Category Archives: Victimless Crimes

Don't you hate it when someone steals your pot?

My friend is a very good person. She's devoted her entire life to saving premature babies. She'sone of the most experienced and highly-trained nurses that one of our large hospitals has to offer. I can't tell you exactly where she works, but let's just say that if your family has had a baby that required a little extra time in the hospital, there's a pretty good chance she's helped take care of it. The point I'm trying to make is, whomever stole from this woman stole from a saint.

It actually took her a minute to notice the theft because she works such long hours. Yes, she also has security cameras, but they were set up to prevent package thefts and not the type of theft she experienced.

She had two planters at the top of her driveway going into her garage and someone stole one of them.

Yes, someone took her pot.

This is not unlike the theft of four catalytic converters from the South Plains Food Bank or 94.5 FMX's very own station truck. It just seems like there should be some places and some people who are off-limits when it comes to thievery.

Think about it: this woman was literally helping babies to not die and theSouth Plains Food Bank was helping people to eat when someone stole from them.

I'm breaking a couple of rules on this one. Ordinarily I don't like rats, but that's for victimless crimes -- like a person having their own stash of the other kind of pot. The food bank and this lady deserve some justice. If you have any idea at all who stole the catalytic converters from the Food Bank, contact theCrime Line of Lubbock and file a tip online or call them at:806-741-1000.

If you know who stole a pot matching the one pictured below, please let me know so that I can, uh, 'teach them a lesson.'

Six Dirty Little Secrets About Lubbock, Texas

There's a lot going on here.

Read the original:

Lubbock Woman Has Her Pot Stolen And Refuses To Call Police - KFMX-FM

5 teens arrested, suspected in string of San Francisco retail thefts

Five teenagers were arrested by SFPD in a string of retail thefts involving Walgreens and GameStop. Some say they hope the arrests send a strong message to teens at this crucial stage in their young lives.

SAN FRANCISCO - Five teenagers have been arrested by San Francisco police in a monthlong spree of retail thefts across the city.

Four teenage boys - the youngest just 14 - and a 16-year-old girl, were taken into custody.

"It is always shocking to see young people be involved in this kind of activity," said San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai, who has made a crackdown on retail theft a priority.

Safai said intervention is possible.

"It's important that we're getting people at a young age, because this is the time when you can turn their life around," Safai said.

The teens targeted retail stores on at least 10 different occasions in March and April.

Some were hit more than once. The Walgreens on Columbus Avenue in North Beach was hit three times in less than two weeks.

Other Walgreens were targeted, including one at Divisadero and Lombard in Cow Hollow and another on Geneva Avenue near Paris Street in the Excelsior District.

The GameStop store near 22nd and Mission was hit at least twice.

The Foot Locker at Stonestown Galleria was also robbed. In a separate incident, two victims at the mall were robbed, but an officer and off-duty recruit broke up the attack.

San Francisco businesses can't tolerate this," said Rodney Fong, president and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. "We are taking risks on our own, doing business in San Francisco."

He said these arrests should send a message.

"It's a misconception that these crimes are not victimless," Fong said. "Whether they're employees, people who witness these horrible events and the consumer confidence of San Francisco is really the biggest thing."

Safai agreed, saying, "Businesses are closing, people are living in fear of seeing this type of sometimes violent activity."

Read more from the original source:

Teens held in spree of SF smash-and-grab thefts - KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco

Some things stay constant in this business no matter what happens, and the decline in standards of behaviour remains one of the still points in a changing world, an ever-reliable topic for columnists everywhere.

And in every time: hundreds of years ago embattled pamphleteers, struggling in Elizabethan London for a topic that would generate a few ducats, would snap their fingers as they realised it was time to rewarm a screed on the decline of standards.

Even then it was well-established. Half a millennium ago those lads could reach back for inspiration to the man who said of the younger generation in his own time: The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Socrates, speaking around 440 BC.

Fascinating, you say, but how does that affect the Leeside flaneur or flaneuse?

Easy: because standards have now declined so far that they may bottomed out. Im not talking specifically about the kids, easy targets though they provide, but Socrates was definitely onto something when he mentioned chatter in the place of exercise. Or in the place of silence.

Paradise lost

Scene one: on the boardwalk along the riverside, near one of Corks many excellent cafes a week or so ago. Just after eight in the morning, the optimum part of the day for the first hit of caffeine as one gathers oneself for the challenges of the day. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation, according to Hopper from Stranger Things.

Contemplation is nowhere to be found, however, when one of the coffee shop customers decides he wants to listen to Morning Ireland with his breakfast. I know he wants to listen to Morning Ireland because this man wishes to keep his ears free of devices, instead preferring to perch his smartphone on the table with the volume loud enough for him to hear.

Loud enough for everyone within a 20-yard radius to hear, in fact.

Full volume

Scene two, set in one of the several Cork branches of a famous international chain of coffee shops, though not the same day as scene one. The precise time is not as germane in this case, which relates to a three-way FaceTime call.

This call was conducted at full-throated, resonant volume on behalf of the gentleman present in person in the coffee shop, and at tinny, piercing resonant volume by the other participants on the call.

If I got less value from this intervention it was because I was unfamiliar with the language the call was conducted in, though not because I couldnt hear everything that was said, and a good deal of the background sighs and inhalations, such was the quality of the connection.

Sun, sea, and shouting

Scene three, set on one of Corks magnificent beaches west of the city over the weekend.

The time? Time to learn all about one womans travails with building her house. Foundations, scaffolding, window installation, all aspects of construction outlined in minute detail for anyone in earshot, if earshot can be said to consist of about 1,600 square metres.

I wont go into details about specific tradesmen who were in for a land on Tuesday morning when they were back on site after the bank holiday weekend, but not for fear of a libel action.

If the wind was blowing from the right direction on Sunday, then the complaints carried to them on the breeze even if they were living in Castletownbere

This ladys ability to project her voice was the exact opposite of what the late lamented Tommy OBrien used to refer to as microphone tenors*.

(Dont feel bad if you dont get the reference.) As a metric showing the erosion of manners, inflicting noise on people in a public setting is as good as any. The attritional conflict between cyclists and motorists is sometimes instanced as the archetypal modern confrontation, but playing your music/holding a lengthy meeting/braying your house-extension requirements at a high volume is a better example. It shows the ultimate flex of the solipsist: everyone must accommodate me rather than the other way around.

In other words, I dont adjust my behaviour for the greater good, the greater good suffers because of me. I am not what I appear to be

To the undiscerning eye, I may appear to be a fully grown adult functioning in society. In reality, however, I am a six-month-old Red Setter who happens to be wearing a lifelike human-being costume: how else can my need for instant gratification at all costs be explained?

These are not victimless crimes, even if youre not a person whose teeth are set on edge by the tinny frequencies relayed by phones or computers (though I believe there are more of us sorry, thosethan we realise).

Emotional consquences

Some years ago the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a paper identifying the emotional effect on people of environmental sounds such as human actions, animal calls, machinery, or natural phenomena.

The Australian media outlet ABC reported that Intrusive music whether it is being played directly through someone's digital device, or so loudly through headphones it can be heard by those nearby can have an array of emotional consequences for listeners, including increased aggression, irritability and an inability to concentrate.

Help is at hand. If youre in Japan at some stage soon make sure to pick up a noisejammer, a small electronic device that looks like a police radar gun. If youre on a train or in a room with someone, or some electronic device, destroying your concentration, then you point your noise jammer in that direction.

The device records the irritating voices or music of those individuals and then plays it back to them almost immediately in a rush of gibberish, overriding their own contributions with a flood of their own words

Theres a delicious symmetry to this which has an immediate appeal how often do you literally get to stuff someones words down their own throat, or ears? but it only obscures the real question temporarily.

Why is this even necessary? When and how did people begin to believe that they didnt owe any consideration to those around them? Where is the mechanism for dealing with these beasts (steady oned), because if there isnt a mechanism mere anarchy will be let loose upon the world.

This is not idle talk. Back in 2017 there was a fracas on board a London train between London Bridge and Peckham Rye. A passenger was angry that another passenger was speaking too loudly on his mobile phone, words were exchanged, and the passenger angered by the noise bit another passengers ear a friend of the one using the phone.

This is the kind of incidental colour someone like Carl Hiaasen would relish, but the most persuasive detail came in an aside from witnesses about the biter: When he eventually stopped biting the man, he casually returned to his seat and sat down.

If you cant identify with the feeling of satisfaction which accompanied that return to the seat, maybe youre part of the problem.

See the rest here:

Michael Moynihan: Why is it that noisy people show no consideration for others? - Irish Examiner

LEE COUNTY, Fla. The Lee County Sheriff's Office held a press conference on June 2, 2022, at 2:00 P.M.

Sheriff Carmine Marceno, while standing in front of a screen displaying 52 mugshots, announced that the narcotics team has found a total of one kilogram of cocaine, one kilogram of meth, and half of a kilogram of fentanyl.

According to Sheriff Marceno, this amounts to more than $100,000 worth of drugs.

Sheriff Marceno reminded the public that the crimes for which these people were arrested are not victimless crimes - and that these 52 people have more than 800 total arrests between them.

Sheriff Marceno said the team is actively "hunting" people down to get the "poison" off the streets.

To watch the press conference from 2:00 p.m. today, go to the Lee County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

WATCH PREVIOUS PRESS CONFERENCE:

See the rest here:

Sheriff Marceno: "We are taking the streets back" in reference to narcotics investigations - FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX

We like to say were a nation of laws.

It has a nice, noble ring to it. It suggests civility, safety, justice some of the most important values that have kept our diverse nation together for more than two centuries.

But are we saying one thing and doing another? Are we eroding our own principles?

Look deep into your heart and consider these questions honestly. We wont judge:

Youre not hurting anybody, right? You havent committed murder or armed robbery or something. Whats the big deal?

Were just talking about lesser infractions here victimless crimes, you could argue. Maybe nothing worth worrying about.

Lately, though, it seems like our disregard for laws has edged up a notch or two.

Police are seeing it, too.

A news story the other day noted that more and more drivers are simply disregarding officers orders to pull over.

In the first four and a half months of 2022, Washington State Patrol records showed 934 motorists failed to stop when troopers turned on their lights.

Somethings changed. People are not stopping right now, WSP spokesperson Sgt. Darren Wright said. Its happening three to five times a shift on some nights and then a couple times a week on day shift.

Local police and sheriffs offices around the state echo that frustration.

Just this week, Chief Matt Murray described how a suspect fled from Yakima officers who realized the suspect and a woman were standing next to a stolen car on North First Street. In that case, the 30-year-old suspect opened fire on officers as he ran across North First and he kept running even after hed been hit when police returned fire.

Its the fourth time this year local police have met violent resistance when confronting a suspect.

Theres an alarming trend of violence against police officers, Murray said.

A number of law officers blame a law the Legislature passed last year House Bill 1054 for the increased disregard of authority. The law, passed in response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, bars high-speed police pursuits in most circumstances and attempts to curtail racial disparities in policing.

Many police associations and agencies say it goes too far, though that it unintentionally ties law enforcements hands.

We certainly wouldnt dismiss that possibility. House Bill 1054 is ripe for revisiting. But it seems like all this shrugging off of laws goes deeper than that.

Perhaps its symptomatic of a cynical, but widespread, national contempt for government, for laws.

After all, its been barely a year and a half since an angry crowd that refused to accept defeat in a fair election violently stormed the very seat of our nation: the U.S. Capitol.

On the other hand, what extremes might abortion-rights advocates go to if the Supreme Court formally overturns Roe v. Wade in the coming weeks?

It seems to us like it all comes back to that how well were living up to that nation of laws notion.

Truth be told, no matter what we say, deep down, most of us really dont want to be told what to do. By anyone. Look at the collective meltdown mask mandates caused during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, we expect other people to toe the line especially politicians, judges, business executives, church leaders and, of course, police themselves. When they dont, it undermines everybodys principles.

Our expectations might be hypocritical and unfair, but even so, the more laws we all ignore, bend or outright defy, the weaker our claim of being a nation of laws gets.

Maybe thats the worst crime of all.

Yakima Herald-Republic editorials reflect the collective opinion of the newspapers local editorial board.

See the article here:

Opinion: Are we fooling ourselves to say we're a nation of laws? - Yakima Herald-Republic

Published Anonymously*

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Ravens recent Nextdoor posts contain misinformation and are otherwise problematic with regard to the current Yolo DA race.

First, there is the claim that his boss, current DA Reisig, is innovative because he created a neighborhood court in Yolo County, and that it is the second such program to exist in the state, after San Francisco. But actually, neighborhood court is just another name for victim-offender reconciliation programs that have existed for at least three decades in California, and Reisig is quite late to that game.

Fresno created such a program over 30 years ago; Oakland, also around 30 years ago. Many other cities and counties in California have such programs. However, an important difference is that most refer cases that involve much more serious offenses than the Yolo program did for many yearssuch as home burglaries, for example.

Reisigs office primarily refers victimless crimes to the program, such as college age drunk-in-public offenses. It is also perplexing why Reisigs office maintains control of the program here in Yolo, which in most counties is a community based and controlled program.

The Yolo mental health court, meant to divert and provide services to those whose mental illnesses lead to offenses and criminal charges, is a good start, but the problem is that, practically speaking, few get diverted to that program each year.

A good program which is rarely used is not innovative, but rather window dressing to make oneself appear innovative and progressive on criminal issues.

In fact, Reisig himself has ranted about San Francisco progressives in a recent debate with his opponent, Cynthia Rodriguez, so he clearly can choose to paint himself as progressiveor notwhere and when it suits his purposes.

Closer to home, in a context where the qualities of transparency and accountability are being invoked as the crown jewel of the current DAs priorities, relational history paints quite a different picture: Jeff Reisig has a bad habit of retaliating against those who oppose him.

As an example: Pat Lenzi, a former Yolo County Deputy District Attorney who challenged Reisig in 2006, was intimidated by him to the point that she no longer lives in the county.

Then when challenger Larry Eichle, also a Yolo County Deputy DA at the time, announced his candidacy for the position in 2018, he ended up fired or quitting and actually left the entire state.

Deputy Public Defender Dean Johansson then threw his hat into the 2018 race, only to be smeared with a so-called confidential (and thereby completely unknown to Johansson) decade-old police report relating to a family matter involving his son.

This so-called report was released and posted by a victims rights organizationwhile Reisig sat on their board. Reisig claimed he had provided Johansson with diversion to the charges on that matter, but no charges had in fact ever been filed, no diversion was ever providedthat was a complete lie.

Even more shamefully, after that election, Reisig went after Maria Grijalva, a Latina community activist in West Sacramento, who had provided significant assistance to Johanssons campaign. He filed campaign finance violation criminal charges against her, something that is usually only filed civilly by the Fair Political Practices Commission in California (the FPPC never took action against Ms. Grijalva).

Maria had to expend considerable funds to hire a defense attorney, only to have Reisig withdraw all the charges at her arraignmentclearly actions designed to send an intimidating message.

Reisig consistently opposes almost all the criminal justice reforms that the voters in Yolo County have favored over the yearswhich is entirely unrepresentative of the wishes of his own constituency here in our county.

And it should be noted again that, in light of yet another tragic school shooting in Texas, our innovative DA Reisig lent his namewhile purporting to represent the people of Yolo Countyto a conservative amicus brief opposing the City of Chicagos attempts to restrict gun ownership and use in that city.

Do we really want such a person that does not reflect our values in Yolo County to continue as our DA? Or is it time for a change?

* For personal reasons the author of this piece asked to be anonymous. The Vanguard granted that request.

Continued here:

Guest Commentary: The Truth about Reisig - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

I make big money / I drive big cars / Everybody know me / Its like Im a movie star. You wouldnt expect Wayne Jenkins, the Baltimore Police Department supercop in We Own This City, to play a Geto Boys song anywhere, much less in his squad car. But there he is, blasting Mind Playing Tricks on Me through his loudspeaker, rocking his body and rapping along with the lyrics.

Theres an irony to ita cop enjoying music about the kind of people its allegedly his job to bustthat he appears to appreciate; theres a twinkle in his eye, an edge to his smile, like he knows hes doing something slightly mischievous. But heres the thing about Wayne Jenkins: In the world of the BPD, he really is like a movie star. He moves through the world like he can do no wrong, knowing that in the eyes of his superiors, as long as he brings in guns, drugs, and arrests in large quantities, he really can do no wrong.

In terms of his portrayal of Jenkins, neither can actor Jon Bernthal. Already well known for playing bruisers and rogueshe carried Netflixs surprisingly strong Marvel series The Punisher on his back, just for instanceBernthal is at the peak of his powers in David Simon, George Pelecanos, and Reinaldo Marcus Greens based-on-a-true-story tale of rampant police corruption We Own This City.

The show, which aired its finale this week, is a well-intentioned but flawed look at the endemic failures of modern-day policing, embodied by Jenkins and his Gun Trace Task Force. The GTTF was a police unit that effectively operated as a stick-up crew, robbing money and drugs from the very people they arrested, then distributing the spoils amongst themselves. In a city where scrutiny of murderous cops caused a department-wide work slowdown, the simple fact that Jenkins and company continued to make busts made them heroes in the brasss eyesand, for a time, led them to look the other way in the face of rumors of Jenkins and companys corruption.

But in that time window, Jenkins was the rock star of the department, and Bernthal plays the role to a tee. With the face of a prizefighter and the loping walk of a gunslinger, you might expect him to be a brute at all times, but Bernthal doesnt play it that simply. In his hands, Jenkins is a good-time guy, a glad-hander who rewards himself and his men in, if not quite equal measure, amply enough to keep everyone happy.

And hes happiest of all. Whether hes lecturing the force about his methods in a special class, taking a stripper into a clubs back room and then robbing her blind, or protesting his innocence when hes finally brought in for his many crimes, Jenkins appears to be having the time of his life.

Bernthal makes it clear that Jenkins does not see himself as a dirty cophe reacts in horror several times when this allegation is madebut rather as a resourceful one, a guy who sees all the angles and commits a series of victimless crimes. The fact that innocent people are routinely brutalized and, in the case of one high-speed chase, accidentally killed during the course of his work doesnt really concern him. He feels he meant well, and thats all that matters.

Thats a tall order for any actor to convey, but Bernthal somehow makes it look easy. From underneath a series of world-historically unfortunate haircuts, his dark brown eyes radiate a sort of idiot good cheer. (When that good cheer goes away at the end of the story, those same eyes become the dim dark eyes of a hit dog, wondering what went so wrong.)Bernthal gives a physical performance that indeed makes Jenkins look like he owns this city and everyone in it. Indeed, hes often polite to the point of comedy to the very people he arrests, robs, and/or frames. Why wouldnt he be? Hes a good guy, right? Call itnoblesse oblige, call it whatever you want: Bernthal radiates a lethal who, me? charm even at his characters most brutal moments.

And to Bernthals credit, Jenkinss belief in his own fundamental righteousness only collapses when he realizes all his friends and colleagues have turned on him. While pleading guilty in courtin large part to avoid having his dalliances with sex workers entered into the public record and sullying his image as a family manhe cries what seem to be sincere tears of regret. Those tears stem from the shock of recognition: He really is the dirty cop so many have accused him of being, and he cant hide from it behind his wall of swaggering, bull-rushing bravado anymore. Watching Bernthal shed those climactic tears is like watching a magician pull a rabbit out of his hat. Who knew he had it in him?

Without question, Bernthal benefits from We Own This Citys lack of interest in establishing other characters with Jenkinss level of charisma, nuance, and depth. With few exceptionsa Jamie Hector here, a Josh Charles there, a Wunmi Mosaku at timesmost of the other based-on-real-people characters in the show exist to spew facts and figures about Baltimores horrible police culture.

But that takes nothing away from what Bernthals actually doing here. His Wayne Jenkins is a villain for the agesa perfect match between actor and role, like Hector and Marlo Stanfield or Idris Elba and Stringer Bell in Simons The Wire. After watching We Own This City, its hard to imagine anything Bernthal cant do. Your minds not playing tricks on you: Jon Bernthal is a genius.

Sean T. Collins (@theseantcollins) writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island.

Excerpt from:

He Owns This City: How Jon Bernthal Gave the Performance of the Year - Decider

I agree with Tucker Carlson. Those five words rarely come out of my mouth. Just signed up for a $0.99 month-long trial membership to Fox Nation. I get to watch all the propaganda videos produced by Fox and Tucker. Joseph Goebbels is laughing from hell. However, the video The Suicide of Los Angeles depicts what happened when Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascn changed the laws to favor the bad guys.

Los Angeles County, along with San Francisco, Portland and Seattle are no longer progressive nirvanas. All four of these progressive cities are now utopian hells with homeless, drugs and crime. Upon being voted into office, George Gascn made immediate drastic changes to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office by eliminating the death penalty. The reality is the death penalty does not make us safer, it is racist. Gascn ended cash bail for misdemeanor non-violent felony offenses and sentencing minors as adults. In his boldest move, Gascn removed sentencing enhancements for use of a gun in a crime or gang-related activity. This was the stick the ADAs (Assistant District Attorneys) could use to get plea agreements as the enhancement would add years to sentencing, if convicted. Now, if you were a 17-year-old gang member who shoots and kills two innocent people in a drive-by shooting, youll probably get sentenced to six months as a minor. In defense, Gascn has dismissed over 60,000 marijuana-related convictions.

Over in San Francisco County, Chesa Boudin was a 39-year-old Public Defender who had never prosecuted a case. Both of Boudins parents were convicted of the 1981 Weather Underground Brinks robbery that ended with three dead. Growing up with both parents in jail only fueled his beliefs in injustice and racism. (Note: Both of his parents are white and made horrible choices in life with a young child at home). In 2019, Boudin ran for San Francisco County District Attorney, promising prison sentencing as a last resort, attacking systemic racism and prosecuting police brutality. San Francisco ADAs no longer ask for cash bail. They stopped seeking gang or three strikes enhancement charges, which dramatically increases the length of prison sentences. Boudin has filed four homicide charges against San Francisco police officers.

Been to San Francisco lately? If so, youve dealt with homeless encampments outside of City Hall, stepping over homeless passed out on the sidewalks, drugs, drugs and more drugs, discarded used needles, human feces and mob shoplifting thieves. Why are things getting worse? There is no repercussion for drugs and non-violent crimes.

San Francisco voters voted out three progressive members of the Board of Education for being woke. They wanted to remove historical names, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Sen. Dianne Feinstein from schools because of something bad in these great Americans past.

Defund The Police is probably the stupidest three words in the English language. While the woke progressive socialists like to say this, in reality, all it does is win elections for Republicans. The voters grew tired of this failed woke experiment. San Francisco County District Attorney Chesa Boudin is facing a recall this June. 80,000 voters signed the petition to recall Boudin and San Francisco only has 33,000 registered Republicans in the city. You do the math. Down in Los Angeles County, District Attorney George Gascn is also facing a recall.

Its tragic that its pitting Democratic mayors against woke progressive socialist District Attorneys. New York Mayor Eric Adams is feuding with District Attorney Alvin Bragg. San Francisco Mayor London Breed is an outspoken critic of District Attorney Boudin. This is not working, said Breed on a recent New York Times podcast. Gov. Newsom was filmed in LA at scenes of crime run amuck. You cant coddle career criminals because they had a rough childhood with high ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences Scores).

COVID only spurred on the light or no sentencing as law enforcement didnt want the local jails crowded during the pandemic. Unless you were a violent offender, you probably got a slap on the wrist. Look no further than the recent fentanyl overdose deaths here in Humboldt County. Since Los Angeles and San Francisco counties arent prosecuting drug crimes, its an open highway (literally) up and down the state for drug traffickers. Drugs are not victimless crimes. Just look at the dead overdosed bodies. Crime will be one of the biggest issues (along with inflation) with moderate suburban voters this November.

Matthew Owen resides in Eureka and believes the First Amendment allows for free speech.

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Matthew in the Middle | The war on drugs and crime - Eureka Times-Standard

TOWN OF FISHKILL Town police joined with New York State Troopers on Wednesday night to combat prostitution and other illegal activities at a Fishkill hotel. The joint operation resulted in five arrests.

The joint operation was focused on illegal activities at the Extended Stay America at 55 West Merritt Boulevard in the Westage Center.

The investigation resulted in five subjects being arrested for a variety of crimes including prostitution and multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Fishkill Police Chief Keith Dworkin told Mid-Hudson News We know prostitution is not a victimless crime and is often financially intertwined with sex trafficking, drug trafficking, violent crimes, and sexual assault, adding The Town of Fishkill Police and New York State Police have an excellent working relationship and together are committed to investigating and holding accountable anyone who victimizes our residents, their families, and friends.

Chief Dworkin noted that his agency has been monitoring the area hotels for illegal behavior such as prostitution and said Our purpose in conducting these operations is to improve the quality of life for our residents, their family members, and friends who frequent this area. He also issued a warning to potential criminals, saying We want to make it clear that we will be relentless in our pursuit of reducing crime in our community.

Dworkin provided data to bring awareness to the problem. According to the chief, prostitution is commonly associated with human trafficking and illegal drug activity; it is not a victimless crime, ninety-five percent of sex trafficking victims are women or children. As part of this initiative, arrestees were interviewed to evaluate their safety, potential victimization in human trafficking and provide resources to improve their situation.

More:

Police operation targets prostitution at Fishkill hotel - Mid Hudson News Website

May 1, 2022 - Sacramento, CA. - Last week, in a 4 to 0 vote, the Senate Public Safety Committee voted in favor of SB 1472: Ryans Law. Marking a major victory in the fight to keep Californias streets safe. After moving testimony from Carin Koeppel, founder of the Koeppel foundation and mother to Ryan Koepell who was killed by a reckless driver, the votes came in to recognize and address the growing issue of extreme speeding and reckless driving.

Recent increases in local street and highway fatalities, serious injuries, and the dangers of street racing are resulting in an epidemic of reckless driving and disregard for public safety. The California DMV reports that there were over 1500 more reckless driving citations statewide in 2021 than the year before and excessive speed violations increased by 80% from 9,000 violation to over 16,000 in the same period.

Of particular concern, is the growing prevalence of street racing and sideshows across the State. The CHP reports that they responded to almost 6,000 street races and sideshows, issuing 2,500 citations statewide in 2021, and these events can cost lives. CHP also reports that street racing and sideshows have caused 264 crashes statewide in the past five years. Of those crashes, 30 have been fatal and 124 have resulted in serious injuries.

Cars are weapons, and whether its a sideshow, a street race or just excessive speeding, these are not victimless crimes. said Senator Stern.

Just last month in South San Francisco a 15-year-old passenger died after two cars raced each other and one of them lost control, striking a wall and a tree causing the teens death and major injuries to an adult passenger. This problem is knocking on all of our backdoors and until statutory changes are made, lives will continue to be needlessly lost on our roads.

By redefining gross negligence to include driving over 100 mph, participating in sideshows or exhibition of speed, and driving recklessly, the bill explicitly gives prosecutors the ability to charge the driver with a felony if that charge should fit the crime.

I believe that through additional enforcement, public awareness and understanding ones own personal responsibility while driving SB 1472 will save lives. SB 1472 provides a reasonable solution in law that may prevent the next tragedy from ever happening to any child, parent or loved one stated Carin Koeppel in her testimony.Source: Senator Henry Stern

Excerpt from:

California State Senate Public Safety Committee Votes 4-0 to Pass SB 1472: Ryan's Law - Redefines Gross Negligence to Include Driving Over 100 MPH,...