mind how Florida law enforcement will go out if it's way to waste money, then complain about being underfunded.
What is more effective at slowing speeders:
1. Multimillion dollar aircraft/maintainance program
2. An empty patrol car on the side of the road with parking lights and radar on
What is more effective at slowing speeders:
1. Multimillion dollar aircraft/maintainance program
2. An empty patrol car on the side of the road with parking lights and radar on
A Popcorn stand. No one wants to go flying by the wonderful smell of Popcorn. They would rather slow down and cruise to get a whiff.
#7
01-02-2011, 09:07 AM
I have bb gunned a few red light cameras in my life, the statute of limitations just ran out on the last time I did it, I might hafta paint some lines together or something....
Fight the power!
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