03-05-2019, 05:31 PM
(03-05-2019, 11:01 AM)robdrimmie Wrote:(03-05-2019, 10:37 AM)Bob_McBob Wrote: Waterloo is now asking the province for major changes to the Municipal Act to allow bylaw officers to compel identification.
This is a bad idea. That kind of authority gets misused over and over again and it's a power police should not have, and using these parties as a lever to get it is a bit gross. I hope the province denies the request.
How is enforcement supposed to work if they can’t compel identification?
Officer: I’m ticketing you for [valid for-real infraction that actually does negatively affect others]. Please identify yourself.
Offender: No. Bye!
Officer: …
I recognize that officers can and do abuse their authority, but I don’t see how making it impossible to do their job helps the situation.
Except that apparently right now they can’t compel identification, and the City isn’t exactly a hellscape of crime. So according to my framing, right now their job is “impossible” yet things aren’t so bad.
But I still would like to know how enforcement is supposed to happen without the ability to stop people and do the actual enforcement.