Cops Want More Privacy Than You Get: L.A. City Council Today Supports That Unanimously

By Dennis Romero Tue., Mar. 6 2012 at 1:44 PM

Frederic Poirot

Cops don't want you to know where they live. But they get to find out where you do, how old you are, and any history of interaction they've had with you.

Irony?

In response to a hacker group's posting of LAPD officers' personal information, a state assemblyman has proposed a law that would keep cops' property records (and thus addresses private). And now ...

... the spineless L.A. City Council has followed suit with a resolution supporting the bill by Assemblyman Mike Feuer.

The resolution by city Councilman Dennis Zine, a reserve LAPD officer, won unanimous support. Feuer's bill would allow county assessors to remove the names of cops from property records so you couldn't look them up via public records.

Sounds good in theory, but say you're a reporter looking into alleged misconduct by an officer (which never happens) and you want to knock on his door to give him a chance to respond. You're out of luck (unless, of course, you're a very resourceful reporter).

Property records are public and, as yet, there's no class system that gives certain folks an out (same goes for voter registration).

But cops are concerned after a hacker crew with the Twitter handle of @CabinCr3w revealed personal information of about two dozen LAPD officers in December: The group was unhappy with the LAPD's raid of the Occupy L.A. camp in November.

Cops, who can get your home address in seconds via your license plate or drivers license, already have the luxury of having their addresses scrubbed from DMV records.

Supporters of the proposed state law say it would protect officers from the likes of criminals they put away.

Understandable. But it's also understandable that we'd all like our information kept private. Maybe Feuer should amend his bill to say that we all should have our personal addresses kept private except when judges approve warrants to unseal it. Why does a cop need to know exactly where you live anyway? A computer can send the ticket.

At least Feuer, who's running for L.A. City Attorney, can add to his bill an exclusion for journalistic access to officers' data. Eh? (And keep in mind, anyone who runs for office around here shall beg for the endorsement of the powerful L.A. police union).

This bill would never pass a court challenge anyway. Either it's public information or it isn't.

The idea that guys with uniforms and guns should have it different under the law is positively Soviet.

[With reporting from City News Service / @dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

cops, Dennis Zine, DMV, LAPD, law, Mike Feuer, police, privacy, property records

We Recommend

Michael

What an idiot trying to sound so gangsta! I don't thing gangsters call each other HOMES, it's something more like Holmes. Do you think that trying to talk like a gangsta puts you at the same danger level as a Police Officer? Just another Monday morning quarterback that watches too many Trainig Day movies and such.

portholewatcher

Really ?? You compare your work to that of a cop ?..."There are plenty of folks who hate me because of what I write. Why should a certain class of workers get different rights than others? " ...I'm sure you're " hated"...some...And rights?...I don't know if I would call them rights...but keep in mind that not all jobs are created equal !Your editorial piece is an EPIC FAIL !

P_ooka

Typical ignorance as to the real dangers policemen & their families experience.

Dggeo07

Lol..dude...if I was a cop in Mexico I wouldn't want ...to be found by the cartels either ! Bec ause you don't have immediate access to a cop's personal information does not mean they're above the law...as much as many "reporters" like you have tried to create the appearance that they are...we do have checks and balances in this country....we are not Mexico or Soviet Russia....

Dggeo08

Ayyyy...Dennis....i bet even you don't believe what you just wrote!...and yeah, personally I agree with cops having access to your information asap...' cause you know criminals tend to lie about who they are and similar stuff...you know...very vitriolic article brother!

Dennis Romero

Yeah cops never lie (see the link above).

Dennis Romero

By the way, police in Mexico now largely work anonymously, with masks on, and no ID tags, which has made the forces of law vulnerable to both impersonation and infiltration by the bad guys. And, as you can see, that has worked out wonderfully. Not to say they should be out there with their home addresses. But the fact that we want to become more like Mexico speaks volumes.

American should remain transparent. It's in our DNA and it's right.

Dggeo08

Yup..investigative repoter going to a cop' s house on allegations of misconduct...i' m sure you' ll get a full confession!

Goidtonrs

You want the same privilege? Join the Force? But then again, you couldn't hide behind a keyboard there.

Dennis Romero

Goid:

I'm not hiding behind shit, homes. My name goes above everything I write, and people know exactly where I work.

EXBCMC

AH, class act. Gang bang'n lingo from the hack reporter

Dennis Romero

(Funny, an anonymous wuss telling me, with my full name visible to the entire world, that I'm hiding. Grow a pair).

Longtonguebean

Dennis, I see your point but respectfully disagree. Writing a column and taking away an individuals freedom are two different animals. Gang members are criminals and have in the past taken retaliatory actions against those who enforce laws. If we cant protect the families of those who enforce the laws; how can we be positive that those laws will be enforced? It would be like Mexico where police refuse to enforce laws against the murderous cartels for the sake of their families.

Dennis Romero

So gangsters never have a reason to go after reporters (who, for example, have written explosive things about cartel connections, the Eme and other large sets), judges, prosecutors?

My point is either this is America, where everyone is equal and public information is public information, or its not. There's shouldn't be a special class. It's dangerous. It harkens to totalitarianism and a police state.

I think some people are sick of the special privileges and laws being given to this special interest called law enforcement. It's done wonders for state prisons, as you can tell.

Robert

Oh no, here we go again. Dennis let me tell you a story of an officer who years back when the technology isn't as high tech back then was picking up his little boy from daycare and was shot right in front of him. Yes, the suspect wanted payback from that officer. When Officers have to testify in open court against some of the most violent gangsters without a conscience then I agree their families and personal information should be kept private. With so many gangsters and others carrying weapons that are easy to get I for one side with the cops on this one. Look how easy it was for the Bling kids to burgularize the celebrity homes. I'm all for transparency and no one likes a dirty copy to get nailed then other cops cause they tarnish the badge but I know a lot of people who side with the cops on this one.

Dennis Romero

Robert:

That's understandable. What about me? There are plenty of folks who hate me because of what I write. Why should a certain class of workers get different rights than others? That's my point.

EXBCMC1

Dennis, you are a fool, comparing the danger of being a hack reporter and the danger of criminals being aware of the address of ofcrs and their families.

Dennis Romero

In other words, last time I checked, America isn't supposed to work that way -- given privileges only to some -- though it certainly is headed that way.