Checkpoints and Watchtowers for Miami Memorial Day Event

Checkpoints and Watchtowers for Miami Memorial Day Event

Posted By admin On May 3, 2012 @ 2:56 am In Prison Planet |

Miami Herald ^[1]
May 3, 2012

[...]

This year, the heavy police presence, which some argue contributed to the tension, will intensify significantly. A checkpoint. Watch towers. Police in pairs on every corner. Drivers on all three causeways leading into South Beach — the MacArthur, Venetian and Julia Tuttle — will be affected, with police surveillance on the MacArthur and Tuttle.

[...]

Among the changes:

•  Dozens of officers told to enforce what city officials have dubbed a "zero tolerance" policy will weave through crowds on the street and beach. In addition, pairs of police will be stationed up and down Fifth Street, Ocean Drive, Collins and Washington avenues. Assisting agencies have been told that after years of declining numbers, police expect to exceed the 1,010 arrests that in 2006 drew allegations of racial profiling from the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP.

•  Come Friday of the holiday weekend, Ocean Drive will be closed, Collins Avenue will be one-way heading north, and Washington Avenue will be one-way heading south, creating a loop to control cruising and lead drivers into city parking lots. Roadblocks will be erected on many of the cross streets off Fifth, Ocean, Collins and Washington.

•  Police will stage a DUI checkpoint from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday on the MacArthur Causeway, east of the entrances to Palm and Hibiscus islands. They will not stop every car, but if you are stopped and have an expired registration, you'll get a ticket. If you have an outstanding warrant or fail a DUI roadside test, you will be arrested, police say. This is the first time police are establishing a checkpoint since the parties began in 2001.

•  The Venetian Causeway will be open only to Miami and Miami Beach residents, although restricted access will be based on the honor system.

• License plate readers that use multi-angle scanners to record vehicle tags will be placed along the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur causeways to record just about every car that drives into South Beach. Recorded tags will be entered into a database that police will use to find outstanding warrants, cars reported stolen, expired registrations and other potential violations. Vehicles with tags that kick back violations to police will be stopped.

•  Cameras that see up to a mile will be perched on four towers placed where officers can rewind and view video. The towers will be stationed in Lummus Park, on Collins Avenue and on the east end of the Lincoln Road Mall.

Full article here ^[1]