Note: I haven’t lived in the area this happened in for years, so I don’t know if the people are still doing this. I was reminded by a thread in IMHO about domestic violence.
There was a section of Columbus, Ohio that was being gentrified or reclaimed or whatever term you would like to put on it.
The neighborhood council/block watch was in a constant struggle to keep hookers off the street, saying that hookers on the street drove down housing values and also were a harbinger of drug dealing and other criminal activities.
So, they collected license plate numbers, looked up the owners, and sent them post cards that essentially said, “We know you’ve been looking for hookers. Stop it.” The post cards were fluorescent colors to make them extremely noticeable by everyone, from neighbors and family to postal carriers.
So, what do you think? Acceptable? Violation of privacy? Vigilantism? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
I don’t like it. There are people who sit up nights seething, because somebody, somewhere, is having fun. I’m sure I got that H.L. Mencken quote a little wrong, but you get the idea. If the goal is to get the street hookers to ply their trade in somebody else’s neighborhood, there are better ways to do it. They cannot end prostitution, no one has ever been able to do that. This tactic of public embarrassment is just dirty pool.
I’m not a lawyer, and I’m not here for a technical discussion of what is or is not invasion of privacy, or the concept of privacy within the law. Other folks here delight in splitting those hairs. The OP asked what I think, and I replied.
Seems alright to me, but I neither cruise for hookers nor care what the mailman thinks of me.
I do have a bit of trouble with the phrase “We know you’ve been looking for hookers”. They don’t know that, and I can see somebody who was there innocently and can prove it in some way making trouble for the postcard senders.
No doubt most of the time they really were cruising for hookers, but the exception is going to prove the rule here, as is often the case.
Did the block association at least had the balls/decency to put their own names and return address on these post cards? These kinds of accusations should not be made anonymously.
I’m curious about how an organization with no official governmental or police powers can find out what person owns the car with a particular license plate. I’ve always thought you had to be a cop, or something along those lines, to look up someone’s license tags.
No, they’re upset because selfish jerks are disrupting their neighborhood and community and driving down property values. Have you ever lived in a neighborhood overrun by streetwalkers and pimps? Do you have any idea at all of the kinds of problems streetwalkers attract? Ever been awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a hooker outside your bedroom window screaming angrily at the top of her lungs because her pimp is slapping her around? Have you ever had to threaten a john with a firearm to get him to leave your sister-in-law alone? Has your girl friend ever been threatened and insulted because a john refused to believe she wasn’t a hooker?
Oh, no, it’s none of that at all. It’s just a bunch of squares who don’t want to let the hipsters have their fun. :rolleyes:
Depends on local laws. I can’t do it here. On the other hand, the state makes available on the web without restriction, voter information. So anyone in the world can look up all who are registered to vote in the state, complete with full home addresses, ages and every time you voted.
So I can’t obtain car tag information, but I can look up personal information in voting records. Go figure.
Dreadful idea. If they really wanted to address the possible john, they could send the letter in an envelope. Clearly the reason for the postcard is to alert neighbors, possibly, and spouses, certainly. Just great if you are innocently looking for an address in this neighborhood with at least some respectable people.
Second, if they wanted something done, they could take pictures and deliver them to the police. if the police didn’t want to respond there are elected city officials who might want to put pressure on them to clean up the neighborhood.
Third, I’d be surprised if one of the vigilantes didn’t get the crap beat out of him someday.
I think the reason for making voting records available is to allow those running for office access to them for campaign mailings. This stuff is available in California also - I was helping a friend who was running for school board, and I wrote some Perl script to process lists with the data you mentioned.
I stand corrected. In my state, however, the information is available if you identify yourself and can provide a legitimate reason for needing it. I don’t know if this would qualify or not.
It’s bullshit, just like its been done with people patronizing adult bookstores. I once saw a local news channel somehwhere showing mug shots of those busted for soliciting hookers. When will these assholes admit a desire for sex is a basic human need shared by 99% of adults, and some people just aren’t fortunate enough to get it for free?
