Checkpoint op-ed published in NC Times
An opinion piece by EDC President Paul McNamara that responded to comments in a recent feature story about EDC has been published by the North County Times. McNamara’s essay responded to comments in the original story, published April 11, 2010, in which Council member Sam Abed said of EDC “They seem to think illegal immigrants should have the same rights as citizens.” McNamara wrote to explain the Club’s position.
Here’s a sample:
The first is the issue of checkpoints. In a resource-constrained environment, we believe it is a legitimate question to ask whether or not checkpoints provide the public safety benefit as promoted. A comparison of other North County cities that do not use checkpoints suggest this policy should be reviewed. It is also a question of what type of community does one want to live in.
No one argues that some restraints on personal freedom are necessary for the greater good. The inability to shout “fire” in the movie theater is the classic example. But the question remains, aside from the cost of the checkpoints, does this restriction provide the greater good that the Escondido Police Department would have us believe?