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Ticket roundups are taxation masquerading as a public safety initiative

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley called the Driver Responsibility surcharge "taxation masquerading as a public safety initiative," and I can't think of a better description for these increasingly common "ticket roundups" like the one more than 250 Texas law enforcement agencies will participate in March 6. Whenever I see these I think that 1) the jurisdiction is mainly hoping to mulct taxpayers for money, not prevent crime, and 2) they're filling jails with petty offenders who don't need to be there, generating hidden costs on the back end.Given the scope of "wanted" Texans, "roundup" really is the right word and the livestock imagery appropriate - if they "rounded up" everybody you're talking about a staggering number of people...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on February 19, 2010 (boomark / email).