Rose Parade attendees surrender 4th Amendment rights in bizzare police squad program

The L.A. Times, in a cutesy story about elderly Pasadena Rose Parade volunteers, inadvertently included details of a Pasadena Police program that would make Pol Pot jealous.

Nicknamed "Parade Watch", the program consists of 50 volunteers trained by local police to "be on the lookout for suspicious activity" . In order to help "look out for the bad guys", participation in the program requires citizens to sign a form agreeing that their own vehicle can be searched.

The article, entitled 'Pasadena police train volunteers to be on 'Parade Watch' includes details of RV enthusiasts parked and waiting to see the annual Rose Parade, who are approached by trained police volunteers under the guise of keeping everyone safe. The program was implemented after the attacks of 9/11/01.

A few excerpts from the article:
 

• "Wearing a cap and a bright-yellow jacket bearing the words "Pasadena Police Volunteer," Kendall is traveling the parade route and reaching out to RV and motor home drivers lining the streets.. He instructed the group to introduce themselves as canvassers rather than inspectors, and told them not to go inside the motor homes. If a driver refuses to fill out a form with their name and address or to post a Parade Watch sticker on their vehicle, the volunteers are told to back off and call the parade desk..... They drove a police car with flashing yellow lights and carried radios, clipboards, stickers and forms.
  
• "......Patrick Ward, 32, gave Lech the sticker to post on his windshield and a form agreeing that his vehicle could be searched. "Thank you guys," said Lech, who arrived Monday. "We're going to have a great time again."..

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized".

Now if someone is willing to waive their rights to privacy and grant government the arbitrary authority to search their vehicle and personal possessions with no probable cause whatsoever, they are certainly free to do that.

My question is, why would people be so willing to do so, and more importantly why would a police department ask them to do so? The Pasadena Police Dept. which touts "public safety and customer satisfaction as our mainstay", makes no mention of the "Parade Watch" consent form on their website.
 

Neighborhood watch programs have been around for years; I recall them popping up in the 1980's, Basically it was neighborhood groups who would post stickers and signs and maybe have monthly meetings and barbeques, get to know your neighbors, and watch our for suspicous activity. A perfectly fine idea.

Sure enough- the 'National Neighborhood Watch Institute', which sells the now-famous orange and black "neighborhood watch" signs to "over 13,000 police and sheriff agencies, housing authorities, emergency management agencies, as well as concerned citizens", was established in 1982. (What a brilliant business idea that was, eh?)

But they were never so bold and heckles as to require participants to sign away their right to privacy in their homes. Why in the world, if the participants are volunteering to contribute to the good will and safety of the community, would they be treated as a suspect, asked to surrender their God given and fundamentally protected rights?

Is this sort of some subliminal conditioning program, where people are just trained, without even thinking, to surrender their personal liberties for no reason? "After all you have nothing to hide, do you? And you're with us, right"? Note that the police volunteers in the story are instructed to 'call the' [police] 'parade desk' if an RV spectator does not wish to comply with their program.

The old line "The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." is attributed to statesman John Hay  in 1872. It's one of my favorite quotes, and is very applicable today. (although Hay was assistant to tyrant Abraham Lincoln, I'll set that aside, because most people view Lincoln as a "Hero", have no idea he was a tyrant, and no one has ever heard of John Hay). Now look, I've gone and taken this article off a cliff. Anyway, it's a great quote. Do not give up liberty under the guise of security, especially a particularly baseless demand to allow unwarranted searches  for the "privilege" of pasting a "Pasadena Police Parade Watch" sticker on your vehicle.

I hope you all have a happy, blessed and prosperous New Year in 2010. May true freedom return in our time.
 

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