Don't like your neighbors and want to report them to the police? The police will pay citizens to report on their neighbors.
This story reminds me of police painting a "Star of David" on houses in Germany.
In New Orleans, Louisiana, home is about to be much more than where the heart is.
Under a new initiative announced this week by the New Orleans Police Department, private residences will also become the home of massive orange stickers that’ll alert neighbors, “Hey, don’t worry. There might be drugs here.”
New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas revealed to the media this week that the NOPD will soon be responding to allegations of drug activity with a campaign that some feel will create more problems than it could solve. Acting on citizen tips provided to the New Orleans Crimestroppers Inc website, the NOPD will now descend on homes alleged to engage in drug activity and, regardless of the outcome, place a large, bright orange sticker on the home.
The decal, an octagonal, stop sign-shaped adhesive, reads in large lettering, “N.O.P.D.” In a much smaller font, the emblem continues, “…has served a narcotic related warrant or checked this residence as a result of a Crimestroppers hotline citizen’s tip.”
"We're going to start placarding every house that we do a search warrant on," Serpas explained to reporters. "Neighbors will spot it and see it and know we did go to that house, we did follow up on that Crimestoppers tip…which will hopefully encourage more,” he added.
The stickers won’t be reserved for only legitimate drug dens, though. Any tip supplied through the free, anonymous Crimestropper hotline that is followed through by law enforcement will land the house in question to host a sticker. Even if a warrant isn’t served and police simply knock on the door — and even if no drugs are found.
What’s more, citizens are encouraged to supply tips on the Crimestoppers website with a reward that can exceed into the thousands. The process is completely anonymous and can be done online or over the phone. Crimestoppers Executive Director Darlene Cusanza tells the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the organization gets around 7,000 tips each year. Serpas adds that number of viable tips went up last year by 11 percent.
"People are willing communicate with our department through Crimestoppers," explains the chief.
The move brought condemnation from Marjorie Esman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana. “This is like a scarlet letter tattooed onto the homes of otherwise innocent people, giving them no presumption of innocence," she told the newspaper.
http://rt.com/usa/news/sticker-new-orleans-house-425/