LOL @ the Edmonton Police Service

[Resolute 14]

So, I got a letter in the mail today from the EPS. Figured it was a photo radar ticket, which thankfully it wasn't. Instead, it was one of those friendly little "someone NARCed you out" letters.

Basically, it read: "Around 2:24PM, a citizen reported to Edmonton Police Service that a vehicle bearing licence plate xxx xxx was observed in the area of 100 av nw/Anthony Henday Drive nw and was not, in his/her opinion, being driven in a safe and lawful manner-which would lead the caller to believe the driver may have been impaired."

Now, I've driven the Anthonay Henday several times, and I believe 100th Ave is basically Stony Plain Road East, so it's a pitiful intersection with four sets of lights. (imagine Deerfoot and 16th but at grade) It's 70 into that intersection, with the speed limit rising to 90/100 out of it. I can tell you exactly what would have happened there, which Redvan and 4x4 would have appreciated:

Some idiot was puttering along the left lane out of that light, so I came out from behind them and blew past them on the right.

Now, two things really interest me about this.

First, someone basically lied to police in claiming they spotted a drunk driver.

Second, the only thing the EPS did was send a polite letter out? I dunno about you, but I think I'd rather the police got on their horse and found the suspect car after a complaint like that. Warning letters don't bring dead people back to life. The time of the complaint is exactly the time I would have been going through Edmonton, so it's not like the person took my plate down and called two hours later.

Sure, I would have been annoyed if I got pulled over because someone filed a false police report, probably hoping to increase the odds of a cop showing up and nailing that person. But I'd probably end up laughing with the cop about it afterward when it was made clear I wasnt drunk, and that the caller was an idiot.

But no, really, when you get a report of a drunk driver, do something about it Edmonton.

[Russic]

What exactly is that meant to accomplish? Do they really have the time available to send a letter like that out?

[burn_this_city]

LOL. This story belongs in our social group. Im surprised they weren't waiting at your door when you got home.

[Jayems]

It's my understanding that when they complain like this, it can go to court if the person is willing to testify. How they'd ever prove if you were or were not drunk is impossible.

[photon]

Calgary has the same setup, I'm sure it's a form letter and mostly automated. Or at least I remember hearing about Calgary having that on the radio.

I agree that it doesn't actually do much, though maybe they track the # of times a person gets reported? We should get 4X4's plate # and everyone can call in all day

Yeah I wish you could actually call and get a cop to check something out when you see a real drunk driver, but unless you follow the guy it'd be kinda hard to find them even a few minutes later.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Jayems

It's my understanding that when they complain like this, it can go to court if the person is willing to testify. How they'd ever prove if you were or were not drunk is impossible.

They'd have to prove both that I was the driver, and that I was driving impaired. Good luck to any layperson with that. That's kinda why we pay for police patrols.

Calgary did the same warning letter system as well for a while - not sure if it is still going. But I think the idea is that if someone sees you go through a stop sign or thinks you are speeding a bit too much that they send a reminder letter. But an alleged drunk driver?

[4X4]

My useful contribution to this thread is to relate a similar story. A few years back, my little sister wanted to buy a car, and could afford it, but couldn't get the credit, so I bought it in my name and she made the payments. This meant that the insurance and registration had to be in my name as well.
One day a cop called me on my cell phone (I have no idea how the cops knew my cell phone number) while I was driving around running errands. The conversation was pretty weird.

ring ring

Hello?

Are you 4x4?

Yes. Who is this?

Constable such and such. Are you driving right now?

Yes.

Where are you?

14th street and heritage. Why?

Were you just in the southcenter area?

Yes. Why?

Can you please pull over and wait for an officer to arrive?

Ummm... Why?

Mr. 4x4, we have received three complaints about your erratic driving and if you don't pull over right now, you will be charged with some such crime that will be really bad and scary.

What the hell are you talking about? I've got my dog in the truck with me. I always drive slow when she's in the truck. I'm driving normally.

Sir, what is your license plate number?

XXX-XXX

Oh. Are you the owner of a 2000 Cavalier?

Um, yeah. But that's my sister's car. I bought it for her.

Oh, well aren't you generous. What is her phone number please?

Listen, guy. First of all, I didn't pay for it, she pays for it. I did her a favour with my credit. Secondly, no, I'm not giving you my sister's phone number. Trust me, she's got much bigger problems now that I know about this. You can rest assured that she wont be driving erratically any more.

Sir, You should give me her phone number.

Um. No. And I think I'll be getting myself a new phone number. Have a nice day.

click.


Weird, eh? And yeah, my first inclination was that it was a prank, but he knew too much stuff and I could hear other cops in the background during his thoughtful pauses.
I spend the next few months afraid to go even one click over the limit in fear that if I did get pulled over, I'd be in their computer database as a lippy a-hole and that I'd start getting tickets for 'one taillight being slightly smaller than the other'.

And yeah, I went nuts on my sister. I can't remember why she was driving like a maniac that day, but it was a pretty stupid reason like being excited to get home with some new dress she bought. Yeah.

[ernie]

Years ago in Red Deer I had a co-worker who did actually drive like an idiot quite a bit. He got a couple of these letters and sort of laughed it off. BUt when you start getting multiple letters the police start to take notice and the letters start to get a little less polite and more serious. At one point a citizen pursued it and my co-worker ended up losing his license for a bit.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

I don't see what the problem is.
What is the EPS supposed to do, drop everyting they're doing and head off on some wild goose chase?

As you said you weren't drunk and I'm sure too many people have cried wolf that it isn't worth their while. Seems to me a letter does two things:

1) keeps police from wasting resources on wild goose chases that will prove ultimately fruitless even if they do catch the person (like in your case)
2) if the guy was drunk it puts it in his mind that he is being watched and may smarten up

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

They'd have to prove both that I was the driver, and that I was driving impaired. Good luck to any layperson with that. That's kinda why we pay for police patrols.

Calgary did the same warning letter system as well for a while - not sure if it is still going. But I think the idea is that if someone sees you go through a stop sign or thinks you are speeding a bit too much that they send a reminder letter. But an alleged drunk driver?

Absolutely. There's nothing they can do except bring a 'my word vs their word' type argument, and you'd win every time.

Listening to the RCMP scanner in Cochrane, you'd be amazed at how many times people call in vehicles going 150+ on Hwy 1 or 1a and they actually do something about it. Almost every time they caught up or set up down the road to catch them (most of the time working in conjunction with the Sheriffs). Lots of drunk drivers pulled off because people call it in.

[burn_this_city]

I called in two guys who were driving down Blackfoot trail south drinking beer and whipping the empty bottles out the window. By the time we hit glenmore a cop had come flying off 58th and pulled them over. I was shocked how quick they appeared.

[flip]

I've had numerous friends get stunting tickets because of people reporting them. Some paid it, some fought it. Either way the cops can pretty much do what they want.

[photon]

Interesting, I'll call in the drunk drivers I see from now on!

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by photon

Interesting, I'll call in the drunk drivers I see from now on!

In Calgary, they will usually dispatch the closest cruiser to your area if you phone from your cell phone with the accused's license plate number and a description of the vehicle.

Although, funny enough, my buddy used to do this (not sure if he still does) and would be on his cell phone following the person, and the dispatcher would actually encourage him to follow the guy until the closest cruiser had a visual, which is only weird for the fact that cops also frown upon being on your cell phone while driving, so maybe they've changed that procedure.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Although, funny enough, my buddy used to do this (not sure if he still does) and would be on his cell phone following the person, and the dispatcher would actually encourage him to follow the guy until the closest cruiser had a visual, which is only weird for the fact that cops also frown upon being on your cell phone while driving, so maybe they've changed that procedure.

Yeah we were following someone home from a late night hockey game at NESS who is the only person in my life i've seen driving who i would guarentee was hammered out of their mind, called it in and they told me not to follow anymore, this guy was obviously almost home though as he was pulling into the community so i doubt that they caught him if they even sent anyone after him.

[metallicat]

Originally Posted by photon

Interesting, I'll call in the drunk drivers I see from now on!

That's what they want you to do. Here in Edmonton, there are signs that tell people to dial 911 if they see an impaired driver. Are the reports quite often false? Probably.

But in the case of the original poster, I almost guarantee a cop went looking for you if someone called in a drunk driver. Chances are they couldn't find or catch up to you for whatever reason. But no doubt this letter came after them not being able to track you down on the road.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Yeah we were following someone home from a late night hockey game at NESS who is the only person in my life i've seen driving who i would guarentee was hammered out of their mind, called it in and they told me not to follow anymore, this guy was obviously almost home though as he was pulling into the community so i doubt that they caught him if they even sent anyone after him.

Same thing happened to me. I left a friend's place in Acadia and was heading to marda loop. I happened to be following someone that was clearly hammered. I called the cops and they got the info and told me to stop following. I told them that I wasn't so much following as going to where I was going and the guy happened to be staying in front of me. They practically pleaded with me to take another route. Turned out that I inadvertently followed the guy all the way until he turned off into the Tropicana parking lot. He did not get busted.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

I don't see what the problem is.
What is the EPS supposed to do, drop everyting they're doing and head off on some wild goose chase?

As you said you weren't drunk and I'm sure too many people have cried wolf that it isn't worth their while. Seems to me a letter does two things:

1) keeps police from wasting resources on wild goose chases that will prove ultimately fruitless even if they do catch the person (like in your case)
2) if the guy was drunk it puts it in his mind that he is being watched and may smarten up

Absolutely. If I learned anything from "The Fast and the Furious," its that the surest way to law enforcement success is to have the entire Force respond to every call no matter how wild or unsubstantiated it may be!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

That's what they want you to do. Here in Edmonton, there are signs that tell people to dial 911 if they see an impaired driver. Are the reports quite often false? Probably.

But in the case of the original poster, I almost guarantee a cop went looking for you if someone called in a drunk driver. Chances are they couldn't find or catch up to you for whatever reason. But no doubt this letter came after them not being able to track you down on the road.

Which shouldn't have been that hard. I don't speed past 10 over in city limits, so the concerned motorist should have easily been able to keep me in sight without breaking any kind of law themselves. And really, if the EPS can't find a car driving a straight line down a major freeway, then there is even more fail here than I thought.

[Locke]

Clearly, Edmonton is a Fascist Police State.