Re: US Coast Guard
The line is "probable cause"
Ok, now define "probable cause". It gets really touchy. I'd think that the vast majority of boardings are vaguely defined as probable cause. The problem that law enforcement runs into, is that 9 times out of 10, the "probable cause" that you are talking about is "profiling", and in today's PC society, profiling is a big no-no. Don't get me wrong, personally, I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with profiling. We all do it and it is what keeps us alive every day. You see a gang of thugs coming at you on a street and you try to avoid them, - Profiling. Having a party and don't want to invite the meth-head, - Profiling. See a pit bull or a rott and don't get out of your car, - Profiling. You have no knowledge that any of these situations are going to cause you bodily harm, yet based upon your past experiences, you chose to avoid a potential problem by pre-judging an individual rather than "getting to know him"; all in all, a smart move. LE deals with the scum in our society every day, and let's face it, they usually fit a certain description or are doing certain actions that based upon past experience, the officer suspects something wrong. Sometimes it is just a feeling they get that cannot be rationally, verbally explained, and often times this "hunch" turns out to be true. How do you protect society when criminals have all the rights and your hands are tied by PC laws.
Don't get me wrong, there is nobody here that is more against a police state, and into personal freedoms than me, but how do we stop the criminals when we tie the hands of those we employ to protect us?
On the other side of the coin, many boardings are done simply as safety inspections. I have seen many people put their kids in lifejackets in such poor condition that I wouldn't put my dog in it. Sometimes they just don't know any better and figure a life jacket is a life jacket, and it is only there to abide by the letter of the law, thinking nothing bad will ever happen to them. Sometimes they didn't know that it was unsafe, and sometimes they are just stupid. It is impossible to quantify how many lost lives and avoided accidents these boardings save, let alone how much money is saved in rescue attempts. Let me tell you, they are not cheap. Think about how much money it costs you to go to the lake in fuel, upkeep, etc., now multiply that by the 20 or so boats that have to go out on a recovery/rescue. How much fuel does a helicopter burn in a rescue attempt? In this case, $10 prevention is worth about $100,000 cure.
If nothing else, if I have to endure the occasional boarding to save THOUSANDS in tax dollars, so be it.
My $.02
Erik
