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Speeders fly beneath uncertified radar
By Paul Day, News 4 Reporter, Special To The News
February 6, 2004
Some drivers ticketed for speeding are being found not guilty because the police
radar that nabbed them wasn't legally certified, News 4 reported Thursday.
More than half of the state's law enforcement agencies fail to have their
speed-control devices checked annually, as required by Colorado law.
Aaron Lembcke, 30, of Aurora, learned about the loophole last summer and beat a
ticket he was issued for going 89 mph in a 55-mph zone on Interstate 70. The
Jefferson County judge who heard the case said Lembcke had found the most
knowledgeable expert in the state to call as a defense witness.
That expert is Bill Young, 60, from Firestone, who, at the time, was chief
metrologist for the weights and measurements section of the State Department of
Agriculture.
Young told News 4 he has testified on behalf of defendants in three dozen
traffic cases in Colorado. And in all but a couple, Young said, the outcome was
not guilty.
The accuracy of radar guns is checked with tuning forks. State law requires all
city and county police agencies to submit their tuning forks to the weights and
measurements section for testing annually.
News 4 reviewed state records summarizing tests for more than 5,000 tuning forks
during the past seven years. One out of every eight forks was out of
compliance - a failure rate of more than 12 percent.
But the head of the weights and measurements section, Kristin Young - no
relation to Bill - told News 4 that more than half of the state's police
agencies - including the Denver Police Department - fail to submit their tuning
forks and, "in theory," violate state law. She said she notified police agencies
of the problem in writing last summer.
"I think they're taking a risk," she said. "They're taking a risk of the public
becoming aware."
Aurora, for one, does submit its forks for testing.
Lembcke admits he was going too fast, but said he resented being nabbed in what
he considered a downhill speed trap at night in light traffic.
A spokesman for the Colorado State Patrol told News 4 that the patrol still
considers its speed guns accurate because they are tested by troopers.
"You win some, you lose some," said Master Trooper Ron Watkins.
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Scott Weiser wrote:
A Usenet persona calling itself => Vox Populi wrote:
(snip)
some, you lose some," said Master Trooper Ron Watkins.
Why would I be livid? I think it's a great thing that this scam has
finally been revealed. The police have to obey the law too, you know.
Thought you'd be livid that these lowlife lawbreaking scumbags in uniform
have been perpetrating such a financial fraud upon the taxpaying citizenry whom
they are supposed to serve ... then again, perhaps not.
--
Proof the U$$A is the "greatest" nation on earth:
Prisoners (per 1,000 people)
United States 4.2
United Kingdom 1.0
Germany 0.8
France 0.8
Austria 0.8
Spain 0.8
Switzerland 0.7
Denmark 0.7
Belgium 0.7
Italy 0.6
Sweden 0.6
Japan 0.4
Netherlands 0.4
Annual reports of police brutality (per 100,000 people)
United States 92.5
United Kingdom 6.0
France 0.7
Death row inmates
United States 2,124
Japan 38
All others 0
Murder rate (per 100,000 people)
United States 8.40
Canada 5.45
Denmark 5.17
France 4.60
Portugal 4.50
Australia 4.48
Germany 4.20
Belgium 2.80
Spain 2.28
Switzerland 2.25
Italy 2.18
Norway 1.99
United Kingdom 1.97
Austria 1.80
Greece 1.76
Sweden 1.73
Japan 1.20
Ireland 0.96
Finland 0.70
Murder rate for males age 15-24 (per 100,000 people)
United States 24.4
Canada 2.6
Sweden 2.3
Norway 2.3
Finland 2.3
Denmark 2.2
United Kingdom 2.0
Netherlands 1.2
Germany 0.9
Japan 0.5
Rape (per 100,000 people)
United States 37.20
Sweden 15.70
Denmark 11.23
Germany 8.60
Norway 7.87
United Kingdom 7.26
Finland 7.20
France 6.77
Switzerland 6.15
Luxembourg 5.00
Spain 4.43
Austria 4.40
Belgium 4.00
Greece 2.40
Ireland 1.72
Japan 1.40
Portugal 1.20
Armed robbery (per 100,000 people)
United States 221
Canada 94
France 90
Belgium 66
United Kingdom 63
Italy 50
Sweden 49
Germany 47
Ireland 46
Denmark 44
Finland 38
Switzerland 23
Norway 22
Greece 7
Japan 1
TYPE OF OFFENSE (Sentenced Pop. Only) - Federal Prisoners
Drug Offenses 59.6%
Robbery 9.8%
Property Offenses 5.5%
Extortion, Fraud, Bribery 6.8%
Violent Offenses 2.7%
Firearms, Explosives, Arson 8.6%
White Collar 1.0%
Immigration 2.8%
Courts or Corrections 0.8%
National Security 0.1%
Continuing Criminal Enterprise 0.8%
Miscellaneous 1.5%
THE INTERNATIONAL EVIDENCE
The U.S. is the most violent society in the industrialized world, and probably
the entire world as well. Although it doesn't have the most police per capita,
the U.S. does have the toughest laws and punishments by far. The question of
which came first, the chicken or the egg, is becoming much less relevant as time
passes; the U.S. has been following this "get tough" approach for decades, with
no significant reduction of its violent crime rate.
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