ACLU Opposed To Town’s Attempt At Curtailing Crime

The Police of the smallish Oregon town of Ashland have targeted 24 who “create a chronic nuisance” and that has the American Civil Liberties Union up in arms.

The list of 24 chronic nuisance individuals includes a sex offender who has failed to register on 3 occasions, 8 have been convicted of felonies within the state of Oregon, another for robbery, 4 on drug charges, and 3 others for vandalizing a fountain in Ashland itself. The list displays the photos of the 24 chronic nuisance individuals and alerts officers to who they are.

I’d like to know what is different about this list than the old time Police Blotter. Police officers have a responsibility to patrol the neighborhoods of the communities that they work in. They have the responsibility to know who the potential troublemakers in their area are. If this list makes their job easier to execute, fine I’m all for it.

Sgt. Teresa Selby said in a memo that she gave the list to chamber members in April “because we were having issues with many of the people congregating there and targeting chamber employees when they left.”

“The pictures on the sheet are not of the one-time offender but of those people who are creating a chronic nuisance or who have created a serious crime,” she wrote.

The ACLU is up in arms because the local Chamber of Commerce was supplied with a copy of the list because of a continuous gathering of individuals congregating outside their office. By being supplied with the list, the Chamber was able to alert police when one of these individuals was present. And that is why the ACLU has a problem.

“It’s a violation of people’s rights to be arbitrarily selected for special observation or enforcement action,” said Ralph Temple of Ashland, a member of the ACLU’s Southern Oregon chapter. He said two people on the list told the ACLU about it.

He said it wasn’t appropriate to give the list to the chamber. “It appears as if the mercantile class is using the police to go after the poor,” he said.

It is their wish that free movement of those who commit crimes, look for people to rob, rape, assault, or murder is not infringed. That these people have the right to free movement until they commit such a crime.

I’m sorry, but I’d rather have pro-active policing and in turn this will probably keep these people who they have a new grown concern for out of prison. But at very least, they will know where to find these troublesome individuals when a crime that fits their pattern occurs.

I mean how often does it have to be proven that those who have been convicted of sex related crimes are more likely to re-offend than others. Anyone who has been released on the condition that they register as a sexual predator and fails to do so, in my opinion deserve a one way ticket back to the jug. And this list has 1 individual who has failed to register 3 times! ; Why isn’t he in prison now?

It is only prudent that businesses and law enforcement be equipped with a tool like this to identify a potential problem before it happens. The ACLU needs to get the corn cobs out of their [censor] and shut the hell up.

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