Charlie: I totally agree about the situation
Around here, staring down a million dollar prosecution bill as opposed to a plea bargain, the plea wins every time. I personally look at prison as a vocation for these fools and I say make it as bad as possible inside so they won't choose to come back. The whole LE situation makes little sense here. The cities continually have drunk stops that catch a very few drunks and 20-35 llegals with no license or insurance. These are real money makers for small towns ( the city of Petaluma has demanded HALF of towing and storage fees associated with these crimes from the towing agency ), and with MAD and the like, the public doesn't say anything. I think that the public would be better served by having those officers on the street catching gang bangers and burglars, but there's no money in that so they fleece the guy who had 3 glasses of Pinot Noir because he has the ability to pay. It has become a giant game of GOTCHA, with huge parking fines, speed traps, drunk stops, while ignoring the fact that the gangs have taken over the streets. God bless LE, but when they put revenue over crime, we all lose. And I guarantee that the average officers prefers to get the criminal.