Comment & Debate
“Random breath tests for DUI is a bad idea.” Canadian Cincinnatus. October 7th, 2009: “This idea is absolutely flat out wrong. In a free society it should be the case that a citizen can move about at will without ever being hindered by the police. The job of the police officer, who used to be called a peace officer, is to keep the public peace. If the public peace has not been broken he should leave well enough alone, not go around making criminals out of people minding their own business. It is for that reason that the traditional requirement of ‘reasonable grounds” was put into place.”
“Random breath tests: A frightening trial-baloon from Rob Nicholson.” A BCer in Toronto. October 5th, 2009: “I’m curious to see how they’d get around charter provisions against unreasonable search and seizure. The police can’t just stop you and compel you to submit to search. They need to have reasonable grounds for suspicion, they need probable cause. That’s a fundamental tenet of a free society, and is a key part of personal liberty. It’s what separates us from police states.”