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News & Blogs Cops dressing up as homeless ...Hobocop??? Really

wizehop

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Guy in the hoodie holding a sign? That hobocop may cost you more than you think

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...hobocop_may_cost_you_more_than_you_think.html



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@PCARSENAULT TWITTER PHOTO

Toronto Police Const. Brian Kellar, posing in an outfit reminiscent of a homeless man, targets distracted drivers.

By: Jacques Gallant Staff Reporter, Published on Wed Mar 26 2014


Imagine sitting in your car and being approached by a man in a hooded jacket carrying a piece of cardboard that says “I’ve Got High Hopes — Frank Sinatra.”

What comes to mind?

If you thought “panhandler,” you would be wrong. It turns out the man is a cop, and he probably has high hopes of catching you on your cellphone.

Recently, a Toronto police officer, dressed in a jacket and jeans and carrying the above-mentioned sign, took to walking among vehicles coming off Highway 401 at Markham Rd., in search of distracted drivers.

When a culprit was discovered, out would come the badge from behind the coat, and the sign would be flipped to read: “Hello I’m a police officer. If you are reading this, you are about to get a cellphone ticket.”

Sneaky? Creative? Or just plain wrong?

Even if the average citizen is more accustomed to tales of undercover police officers cracking drug trafficking rings than slapping fines on cellphone users, experts say the move is perfectly legal.

“On the scale of activity designed to catch people breaking the law, it is at the low end of deceit,” said defence lawyer Frank Addario, who recently crafted a draft policy on carding for the Toronto police.

The tactic isn’t even new. It was famously used by officers in cities across the country in 2012 in a bid to crack down on distracted driving, including Halton Police in Burlington. It appears to be a first for Toronto, though.

Used for five days between last Thursday and this past Monday in Scarborough, the tactic came almost immediately after Ontario’s increased fine for distracted driving — $280, up from $155 — went into effect, on March 18.

Distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of death on Ontario’s roadways. Toronto police traffic services spokesman Const. Clint Stibbe said officers have tried a variety of ideas to get motorists’ attention and remind them to keep their focus on the road.

One example was the recent campaign against texting and driving that involved officers driving a hearse around the city, to remind drivers of the possibly severe consequences of distracted driving.

Stibbe said officers laid about 150 distracted driving charges over those five days in Scarborough, with 90 per cent of the charges involving texting. He emphasized that the hooded officer from 43 Division had no intention of trying to pass as a homeless man or a panhandler.

“He’s simply dressed as a regular guy blending into the environment,” he said. “If you were to think otherwise, you would be assuming … He was not asking for money, and his sign doesn’t say he was asking for money.”

Const. Randall Arsenault, 43 Division’s community engagement officer, said it’s a good thing to get people talking about distracted driving. He denied that using the hooded cop was simply a cash grab.

Still, John Clarke, organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, called the police response disingenuous, saying that a person walking up to cars with a sign “clearly, deliberately” creates the image of a panhandler.

He expressed concern that the police tactic could lead to greater public distrust of the homeless.

“I think for the cops to be enforcing the law by sneaking up on people by masquerading as homeless people is inherently invasive and unsavory conduct,” he said.

John Sewell, of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said he saw no ethical issues with the idea, but did wonder about the impact it could have on the police’s image.

“Is this a good use of police time and public money? I’d like to have the chief’s thoughts on that,” he wrote in an email. “And does he think this will enhance the reputation of the police with the public?”

Chief Bill Blair’s spokesman, Mark Pugash, did not respond to a request for comment.

Reactions on Twitter were mixed after Arsenault, from 43 Division, tweeted the photo of the hooded officer. Some called it an ingenious idea, with one user saying it should be implemented across the city, while another accused the police of only wanting to find more ways to fill public coffers by issuing more fines.
 

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janktoaster

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That's so fucked
 
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janktoaster

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I think the sunglasses are what give it away the most. I may be wrong here, but I've never seen a homeless person wear those kind of shades. I've only ever seen cops and cyclists wear those before.

Oh yeah, total cop shades if I've ever seen em
 
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shabti

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my first thought was "that's...so....fucked...up...."

but then I smiled, remembering the glue covered potato I put in the tailpipe of that cruiser last week. XD I bet they said the same thing when their patrol car died MUHAHAHAHA
 

landpirate

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I think it disgusting that the cops are masquerading as homeless, when they are the fuckers that will crap all over us for spanging/flying a sign.

I however have no problem with people being fucked over for driving whilst on their phones. its fucking dangerous and I assume it is in the states as it is here in the UK illegal.
 

sketchytravis

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well, I gotta hand it to em, that's a good way to catch people off guard. kinda smart way to rack up the numbers

but its really fucked up, I totes think that that's gunna cause a bunch of distrust for homeless folks. and probably even more for traveling folk, I mean, if theyre gunna do it for phones and such, why not for hitchhiking in areas it aint allowed? if its legal or whatever that is
 

slimJack

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They really went that far to catch people on their mobile phones? Desperate ass fuckin dept. Y'all got over there chief.. Ol dusty ass mfs
 
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Tude

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my first thought was "that's...so....fucked...up...."

but then I smiled, remembering the glue covered potato I put in the tailpipe of that cruiser last week. XD I bet they said the same thing when their patrol car died MUHAHAHAHA

Oh fucking ROFL!!! I duct taped a potato into a stupid tenant's dam smelly muffler when I was living in a basement apartment and he was constantly warned (ex husband was superintendent) to move the POS and instead he would let his POS warm up and smell up my apartment ----- LOL it went off with a BANG. He never parked it there again.

But really the cop, while I enjoy the focus on the distracted driver/texting etc thing - especially for my bicycling and the tons of walking/hiking I do in the city -as I've been soooooo almost hit many times ... I think dressed and acting like this is pretty dam rude. Like a costume. FU
 

Matt Derrick

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What happens when someone tries to give the cop a dollar?
 

Tude

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HAHA! or a sammich or a box of cheez-its as Zim got recently. That would be priceless - he would probably stay in character hehe.
 

LawrenceofSuburbia

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Used for five days between last Thursday and this past Monday in Scarborough, the tactic came almost immediately after Ontario’s increased fine for distracted driving — $280, up from $155 — went into effect, on March 18.

typical

this is all kinds of morally questionable but really what else could
you expect from a bunch of cops
 
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D

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not only is this totally fucked in every other way, but apparently its "perfectly legal" for a cop to pose (undercover i guess would be the right term) as a homeless person to catch people on their cell phones...how fucking poor is this city? from $155 to $280 thats almost twice the fine it used to be.

if i was in a car and somebody came up to me pulled out a badge and maybe a gun i would drive the hell away, whos to say the guy isnt just some weirdo car jacking people.
 

sketchytravis

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What happens when someone tries to give the cop a dollar?

Probably depends on local laws and such... Depending on those they could probably try to fine you or whatever... But yeah, since they said he's not telling homeless. You could go with the whole act of kindness and you weren't giving it to a homeless man lolol

Then they'll lock you up anyway. There was a guy up there handing out money to people saying pay it forward... he got locked up in the crazyhouse even though he's fine
 
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Matt Derrick

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What happens when someone tries to give the cop a dollar?

Also this brings up the moral question of if it's okay for the cop to accept money in the duty of his undercover job? That would be even more fucked up.
 
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