Silicon Valley Engineer Analyzes Traffic Stops In Extremely Rich City, Discovers Disturbing Pattern

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-atherton-police-blotter-2013-8



***SNIP

Amid noise complaints from grumpy yuppies and parking violations, he noticed a startling pattern. Hispanics who didn't even live in the city received way more vehicle code violations than anyone else.

Of the 182 drivers ticketed, only two lived in Atherton.

96 tickets went to people living in neighboring Redwood City — 39% Hispanic. Atherton's population is 3.9% Hispanic.
Police issued 99 citations at the two main points where Redwood City touches Atherton.

More than 100 of the people ticketed were charged with misdemeanors for driving without a license. L.A. attorney Steven Rodriguez' blog calls driving without a license a "woblette," meaning prosecutors have the choice to make the offense a misdemeanor or infraction.

Misdemeanors require booking, fingerprinting, and a mugshot and could land the offender 6 months in jail and a $100 fine.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-atherton-police-blotter-2013-8#ixzz2bNd6gBYR

[hobbit709]

1. DWB

[loli phabay]

2. you tend to find more tickets given to out of towners

Last edited Thu Aug 8, 2013, 09:43 AM - Edit history (1)

No matter where you go, I would also remove the numbers for stuff like suspened licences and no ol and just go with similar stops for speeding or failure to maintain to get a better idea.

[1-Old-Man]

12. Fer the sake of toads, would you please proof read your own post? Its nearly undecipherable.

[loli phabay]

15. lol sorry, was typing distracted

[AnotherMcIntosh]

27. Please drive with BOTH hands on the wheel.

[loli phabay]

31. lol not driving

[CreekDog]

63. well it sounds like you're defending profiling

even if you aren't doing it while operating a vehicle, it's still disgusting.

[loli phabay]

70. no im defending correct interpretation of the numbers, ignorance is disgusting

[Kelvin Mace]

3. And this is surpirsing why?

America is still a very racist country, black presidents not withstanding.

I see and hear it every day.

[PoliticAverse]

4. Let the class-action suit(s) begin... n/t

[Mr Dixon]

5. SHM

No surprise

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. If more than 100 were driving without a license, why don't they drive with licenses?

Or avoid driving when they don't have licenses?

The attorney referred to in the OP does not claim that Caucasians are charged with infractions for driving without a license while Hispanics are charged with misdemeanors. Instead, he explains on his web site:

"It is relatively simple for the prosecution to convict a person of driving without a license. They must prove that you were driving. But you must prove that you do have a license. If you actually do have a license, but you were not able to produce it when you were pulled over, you will be charged with an infraction under California vehicle code section 12951. Once you prove to the court that you have a valid license, the charge is dismissed.

http://www.lacriminaldefenseattorney.com/Criminal-Defense/Traffic-Offenses/Driving-Without-a-License.aspx

[House of Roberts]

8. Perhaps going to the courthouse to get licensed is intimidating for them.

I'm betting they wouldn't set foot in that town if it weren't where their jobs are located. These 'good people' of Atherton are happy to let their police department harass the working poor without whom their restaurants and hotels, etc. would be understaffed severely.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

9. It would make no sense for them to go to a courthouse to get licensed because the courthouse

doesn't issue licenses.

Why would you express a belief that a courthouse would issue driving licenses?

[House of Roberts]

11. I've been getting my license at the courthouse here as long as I've had it.

Maybe things are different in other states.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

13. You've been getting your driver's license "here" at a courthouse? Where is here?

Is "here" some place in the United States where it is unnecessary to take a driver's test?

And where exactly would that be?

[House of Roberts]

19. I would have disclosed more than 'here'

if I had intended to disclose more. Suffice it to say I am in a US state. I didn't address taking a driver's test.

Mineral Man gave me a helpful response. Why couldn't you have also?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

22. I don't believe you.

If there was a State in the United States in which people went to obtain driver's licenses, you could have been able to identify it.

[House of Roberts]

35. I'm not interested in further digression on your part.

Whether a state has a separate DMV or issues licenses at an office in a county courthouse isn't really relevant to Atherton, California.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

37. I'll bet that you are not. Your claim that people go to courthouses to get driver's licenses is not

credible.

[hfojvt]

50. it is if he lives in Floyd County, Iowa

http://local.dmv.org/iowa/floyd-county/charles-city/101-s-main-st-ste-303/dmv-office-locations.php

YMMV

and he may not want the NSA to know where he lives

but I just checked the database, and we already do.

[hfojvt]

74. it was House of Robert who claimed that HE

got his driver's license at the County Courthouse and AnotherMacintosh who seemed to feel that was impossible - that NOBODY gets their drivers license at a county courthouse.

So I jumped into some pointless back and forth snarling with some facts about at least ONE place where people DO get their driver's licenses at the County Courthouse.

So don't be ridiculous. I am hfojvt, a student and a non-drinker of wine, one step above a genius, I know everything about everything.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

80. Good to see the clarification. Note, I didn't feel it was impossible. I did think that someone who

claimed to have special knowledge that going to a courthouse to get a driver's license could be done somewhere - but insisted upon not identifying that somewhere - was more likely than not just lying.

[hfojvt]

49. it depends on the county

here's one, for example, http://www.iowadot.gov/Mvd/ods/dlsites/masoncity.htm
and here's a neighboring county in the same state where it IS at the county courthouse
http://local.dmv.org/iowa/floyd-county/charles-city/101-s-main-st-ste-303/dmv-office-locations.php

[hfojvt]

47. it's a county by county thing

no reason a driver's license department can't be located in a County Courthouse in some counties. I am thinking it might have been in my home town in Beadle County, South Dakota. Of course, that was in 1984 and that department might have easily moved too.

[janlyn]

59. In Arkansas

the DMV comes to the smaller towns 1 or 2 days a week, and often times they set up at...yes, courthouse.

[snooper2]

26. LOL, just believe me

or not

[prefunk]

56. Irrelevant. In California, where this story is taking place, drivers licenses come from the DMV.

So regardless of where YOU get your DL, in Atherton and Redwood City, CA they DON'T get them at a courthouse.

[MineralMan]

10. In California, DLs are issued by the DMV,

which has separate offices. The courthouse is not involved. Lots of other things are, though, especially if you are undocumented. It's easier just to drive without a DL. Much easier.

[loli phabay]

17. then they should not be driving then, wonder how many had insurance

[KamaAina]

55. Or perhaps they're undocumented

As far as I know, only two states, WA and NM, issue licenses to undocumented immigrants. The Atherton police know this and are making routine Arizona-style "show your papers" stops under cover of it.

[backscatter712]

58. That's how it works.

Create a class of "illegal" people, make it impossible for them to do things like getting driver's licenses or get "legal" jobs. Never mind that they still have to eat. Of course, when they drive to work (the only work they can get - the kind that's under the table, or that looks the other way at creatively-obtained identification), the cops bust their balls.

Gotta keep the brown people in their place.

Of course, even here, there are the dumbfucks who respond with "HURR! WHY DON'T THEY OBEY THE LAW!"

[Gormy Cuss]

62. Boom.

That would be my guess. I'd also suggest that some Atherton cops have figured out an easy way to up their citations: just sit on the Redwood City border and profile Latino drivers.

[KamaAina]

64. That would not explain why so many are being charged with misdemeanors

rather than merely being cited.

[loli phabay]

72. could be that the other drivers they are stopping have licences and its equipment defects

Or minor speeding that the stops are done for. You have discretion for stuff like that but no licence means you have to write the ticket and if there is no licenced driver available tow the vehicle. The numbers could be slanted in any number of ways, or there could be a problem with the dept.

[Starry Messenger]

21. To get to work, probably.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

25. They don't drive with licenses because they are getting to work, probably? This is a concept which

apparently not understood by most of the population.

Is this an unwritten rule? An exception?

[Starry Messenger]

30. Is driving to work unheard of for you? It's a common method of transportation.

It is not possible for people who are here without documents to obtain a valid driver's license in the state of CA. I'm pretty sure that's the reason many of the Latinos are getting stopped and charged. Additionally I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the cops weren't looking to bust them on something they could start deportation proceedings on with ICE.

I live in a town next to Atherton.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

33. Do you understand that the law requires a driver's license in order to drive?

You seem to think that there is an exception. One for people here without documents. There isn't.

[Starry Messenger]

36. I'll say this slower.

You can't get a license in CA if you are here with no legal documents. Therefore, if you need to drive to work and can't get a licence, you drive without one. It's not rocket science.

We've tried to change the law here. Brown might be able to get a law passed that will go into effect in 2015. Until then, people without licenses will be driving without them.

You asked why they were driving. To get to work.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

38. People who repeatedly violate the law and will not reform their ways should be sent to

prison.

I don't care whether they are from the United States, Mexico, or Mars.

You obviously do.

[Starry Messenger]

39. Gosh, I thought you were Mr. I Hate Cops, Mac

I guess we found the exception to your little hobby.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

78. I dislike criminals whether they wear blue uniforms or intentionally drive without licenses.

[Starry Messenger]

90. Well before 1993, people could get licenses to drive whether they were documented or not.

And by the end of this year, it will again be legal, since my state has finally swung back to progressive and realizes that criminalizing people for trying to work for a living and drive their cars there is fucking stupid.

So don't worry, we've gotten along fine without you, you betcha.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

91. Let's hear you defend cops. Got any good pictures of cops carrying milk jugs?

[Starry Messenger]

93. Me?

You must be even more confused than I thought.

[leftstreet]

48. Prison for failure to obtain a valid DL?

Heavens

Or is 'will not reform their ways' code for their undocumented status?

[AnotherMcIntosh]

77. No. Prison for those engaging in repeated violations and puting the motoring public at risk.

If the authorities cannot keep unqualifeid and unlicensed persons off the road, are you willing to put yourself at risk? Are you willing to place law-abiding persons at risk?

If unlicensed people will not learn after a conviction or two, and if they insist upon continuing to drive on the road, how many passes do you want to give them?

[leftstreet]

96. Licensed drivers are more skilled than unlicensed?

I did not know that

Have there been actual studies that prove licensed drivers are safer drivers?

[CreekDog]

67. they aren't being stopped on the basis of violating the law

because stops for violations of the law would not get you a nearly 100% hispanic demographic of stops.

[telclaven]

86. So people who broke the law once

Because it was inconvienent are allowed to break other laws when they too pose a hinderance.

Okay, got it.

I'm off to the bank, seeing as how their holding all the money incovienences me and thus it'll be okay for me to take it. Y'all will understand, right?

[Starry Messenger]

89. That is too stupid to give serious weight to.

Fortunately you won't be here long enough for me to care.

[telclaven]

92. Was I going somewhere?

Funny, didn't have any bags packed. Am I going to the beach? I burn really bad, so I'll need sunscreen.

[hunter]

52. There have been several attempts to license undocumented workers in California...

... but lots of people go bat-shit crazy against that, like a driver's license is some sort of sacred document that should be reserved for citizens.

A driver's license ought to be just that, a document that says you've passed driving tests and can drive safely.

Practically speaking undocumented workers drive to work and it would be better for everyone if they had drivers licenses and insurance.

As it is the local police in many California communities do not pay any attention to immigration status because doing so would make it impossible to investigate crimes. Nobody would talk to them.

I grew up in a community that was 99+% white. DWB harassment was a police sport. That was just one of the way the community kept itself 99+% white. It wouldn't be surprising if police in Atherton were engaging in similar sorts of behavior. Driver "looks" Mexican, pull 'em over.

I now live in a community where most people are not white. The police are the police, they are not anyone's friends, but the racial profiling of my childhood community simply isn't practical, and the police would claim they are very sensitive to the issue. Among my kids' friends, more than half Mexican-American and the rest whose families came from all over the world, I think the local police were pretty even-handed. (Okay, maybe not with my own kids, who tend to say exactly what they think, sometimes to their own detriment. Learning not to argue with cops is a difficult lesson, one my mom and her mom never learned, but I did.)

[tledford]

98. Logic is valued here in this forum...

...no more than it is valued in Congress.

[bemildred]

14. Hey, it's an important source of municipal revenue.

Think of it as a tax for being undocumented household help.

[HardTimes99]

87. I know you are being sarcastic, but what you posted is such a sad

commentary on our society and culture.

If Los Angeles managed magically to rid itself of all its undocumented workers overnight, the entire fucking city would come to a grinding halt. Who would mow the lawns and change the friggin diapers then?

[bemildred]

99. It is quite sad, a sort of descent into a Hobbesian perdition, courtesy of our so-called "leaders".

Who apparently think money is what makes this country great, like you can buy greatness.

[librechik]

16. We're Number One! (in racist profiling for cash)

if not, we should be.

[AngryAmish]

18. New Sundown town?

Just like Belleville, IL

[Hassin Bin Sober]

44. My boyfriend is from Pekin Il. Same deal.

Also home of, until they changed in the '80s, The Pekin Chinks HS sports team.

[Le Taz Hot]

20. OK, wait.

There's a town in California wherein only 3.9% of the population is Hispanic and next door it's 39% Hispanic? That CAN'T be by accident. The 39%+ figure is pretty much normal here. 3.9%???? I can't wrap my head around that.

[Bluenorthwest]

28. It's Atherton. Cheapest 2 Bedroom house for sale there now is 1,395,000

nt

[Le Taz Hot]

34. Alrighty then.

They can have their $1,395,000 2-bedroom, 3.9% Hispanic population. I'll take my 51.4% Hispanic and a whole bunch of everything else working class neighborhood. God, I swear I'd have culture shock living in a place like that.

[JVS]

29. Median home price of $4million

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherton,_California

[KamaAina]

57. I'm actually surprised it's that high

it's highly exclusionary and is home to gazillionaires like NutMeg Whitman and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Apple).

[Starry Messenger]

23. Not surprising.

Atherton is practically a gated community. I've had Latino students stopped by cops who asked them whose lawn they were there to mow.

[PowerToThePeople]

24. That is a huge percentage of unlicenced drivers.

Probably uninsured too. I have had a car totaled by an uninsured/unlicensed driver. Ya, you could say I was at fault for not having uninsured motorist coverage. But, I have never caused a wreck in my life. I refuse to pay any more to insurance scum than what is required by law. I say "book em."

[jeff47]

45. It's difficult to get a license when you don't have documentation

And those documented workers have the gall to insist on getting paid.

[ceonupe]

53. I guess the question is

Why don't they have documents? If they are working they should have enough money to pay the fee to the court house to get a copy of their birth certificate it's like $10 and a free copy of their social security card or just the free verification printout they offer at your local office that they endorse and seal for you.

Come one now guys/gals what's really going on here. If the state has requirements for license why should anyone be exempt. You don't have to be a is citizen to ER a license but you usually have to have some legal status to be here right?

[jeff47]

61. I guess one has to spend time in a "rich" part of California to understand

I'm saying a large portion of these drivers are "illegal aliens". They can't get a driver's license because that would require them to provide something like a green card.

It's extremely common for the wealthy in California to hire an undocumented worker as a "maid" or "gardener". Because they can pay that worker terribly and abuse the hell out of their working hours. So that "$10" fee is actually a big deal...especially because it's way more than $10. The last time I got a copy of my birth certificate, it cost $40.

The local police aren't going to turn them over to ICE because they have enough wealth to create a problem for the small town's police force. And invariably these rich enclaves have their own police force instead of relying on the county or state police.

These workers are not "exempt" from the driver's license law. That's why they get ticketed. What we're trying to do is explain the reality on the ground to you so that you understand why they don't have a license.

[jeff47]

76. Yeah, it's not like I lived it for decades or anything.

I grew up building houses for the people I described. I played with their kids, because our family would keep one house in the subdivision for us to live in. I'm well aware of who their maids were. And it was abundantly clear what was going on when maids would get deported anytime she got "uppity".

secondly, we're talking about traffic "stops", not just tickets

A traffic stop is when a police officer pulls someone over. The stop may result in nothing, a ticket, or an arrest.

A month ago I was involved in a traffic stop when a police officer pulled me over for a burnt-out tail light. Doesn't mean my car was searched and I was handcuffed, it means I got pulled over, and she ran my license and said "Hey, your tail light is out. Fix it".

unless you're saying a cop knows people are illegal by looking at them, which is a horrible thing to write on DU.

No, I'm explaining why a significant portion of these workers can not get a drivers license.

The cops just write them up for driving without a license. The police don't go all Arpaio on these workers because that would upset the wealthy residents.

ETA: I think you're reading my post as saying all the people who got tickets are in this situation. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the small set of them who were ticketed for driving without a license. A significant chunk of them are probably being exploited as I describe above.

[Coyotl]

32. That's a lot of Servants showing up late for work.

You'd think the Masters would complain

[Hassin Bin Sober]

43. Maybe they have an arraignment. Only stop them on the way out.

I used to work in a lillly white suburb with a big mall. We were located on a busy corner where the main road from Chicago's south side entered.

All day long we would see young African American kids dressed in fast food garb getting frisked with their belongings placed on the hood.

[KamaAina]

60. Freudian Post O' The Month!

Maybe they have an arraignment.

You meant "arrangement". But they, the drivers, do end up with an arraignment!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

68. Ha! No glasses and autocorrect no likey

[warrior1]

40. It's actually called a "wobbler"

[Marr]

41. That kind of thing is very obvious here in Los Angeles.

It's how the peons are encouraged to drive around the upscale areas.

[hfojvt]

46. perhaps a little background information would help

population of Atherton - 7,000
population of Redwood City - 77,000

You kind of expect more tickets from Redwood City than Atherton, just by the numbers.

Otherwise, I dunno, maybe those people would not be getting tickets if they actually had a driver's license, and perhaps most people who live in Atherton actually get their driver's license.

[Starry Messenger]

51. Some more background information.

The article states that Atherton cops are set up by the two places where Atherton and Redwood City border each other and are giving out misdemeanors, which is more than a ticket. 99 of the cites were given at these locations. It's a sweep.

They aren't not set up at any other place around Atherton. Why do I know this? I live in a tiny apartment in Burlingame, another city that borders Atherton. I'm practically looking at Atherton right now from my window.

People would be happy to drive with a valid license if they could get one, I'm sure. It's was specifically made illegal to do so by CA for those who are undocumented. It was not always this way. It's a law we are trying to change.

I'm going to speculate that there was a higher amount of traffic through Atherton this last year, because the main drag down the Peninsula right next to Atherton, EL Camino, has been absolutely crammed by traffic caused by unending road work that added nearly 25 minutes to my own commute.

[hfojvt]

73. personally, I think it is wrong to make it about race

the article concludes with this "Brewster's findings suggest Atherton police may be profiling Hispanic drivers. Another possibility, as one of our readers pointed out, is that (mostly white) locals are more aware that the city's cops strictly enforce speed limits than those who live outside the city."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/kent-brewster-analyzes-atherton-police-blotter-2013-8#ixzz2bOnXWi6n

I would suggest that much of the profiling everywhere is poverty profiling. Atherton residents are not just white - they are rich. That given a choice between stopping the nice, new car going 5 mph too fast and stopping the old, beat up car going the same speed, that most cops are gonna go with the second one irregardless of the race of the driver. One racial group is likely disproportionately poor.

[CreekDog]

75. there's no racism, you've decided that already

wow. just wow.

[RedCappedBandit]

81. It has to do with "class". AND race.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

84. I agree with everything you say, except for the "they are rich" statement. Those in Hillsborough

are rich. Those in Palo Alto are rich. Those in Atherton are doing well, but I suggest that they've got some catching up to do.

[Starry Messenger]

88. Atherton is the third richest zip code in the United States.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/morganbrennan/2012/10/16/americas-most-expensive-zip-codes-2/

It's only behind Manhattan and Alpine, NJ.

[Retrograde]

71. Plus, two of the main roads on this part of the peninsula go through Atherton

El Camino Real (which seems to be where most of the traffic stops are) and Middlefield Road, which feeds into the Dumbarton Bridge connecting to the East Bay, so if you work in the northern part of Silicon Valley and live in Redwood City (or want to go to Costco, or want to go to a movie, and don't want to go out of your way to 101) you have to go through Atherton. On a given day, I suspect the great majority of traffic in the town comes from non-residents. (One of the high schools for East Palo Alto - what passes for a low-income community here - is on the edge of Atherton) so even if there were no attempts at profiling you'd expect traffic stops to reflect the populations of the surrounding areas more than the town.

Atherton's a weird place: going south on Middlefield you go from crowded, sun-blasted street with most of the signs in Spanish to a shady street lined with huge houses - in a couple of hundred feet.

ETA: as the cited article points out: "Another possibility, as one of our readers pointed out, is that (mostly white) locals are more aware that the city's cops strictly enforce speed limits than those who live outside the city."

I don't know this for certain, but I can attest that the cops in nearby Woodside (Larry Ellison's home town) are sticklers for enforcing traffic codes to the letter: you'd better not go even a smidge over the speed limit, and make sure you come to a complete and utter stop at all stop signs - or else.

[REP]

82. I live in Los Gatos (used to be MTV) and know Atheron, Woodside are ticket farms

I thought it was common knowledge. Even on the highways around there, I ease off the gas.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

85. Anyone who drives too fast through Woodside will get educated regardless of race.

More than one judge lives in that town and neither they nor their neighbors like speedsters.

[REP]

94. SR17 is also an excellent place to get ticketed

CHP likes to lurk there, and the speed limit changes every 15 feet (and the trees are so overgrown now, good luck seeing the signs). Makes me laugh when I see the patrol car camped on the Big Moody - even I stick to limit there due to the sheer drop on the southbound side.

[Dreamer Tatum]

83. Don't go injecting perspective when there's a good race thread brewing. nt

[hughee99]

79. Is someone who didn't follow the proper procedure to get a license

more likely to not follow the proper procedure when driving a car?

[CreekDog]

95. It's not really that complicated. Atherton is insular and wealthy.

Where Redwood City borders Atherton, it is heavily Hispanic.

[MindPilot]

97. After reading through this thread, three things come to mind

1. Many here seem to have some idea that a driver's license has something to do with competently being able to operate a motor vehicle. While it is true most people at some point had to answer a few questions and drive for a mile or so without hitting anything to get one, the driver's license is primarily an ID card.

2. Driving without a license is a made-up administrative victimless crime. Kind of like when you piss off the HOA with the wrong color paint.

3. If a whole bunch of people are breaking a law; the problem is probably with the law not the people.