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| NEWS > 10 August 2007 |
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Public forums on future of pol
Public meetings on the future of policing failed to attract one member of the public in Mid or South Canterbury – possibly because they were not advertised locally.
Over the last month eight meetings were held in association with community boards and district councils, but area controller Inspector Dave Gaskin said while there were members of the public at those meetings, he wasn't aware of anyone who had turned up specifically to discuss possible changes to the existing police act.
"There was very limited interest, I can't think of anyone who was there for the police a... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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York Daily Record - York,PA,US
10 August 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Owner decries police ethics
A bar owner says Wrightsville's police officers are targeting his employees and patrons, waiting for people to leave, and running license plates without justification.
“They're constantly following people,” said Larry Kirkessner, who owns the Hometown Hotel. “The police are . . . completely harassing all of the bars.”
Kirkessner said he brought a petition of 417 signatures - 127 of them borough residents, the remainder patrons and other visitors - to Monday's council meeting.
“I've been to council meetings where they brush them (critics of police) off, and say, well, everybody else thinks we're doing a good job,” he said. “Here's 400 other people, not just me . . . that says you're doing things unethically.”
Kirkessner said he started the petition drive only a few weeks ago. He said council members asked for a copy of the petition, but he did not have any that night. He plans to furnish the borough with copies soon, he said.
Police Chief Wayne Pearson said Thursday he had not seen Kirkessner's petition, but said, “My officers know the law, and there has to be a reason” for what they are doing, he said.
“If we systematically run plates, then yes we can,” he said. “It's not a violation of using the CLEAN system.”
The Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network is used across the state to access license and registration information, criminal histories and gun permits.
But it can be used only by law enforcement personnel for law enforcement purposes, State Police Cpl. James Hills said in a York Daily Record story last year.
York County District Attorney Stan Rebert said Thursday that police officers must have a reason for running a license plate through CLEAN.
“'Systematic' is a relative term,” he said. “Unless they're suspicious of something, I'd think they'd have better things to do than run license plate checks.”
Rebert said it's improper for police to “hang around the barrooms and look for drunks.”
But, if police pass a bar or are nearby one and witness someone driving erratically, he would expect them to investigate.
Kirkessner said officers have pulled his employees over, then given the reason, “Your car was there a long time.”
Wrightsville Mayor Steve Rambler said Thursday he had not seen the petition, but added that he does not have any problems with the borough's bars.
“I feel that they're businesses of the borough of Wrightsville and most of them are run by people who live in the borough,” he said. “I'm fine with the bars.”
State Rep. Keith Gillespie, R-Hellam Township, said he attended the borough council meeting.
“I don't know what a normal meeting is like,“ he said. “There were certainly a lot of emotional, passionate comments that evening from both the residents and council members.”
He counted 45 to 50 people in the tiny room. His larger municipalities get less than half of that, he said.
“This whole thing with the police department down there has been the source of a lot of discussion,“ he said. “I think it's great the people are coming out to express their opinions.”
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