Virginia Cruisers have Voice-Activated Hardware

[waterrescuedude2000]

The Chesapeake police officer started testing a voice-activated hardware and software system two months ago in his new Dodge Charger that responds to voice commands.

The car doesn't have special rocket launchers or ejection seats like K.I.T.T, Duez joked. But the system's goal is to give officers a safer ride, especially in high-pressure situations such as pursuits.

http://officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=37099

How cool is that?? Makes his job a little safer and easier.

[diuretic]

Excellent. A partner who doesn't fart in the car on night shift. :cheers2:

[glockmail]

Excellent. A partner who doesn't fart in the car on night shift. :cheers2:
...or eat the last donut.

[diuretic]

...or eat the last donut.

Donuts are unhealthy - bagels are much better. :coffee:

[waterrescuedude2000]

and all good points. But there is sometimes nothing like having human back up also then you got 2 guns instead of one. But see here in reno partners arent in the same car anyways. They are in 2 seperate cars patrolling within say a mile or 2 of each other so they can be there for each other quickly if they need to. And also they can cover more ground.

[diuretic]

It's very rare here to have solo patrols. Solo patrols are given a special designation and won't be tasked to hazardous jobs without immediate backup. The default is two person patrols. But in our isolated areas (Australia only has police forces at state and territory level on a whole of jurisdiction basis, no municipal/regional/county departments) we have one person police stations which sort of flies in the face of the two-person patrol policy.

It goes back to about 1970 when a cop on solo patrol was shot (not fatally) and the association belted the department and the state government.

[waterrescuedude2000]

There are so many different police agencies that they almost always have quick backup in this town. We have in no particular order of course..
We have the Washoe County Sherriff's Office, Reno Police, Washoe County School District Police,University Nevada Reno Police,Truckee Meadows Community Police, Tribal Police, Nevada Highway Patrol, Sparks Police Department

[diuretic]

They must really squeeze the radio spectrum.

I worked in a township where my nearest backup was an hour away, he was by himself too. So if he got in trouble, I was an hour away (driving a LandRover 4WD) from him as well. I relied on townsfolk for help on more than one occasion.

[waterrescuedude2000]

Like some of the counties are so big and so few deputies that they have that trouble sometimes. But we have so many different radio frequencies for the local cops. All they have to do is call dispatch and say they need backup and dispatch will contact the other agencies dispatch who can send in back up.

I was reading of a security guard who was driving to work and saw a cop taking fire he pulled his car in front of the downed officer to provide cover for him. The security guard returned fire at the suspects. He saved that officers life. He got a certificate of Heroism 500 dollars in cash and a certificate for a new glock which his other one had been confiscated by the cops for the investigation or whatever.

[diuretic]

Like some of the counties are so big and so few deputies that they have that trouble sometimes. But we have so many different radio frequencies for the local cops. All they have to do is call dispatch and say they need backup and dispatch will contact the other agencies dispatch who can send in back up.


In our remote areas the population is very sparse. The state is 978 810 sq. Km, population about 1,575,000 and 1m of those live the state capital city. Thee's a lot of desert here.




I was reading of a security guard who was driving to work and saw a cop taking fire he pulled his car in front of the downed officer to provide cover for him. The security guard returned fire at the suspects. He saved that officers life. He got a certificate of Heroism 500 dollars in cash and a certificate for a new glock which his other one had been confiscated by the cops for the investigation or whatever.

Good for him, that took guts.

[red states rule]

Donuts are unhealthy - bagels are much better. :coffee:

You must never have had a chocolate cream filled donut from Krispy Kreme

[diuretic]

You must never have had a chocolate cream filled donut from Krispy Kreme

I think there's a Krispy Kreme in a Sydney suburb but nothing here. I've never been to a Krispy Kreme and my ex wouldn't let me anywhere near a Winchell's last time I was in the States for any length of time. I feel deprived :laugh2:

However I have made a pig of myself at more than one Timmy Horton's :D

[red states rule]

I think there's a Krispy Kreme in a Sydney suburb but nothing here. I've never been to a Krispy Kreme and my ex wouldn't let me anywhere near a Winchell's last time I was in the States for any length of time. I feel deprived :laugh2:

However I have made a pig of myself at more than one Timmy Horton's :D

You have to try Krispy Kream. Why di you think you never hear about one of their stores being held up?

The same way you never hear about a shooting at a gun show

[diuretic]

You have to try Krispy Kream. Why di you think you never hear about one of their stores being held up?

The same way you never hear about a shooting at a gun show

That used to be my excuse for going into a lot of pubs :D

[red states rule]

That used to be my excuse for going into a lot of pubs :D

Is that the Brits answer to US donut shops?

Ever want a cop here - check out the donut shop

[diuretic]

Is that the Brits answer to US donut shops?

Ever want a cop here - check out the donut shop

In Britain the cops have to eat at the station (like here) but they may go out and get take-away (takeout) if they're not brown bagging it (again like here). The only cops you find on duty in a pub in Britain or here are detectives, general duties members would be in huge strife if they were in a pub, they would get a :slap: from the boss :laugh2:

[red states rule]

In Britain the cops have to eat at the station (like here) but they may go out and get take-away (takeout) if they're not brown bagging it (again like here). The only cops you find on duty in a pub in Britain or here are detectives, general duties members would be in huge strife if they were in a pub, they would get a :slap: from the boss :laugh2:

Wow. Most of the cops I see are sitting looking for sppeders or people not wearing their seat belts. (Getting money for the state)

I guess your people believe the cops need to be out on the streets

Who would have thought?

[waterrescuedude2000]

:cheers2:

[red states rule]

:cheers2:

Where I live and work, the Police are being used more and more for sources of revenue - and not catching criminals

[waterrescuedude2000]

Where I live and work, the Police are being used more and more for sources of revenue - and not catching criminals

Its the same bullshit in reno.. Tons of ticket writing.. But they wont come out to your house if its been broken into. With 8 police agencies in our town you'd think one would come out..

[red states rule]

Its the same bullshit in reno.. Tons of ticket writing.. But they wont come out to your house if its been broken into. With 8 police agencies in our town you'd think one would come out..

It seems the real threats to society are those not wearing their seatbelts or speeding on the freeway

If you are a robber, rapist, or drug dealer - the cops are nowhere to be found. Have a great day

[waterrescuedude2000]

We had a guy last week in downtown reno shooting a gun in the air cops were there in 30 seconds they ordered him to drop it he refused and pointed it at them. thats called suicide by cops. He had been riding on the bus and said this is my last day on earth. and other crap to passengers. Well it was his last day. But anyways yeah we had a marine see a guy trying to rape a girl in an alley here and he stabbed the rapist to death last year. Claimed it was self defense and got away with it.

[red states rule]

We had a guy last week in downtown reno shooting a gun in the air cops were there in 30 seconds they ordered him to drop it he refused and pointed it at them. thats called suicide by cops. He had been riding on the bus and said this is my last day on earth. and other crap to passengers. Well it was his last day. But anyways yeah we had a marine see a guy trying to rape a girl in an alley here and he stabbed the rapist to death last year. Claimed it was self defense and got away with it.

The government no longer uses th Police to enforce laws and protect people - they use them now as an ATM machine

It is not the fault of the Police - they have to do what they are told

and the Polcie have to deal with the lawyers and ACLU out to destroy them if they maake any kind of mistake

[waterrescuedude2000]

Oops I meant Beaurocrats.. excuse me sorry. Yeah I did have a guy try and break into my last house and I was home. BIG MISTAKE. my son was at home sleeping in the back room dumbass tried to crawl through my front window. Except I heard him. So he was about halfway in when I pumped the 12 guage and a 40,000 candlepower light in his ugly mug. I think he shit his pants. He had the deer in the headlights look. And went running. I called Reno P.D with a description but they wont do anything. I almost wish I would have had some blanks in the shotgun so i could have litteraly scared the shit out of that fucker. It was a "hispanic" dude since other terms here would be deemed as innapropriate while at work

[red states rule]

Its the same bullshit in reno.. Tons of ticket writing.. But they wont come out to your house if its been broken into. With 8 police agencies in our town you'd think one would come out..

DC is the ticket writing capital in the US - I believe they make more money off tickets then any other city

[red states rule]

Oops I meant Beaurocrats.. excuse me sorry. Yeah I did have a guy try and break into my last house and I was home. BIG MISTAKE. my son was at home sleeping in the back room dumbass tried to crawl through my front window. Except I heard him. So he was about halfway in when I pumped the 12 guage and a 40,000 candlepower light in his ugly mug. I think he shit his pants. He had the deer in the headlights look. And went running. I called Reno P.D with a description but they wont do anything. I almost wish I would have had some blanks in the shotgun so i could have litteraly scared the shit out of that fucker. It was a "hispanic" dude since other terms here would be deemed as innapropriate while at work

Next time - send him to his Maker and take a criminal off the streets

[red states rule]

That's Not the Ticket, Parkers Argue
Some Motorists Tagged in D.C. Find Contesting Worth the Hassle

By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 22, 2005; Page B01

The cabdriver raised his right hand, swore to tell the truth and then faced the charge: parking illegally in a no standing zone.

Not guilty, Mefin Assefa told the hearing examiner, who sat behind a desk on a raised platform, flanked by an American flag and a District flag, across from a wall clock, its hands stuck at 1 p.m.



Yes, Assefa said, he had left his cab on O Street, but it was not exactly parked, more like pulled over, and only for a couple of minutes so he could escort a passenger -- an elderly, handicapped passenger, he stressed -- into her building.

A $50 ticket was slapped on his windshield.

Jonathan Owens, the hearing examiner, was unimpressed. "Being a cabdriver does not authorize you to park illegally," he pronounced, upholding the ticket. The cabby stormed off, complaining that his act of chivalry had cost him nearly a day's wages.

Of all the rituals of urban life, none may be so routine as parking or may possess the power to inspire such teeth-gnashing frustration, particularly for those who believe they do not deserve their tickets.

In the District, which handed out nearly $100 million in parking tickets last year, an amount that doubled over the previous five years, the disgruntled flock for relief to a floor of cramped, pale yellow hearing rooms, where examiners wade through a mind-numbing thicket of citations.

In most cases, examiners uphold the tickets, brushing aside dog-ate-my-homework-style excuses that range from unseen parking signs to never-opened letters cataloguing transgressions. Yet there's a chance that the motorist might prevail. In 2004, more than a third of those who contested tickets in the District won their cases, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles, a percentage that has inched upward in recent years.

Parking tickets are viewed as sufficiently vulnerable to technical challenge -- a missing date or an incorrectly noted car make can be enough to do the trick -- that one entrepreneur makes his living getting tickets dismissed in New York, Boston, San Francisco and the District. "Parking tickets have become an intrusion in people's daily lives," said Glen Bolofsky, founder of ParkingTicket.com, a New Jersey-based Internet service that contests citations for a fee. "Most people don't fight. Most people can't take the time."

In the District, contesting tickets in person can require a morning or afternoon for the trip to the DMV's 65 K Street NE headquarters, where motorists slump in bucket seats in a windowless waiting room while a television intermittently repeats a public service announcement promoting photo-enforcement cameras.

It's a place where people fight off drowsiness, roll their eyes and occasionally lash out in ways that leave the examiners wishing they had alarms to alert security, instead of switches behind their desks that turn on a light outside the door.

"You flip the switch, and they think someone scored a goal in hearing room 8," joked Stephen Reichert, 30, an examiner who edits an online poetry magazine in his off hours. A calendar featuring a drawing of Gertrude Stein is the only personal effect in the otherwise sterile room.

"No one has ever grabbed me," Reichert explained, although he recalled that one unsatisfied woman once intoned, "May God have mercy on you; I hope nothing happens to you."

Mostly, the disgust burbles up as a smirk, a sneer or a mutter.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42530-2005Feb21.html

[waterrescuedude2000]

I was living in an apartment. In this state you have a right to shoot them if they are on your property and the state law says "If you are in fear for your livestock,family or property" But it was an apartment and at the time I would have fired he was only halfway in my apartment so technically I propably could have gotten away with it.. but who knows. Its a Mossburg Persuader. But I have modified it. I cut down the barrel, added the buttstock from an M-4, and a 16 round drum clip,added a surefire to it also. its a sweet gun you can use it as a pistol grip or a regular shotgun. But it is still legal in my state.

[red states rule]

I was living in an apartment. In this state you have a right to shoot them if they are on your property and the state law says "If you are in fear for your livestock,family or property" But it was an apartment and at the time I would have fired he was only halfway in my apartment so technically I propably could have gotten away with it.. but who knows. Its a Mossburg Persuader. But I have modified it. I cut down the barrel, added the buttstock from an M-4, and a 16 round drum clip,added a surefire to it also. its a sweet gun you can use it as a pistol grip or a regular shotgun. But it is still legal in my state.

Remind me to call you in advance, send you an email, and yell from a bull horn I am about to come on to your property before I knock your front door if I ever come by to visit you

[waterrescuedude2000]

I got stopped for doing 30 in a 25 and he actually wrote me a $130 ticket for it. I just said fuck it and paid it

[red states rule]

I got stopped for doing 30 in a 25 and he actually wrote me a $130 ticket for it. I just said fuck it and paid it

You'd Better Be Wealthy if You're a Fast, Reckless Driver in Virginia
Sunday, July 22, 2007

By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON — Local cops and state troopers have become the new tax collectors in Virginia.

That's one complaint from opponents of a new state law that went into effect July 1 to raise fines on traffic violations to as much as seven times their previous levels. Excessive speeding — or even driving with under-inflated tires — could cost $1,000 or more under the new law.

"You're turning the police into tax collectors with guns — it's the wrong message," said Del. Bob Marshall, a Republican in the Virginia House of Delegates who opposed the legislation. "That's why this thing has to go."

Virginia politicians typically avoid tax hikes like the plague, so to pay for $65 million in new road and transportation projects, they have increased fines for traffic violations to levels never seen by most Americans.

Supporters say the intention of the law was not to target "soccer moms" or first-time offenders, only the very worst drivers. But the backlash in Virginia has been swift. By Thursday, more than 130,000 people signed onto an online petition calling for the law's repeal


Lawmakers have been so inundated with complaints since the new fee schedule went into effect that rank-and-file delegates have been calling for the GOP-dominated General Assembly to convene a special summer session to repeal the bill.

That was not to be the case, however, after House Speaker William J. Howell, backed by Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine, who signed the bill into law earlier this year, state Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, and Secretary of Transportation Pierce Home announced Thursday that the assembly can wait to revisit the bill in next January's session.

For now, new penalties can reach as high as $1,050 for driving 20 mph over the speed limit. That's $850 more than the previous fine for that offense. Other violations incurring a $1,050 fine include using the wrong turn signal, driving too fast for conditions, having below-standard tires or an "obstructed view," and reckless driving "on parking lots, etc."

Click here to see a breakdown of the fees provided by the Executive Secretary of the Virginia Supreme Court.

The fees can be paid quarterly or in other installments. For instance, first-time drunk driving offenders will be required to pay $750 upon conviction and two more payments of $750 each for a total of $2,250 plus court costs payable over two years. That's up from a $300 fine for a first-time drunk driving conviction.

The new "civil fines" will be made payable to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which funnels the money to the state. The cash then goes into a transportation fund to be appropriated county by county.

Critics charge that the new law doesn't just target the assumed fiends of the road — drunk and aggressive drivers or hit-and-run offenders, for example — but drivers who may be violating the law, yet are still trying to be safe. They argue that driving faster than 55 mph — the posted speed limit — on the National Capital Beltway that circles Washington, D.C., is merely "going with traffic."

Marshall, who represents Prince William County in Northern Virginia, said the fee schedule may bring in the needed revenues, but it is an unseemly way to go about it. "If you want to enforce this strictly, you are going to have a lock down in Virginia and turn this state into a speed trap," he told FOXNews.com.

While the fees may seem excessive and have drawn considerable criticism, the increased revenue source is one of many new avenues local and state lawmakers across the country are seeking to avoid raising income and property taxes. In Virginia, lawmakers also raised taxes and fees on vehicle registrations, auto maintenance and the tourist industry to help fund the $300 million in transit and road projects for Northern Virginia, which includes the growing and notoriously congested Beltway and Washington D.C., suburbs.

Lawmakers representing Northern Virginia have long complained that the region doesn't receive enough appropriations for roads and other capital improvement projects aimed at reducing the traffic gridlock plaguing the area.

"Our idea was to go after that 2.5 percent of Virginia drivers who are abusive to help us build the roads. It was to make the roads safer. … It did make a lot of sense," said state Sen. Jay O'Brien, who represents Fairfax County in Northern Virginia and said legislators had a tough time coming up with a way to raise the needed transportation funds without leaning on the rest of the state.

Nonetheless, O'Brien, a Republican, joined the chorus of lawmakers calling for a special session to clarify the law and amend it if possible. Along with the rest of the General Assembly, he is up for re-election in the fall and has already felt the pressure from constituents as he campaigns door-to-door.

"I still think it's a good idea, but the public has to agree it's a good idea to work," he said.

Greasing the Skids for Revenues

While Virginia's fees may be the highest in the country, it isn’t the first state to enact heavy new civil fees for driving offenses. New Jersey, New York and Texas all do it, as does Michigan, though a movement is afoot there to get rid of the state's 4-year-old program.

And driving fines are not the only game in town, according to Pete Sepp, a spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union. Sepp said states have been seeking all sorts of ways to keep raising revenues without enacting across-the-board tax hikes.

Specific services and industries have faced new taxes for the first time: pet grooming and tattoo parlors in Arkansas, dry cleaning and satellite broadcasting in Ohio. Don't forget state "sin taxes" on everything from cigarettes and booze to high cover charges for topless bars. Licenses for specific services, like barbers and vendors, have also been increased to raise money.

The possibilities for taxing various products and services appear endless. According to a report in 2004 by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states could have raised an estimated $57 billion more a year had they bothered to tax more services.

While the extra revenue may seem like a good deal for state governments, it hasn't gone unnoticed that officials are willing to generate revenues by placing the burden on its citizenry, said Aaron Quinn, a spokesman for the National Motorists Association.

Quinn said the new driver fees in Virginia have struck the loudest chord of any issue this year.

"People are upset and (lawmakers) are probably going to have to do something about it if they want to ensure their political futures," he said.

But Lon Anderson, a spokesman for The AAA Mid-Atlantic, said that going after drivers to help raise funds for transportation projects — just like other fundraising schemes for targeted projects — is a logical way to avoid raising taxes on everyone.

"We're looking at the lesser of two evils — putting a gas tax on all motorists, or raising the money through fines on the worst of drivers," he said, adding that he was told personally by state officials that a person merely making a wrong turn signal wouldn't get singled out for the new fines.

Northern Virginia has "some of the worst congestion in the United States," Anderson said. "We end up saying to motorists, 'We need to raise the money, we can tax all of you or tax the worst drivers.' "

Sepp said states should focus on tightening their fiscal belts and reducing the size of government rather than taxing small niches and markets that often don’t have a grassroots base to fight it.

"They pursue 'divide and conquer.' They look for a class of people either small or politically incorrect," or officials turn their eyes to services where taxpayers don't feel the crunch right away, he said.

States also considering another option for their transportation needs: the privatization of roads. To help pay for expanding road projects, some states have opted to sell off large chunks of their highways to private interests to maintain the roads. In exchange, the companies get tax breaks and can collect toll money.

In Indiana, for example, in 2006, a foreign consortium was granted a 75-year lease on the 157-mile Indiana Toll Road for $3.8 billion. The Australian partner in that deal, MIG, has a hand in many toll-road deals across the country and now runs the 14-mile Dulles Greenway in Northern Virginia as part of a $617 million agreement made in 2005. MIG also bought the four-lane Foley Beach Expressway Bridge in Alabama in 2005 for $95 million.

As of January, more than a dozen states either have completed such agreements, were in the middle of negotiations, or were seeking bids for private road construction and maintenance.

Checking the Rearview Mirror

Critics like Marshall are also steamed that the additional fees do not apply to out-of-state drivers. The state does not have the authority to collect the yearly payments from non-residents, say Virginia officials. This means that drivers from Maryland and the District of Columbia who are frequent users of the Beltway and other arteries connecting the three jurisdictions would get a break if they are pulled over or involved in an accident in Virginia.

Meanwhile, the Virginia State Police denies any suggestion that troopers will be more aggressive in clocking motorists when a $65 million "quota" is at stake. The police view the new laws as a safety effort. Over the July 4 holiday, 16 people were killed in car accidents throughout the state, down from 22 killed during the same period in 2006.

"Our troopers are on the road to enforce the laws. They won't be acting any more aggressively because of the fines," said Virginia State Police spokesman Deborah Cox.

She added: "If people follow the rules of the road, they don't have anything to worry about."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290040,00.html

[waterrescuedude2000]

Remind me to call you in advance, send you an email, and yell from a bull horn I am about to come on to your property before I knock your front door if I ever come by to visit you

But I am not that jumpy. Our state has great gun laws

[red states rule]

But I am not that jumpy. Our state has great gun laws

No offense intended. Yes, I like your states gun laws. I might bring a lib with me and we can go hunting later in the day

[waterrescuedude2000]

None taken man. Yes the idea sounds good. send him about 900 yards away and use a Barrett. :laugh2:

[waterrescuedude2000]

what state are you in anyways rsr??

[red states rule]

None taken man. Yes the idea sounds good. send him about 900 yards away and use a Barrett. :laugh2:

Being good sports - we would give the lib a head start

Then after that :boom2:

[diuretic]

Wow. Most of the cops I see are sitting looking for sppeders or people not wearing their seat belts. (Getting money for the state)

I guess your people believe the cops need to be out on the streets

Who would have thought?

If a boss walks into an office and someone's sitting around the first question they (the sitter) gets asked is, "what are you doing in here?"

[red states rule]

If a boss walks into an office and someone's sitting around the first question they (the sitter) gets asked is, "what are you doing in here?"

If only the local governemnts would stop using the cops as a revenue source - and use them as a crime fighting force

[nevadamedic]

what state are you in anyways rsr??

He's from Mexico :laugh2:

[Spyder Jerusalem]

If only the local governemnts would stop using the cops as a revenue source - and use them as a crime fighting force

I agree.

[nevadamedic]

Being good sports - we would give the lib a head start

Then after that :boom2:

Naaaa, I'd rather send Liberal's hunting with Vice President Cheney, he would end up doing another great service to our country! :laugh2:

[diuretic]

If only the local governemnts would stop using the cops as a revenue source - and use them as a crime fighting force

The real revenue raiser here is the speed camera. I don't have a problem with red light cameras, people running red lights are damn dangerous. But recently the state govt got a hammering because the discretionary limit (how much you can be over the posted limit before you get pinched) has been reduced on cameras. In metro areas here, on the surface streets (we don't have any freeways in the metro area) the posted speed is 60 kph, sometimes 80 kph and in residential areas and the downtown area it's 50 kph. Those cameras can really scoop up people, trust me. Now if I'm doing 56 kph in a 50 kph I'll get pinched by the camera and will have to pay a couple of hundred dollars and lose three points on my licence. The state govt was babbling about it being for public safety but the word is that Treasury kicked up a stink because income from speeding (not just traffic offences) was down. All those cautious drivers costing the state money. Speed cameras are operated by a section of the police department but they are not police officers who operate them. Cops can be on duty and driving a police car and if they can't show they were over the limit for a valid reason they have to pay the fine and lose points as well.

[red states rule]

Naaaa, I'd rather send Liberal's hunting with Vice President Cheney, he would end up doing another great service to our country! :laugh2:

or a passenger in Ted Kennedy's car

[red states rule]

He's from Mexico :laugh2:

Wrong

I did spend 3 months in Mexico. I was doing 90 days

Parked on top of a Mexican