Since when is a cop sneaking onto your driveway in the middle of the night not considered a violation of your privacy, even when they suspect you of doing something illegal?
Well, in Virginia, California, Oregon and six other western states, they don’t believe that there is such a thing as a violation of your privacy. In these states it is legal that, with resonable doubt, police can place a GPS unit on a suspects vehicle.
The cops in these states have been secretly placing GPS devices on the cars of people who they think or know are big-time drug dealers and registered sex offenders. Because of this, more people are going to jail who actually need to be there.
In my opinion, if what these cops are doing is going to make the world a better place, then so be it. But many people believe otherwise and are against this whole idea. The majority of people think that the world is going to turn into exactly what George Orwell predicted in “1984”: a totalitarian state.
Isn’t it a violation of privacy when someone sells drugs on the corner of the street where your children play? We obviously don’t even want to get started on sex offenders. I think people need to look at the big picture here.
All anyone wants is “world peace.” Well, we’re never going to reach this goal if everyone’s out running around doing as they please. That’s why these cops are trying to make the world a better place, not only for themselves but for everyone.
The main argument is that the car being in your driveway is not considered being on private property. Leaving your car in the driveway is basically asking the cops to tamper with it. If you don’t want your car to be messed with, keep it in the garage.
The funny thing about this issue is that these GPS devices have only been placed in the cars of people who have taken part in crimes before or when they are investigating a possible crime, not private citizens who are just trying to go about their daily lives. So yet again, what’s the problem?
The problem is the word “warrant.” The police need this to do everything in their field of work: to bust down someone’s door, to arrest them, to go through their personal belongings. They should need a warrant to secretly place a GPS on people’s cars.
I guess we’ll see what happens when this case reaches the Supreme Court. What will the Supreme Court decide? Put more criminals behind bars that belong there or let them run wild because random people in this world feel violated?
I don’t know about anyone else but after hearing both sides of the debate, I don’t think I mind the police trying to do their job to make this world safer. If this person wants to be a criminal then they are putting themselves at risk anyway. Why should anyone else care?
I like the quote from Russ Belville from CNN that said, “Your car on private property isn’t private. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Orwell was right.”
