Why Are Evesham Police Punishing the Innocent?

by: deciminyan

Wed Aug 11, 2010 at 05:14:42 PM EDT

Drunk driving is a serious problem, and I applaud the Evesham police in their effort to reduce this danger, but their approach is all wrong.  Under the presumption of innocence, the police are pre-emptively punishing innocent people without their being able to exercise their rights.  Once this information is posted on the Internet, it stays there essentially forever, even after a "not guilty" verdict.

Supporters of this program argue that the data is available from other public sources - newspapers (remember them?), police blotters, etc.  Yet, posting this information on line makes it much easier to access through search engines by potential employers and other parties.  This puts potentially innocent people at a distinct disadvantage.

While its approach is probably legal, ruining the reputation of any innocent person is not the job of the Police Department.  In today's economy, the time and effort spent by the Evesham PD in maintaining a Facebook database could be better spent in outreach programs to young drivers and in other DUI awareness programs.