New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: impounds

SAPD to crackdown on impaired driving – and impound more cars too

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, immigration, Latinos, Public Safety, Santa Ana 13 Comments

The Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) is launching an intensive crackdown on impaired driving, according to their Citizen Observer website.

While the SAPD’s DUI checkpoints really don’t work, the good news is that they will also be employing “Saturation Patrols,” which do work. But the bad news is that they have also announced their intention to conduct “driver’s license checks,” which is code for taking cars away from poor, hardworking undocumented immigrants.

Here are a the details about the SAPD crackdown:

The Santa Ana Police Department will join nearly 10,000 other law enforcement agencies nationwide in support of an intensive crackdown on impaired driving August 19–September 5, known as “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. Continue reading→

Community forum about stopping impounds of immigrants’ cars today

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Art Pedroza Posted in automobiles, Charities, Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Entertainment, immigration, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Community Forum:Public Safety for All

A report about the current unfair policy of the impoundment of cars and a brief presentation of the Orange County May Day Coalition

Saturday June 25
9:00am-12:00pm
(brunch will be provided)

Centro Cultural de México
310 W 5th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701

For more information and RSVP: Gema (951) 378-0128. Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

FREE EVENT

Join the Orange County May Day Coalition in a community forum on public safety, migration and immigration, transportation politics, and safety for workers.

They will discuss the historical context of transportation and criminalization of people of color.

There will be a report on the various campaigns for just tow and car impound policies in cities across the state, along with the current campaign in Santa Ana.

There will be two video viewings along with a performance from a day laborer in resistance from Orange.

Light breakfast and brunch will also be provided.

A closer look at the Santa Ana Police Department’s DUI checkpoints

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Crime, immigration, Latinos, Public Safety, Santa Ana, Working Families 4 Comments

I met a week or so ago with Paul Walters, the Chief at the Santa Ana Police Department, and two of his top police officers. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the DUI checkpoints that the SAPD conducts, as it turns out, twice a month. You can see all of the checkpoints mapped out in the graphic above.

I was upset when the SAPD recently conducted a DUI checkpoint at Rosita Park, a sleepy immigrant neighborhood on the west side. It seemed like terrible timing given the effort, currently underway, to conduct the 2010 U.S. Census.

The SAPD uses grants from the State of California to conduct the DUI checkpoints. As you might imagine, the police officers like doing this as they get paid massive overtime. Continue reading→