According to this Dallas Morning News editorial piece, a small group of Dallas police officers have been pulling over drivers, and ticketing them for not being fluent English speakers. The confusion apparently arose from a drop-down menu item in the computerized ticketing system, which allowed for that option. The problem is, that option only applies to commercial drivers, which Dallas police officers do not typically enforce.
The author of the article states that the main problem is not that the oversight belonged to one, or even two confused officers, but to many, including those who are supposed to supervise the ticketing process. Police Chief David Kunkle has stated that he would “dismiss pending cases and investigate the officers involved.”
That said, the author brings up a good point. With the opening of the new Dallas Arts buildings, how can Dallas be taken seriously as an international travel destination if there are rumblings of racial profiling among the Police force?
What’s your take on the situation? Is it just a slight oversight, or something more serious that needs to be addressed?
A new debate is brewing. Exactly how much power and authority should a Dallas County Constable have?
In the past, Dallas County Constables were typically only responsible for tasks such as serving civil papers and provided bailiffs to justice of the peace courts. Now however, as outlined in this Dallas Morning News article, local Constables are expanding their reach into areas typically only served by local police forces, even in some cases assembling and hiring their own dedicated teams.
Dallas County Constables are now frequently filling in areas of law enforcement in areas where local police aren’t able to. While some Dallasites believe this is a positive development, others believe Dallas Constables are crossing the authority line. Others are concerned that these Constables are providing services in areas where they have little to no training, exposing local communities to unneccessary harm in the process.
Read the Dallas Morning News Article. What’s your opinion, are Dallas County Constables crossing the line? Or simply providing a necessary and needed service for the local community?
According to an obscure Texas law, you could. Originally penned in 1973, the law was written to be intentionally vague. Lawmakers at the time did not want the law to read as if the state were imposing what parents could teach their children. The problem is, according to Wynne Shaw, clinical supervisor at the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, the practice of showing porn to children is often times a grooming practice for pedophiles. So the question becomes, is that something the state of Texas really wants to encourage?
Texas Lawmakers are currently pushing to have the law rewritten in the near future.
What’s your take on the situation? Is this simply a common sense law that’s been overlooked, or is there some value to having the law live in its current form?
Original article via Dallas Morning News.