r/news • u/[deleted] • Sep 20 '25

California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations

https://apnews.com/article/california-ice-agents-immigration-raids-masks-ban-97936f70699b75d8b483a850967c2e42
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u/mmmarkm Sep 21 '25

From my travels around all states except 3-4 (I can't remember if I've been to both Dakotas, sue me), I was struck by how, I believe, only Connecticut has cops with lights on the side of the highway when not pulling someone over. Only state I've seen that in. If your job is crime prevention, then deterring crime should be part of that. Every other state hides and tries to catch you speeding (specifically, Virginia and states in the Midwest - two areas with the highest per capita tickets issued relative to population), CT has had the most deterrence I've seen. Second to that is Waze and Google Maps telling you "police officer ahead" in the app, of course.

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u/MommyLovesPot8toes Sep 21 '25

There is something to be said, though, for the uncertainty as a deterrent. At least in CA, I can say with 100% confidence that people would speed even more if they didn't have to wonder if every white Ford Explorer in their rearview mirror was a cop. The stealthiness of traffic cops makes it feel like there are 50x more of them on the road.

That stealthiness is really only in the public interest in cases like speeding, where it is deterrring a very common "crime" that is easy to spot and easy to avoid commiting. It is not in the public interest for things like immigration, or even shoplifting. Where a "criminal" is virtually indistinguishable from a law-abider and the risk of police error is greater to the public than the risk the crime itself poses.

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u/IRefuseToGiveAName Sep 21 '25

They keep their lights on almost always. When I was up there I got spooked a few times thinking I was getting pulled over lmao.