While those of us who reside in Mission Viejo take great pride in living in “one of the safest cities in America” we should not let our guard down. According to OCSD Lt. Steve Bernardi, M.V. Chief of Police Services, “between May and November, at least 24 SUV’s were stolen from the Nordstrom parking structure at the Shops at Mission Viejo.” Although the OCSD has increased patrols we must take responsibility to protect our private property and be sure to lock our cars whenever we park them outdoors.
Let me add that this activity may also be occurring at other malls around the County. Don’t think it cannot happen to you. Always play it safe. Lock your car doors and, if possible, don’t leave your packages in open view of your cars.
I ride a 3 wheel bike with storage under the rear seat. Not too many interested in stealing something powered by humans.
elections are over, so now the bad news is out. not only is auto theft on the increase in mission viejo, so is residential and non-residential burglary and larcency. in fact, there is a 9% increase in part 1 crimes from last year. cathy schlicht
I thought all the crime was in Santa Ana!
A locked door offers little protection. Use a steering wheel lock too. It is defeatable but can help. Also, this appears to be an auto theft ring filling an order.
Larry:
However—- although there are car thefts out of our Shops at Mission Viejo Mall we do have motor cycle police who diligently ticket motorist with clear license plate covers, and monitor our streets while siting on their parked motor cycles on both private and public sidewalks and driveways. Even though operating a motorized vehicle on our sidewalks is a violation of the California Vehicle Code–why not violate the law— to enforce the law. ???
Cheer up Larry–no sidewalk has been purloined in Mission Viejo. !!!!
Also Mission Viejo is safe from clear license plate covers.!!!!
Joe Holtzman
Dear Clueless Anonymous:
A CHP Manual is an admistrative guide–if anything and does not superceed the California Vehicle Code–period.
Do not rationalize your lawlessness..by hiding behind the safety issue. You might practice safety first by staying off the sidewalks.
Pluto
hey pluto. good comments. i couldn’t of said it better myself !! herb glotz
#3 .. your ignorance peeps its ugly head. not all the crime is in Santa Ana!
To my dear my friend Francis “JOE”Holztman. You and Pluto are funny guys. You have been watching “COPS” too long and think you know everything about everything. The CHP manual may be a GUIDE, but it stands up in court, which is the final say. Spend your time and energy, in court. You think any cop cares if you win or lose. The cop won as long as you spent your precious time. He get paid no matter what happens.
How about sitting on a sidewalk?? What a shame. What a risk. Maybe an unsuspecting
citizen will run directly into the path of the PARKED motorcycle AND GET KILLED ON IMPACT. Then you can stand on the sidewalk with your little sign and demonstrate your outrage. Or, just come to a city council meeting and make a fool of yourself, as usual. By the way, they should sue that officer for blaitant disregard for human safety. You are too funny. Maybe the officer should risk losing is life and sit in the roadway and get hit be a WINO. That would be fine with you. Love ya Francis
According to the California Vehicle Code Section 21949. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is the policy of the State of California that safe and convenient pedestrian travel and access, whether by foot, wheelchair, walker, or stroller, be provided to the residents of the state. (b) In accordance with the policy declared under subdivision (a), it is the intent of the Legislature that all levels of government in the state, particularly the Department of Transportation, work to provide convenient and safe passage for pedestrians on and across all streets and highways, increase levels of walking and pedestrian travel, and reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.
Any more questions on who is right and who is wrong ?? You cannot break the law to enforce the law. cathy schlicht
My Dear, Dear Cathy, You still don’t get it. That VC Code says nothing , NOTHING, regarding law enforcement PARKING on a sidewalk. Motor officers don’t block the pedestrian right-of-way. There is plenty of room for both on the large sidewalks in MV. But that’s not the point. Where does it say, specifically, (Because that’s what would be asked in court) that law enforcement cannot park on a sidewalk. If they parked where you all would like, like in the street, you would raise hell with that too. You have a problem with authority.
To Anonymous #6-10-12. First of all, it is part of our national heritage to always question authority. But it appears to me that you are afraid of the authority of your supervisors, as you post anonymously. Lt. Bill Hunt knows about retribution, first hand.
Second, to quote Mark Twain: “No country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds that they are the guardians of the law and that the law officers are only the machinery for its execution, nothing more.”
And finally, a quote from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice: “The government is the potent omnipresent teacher. For good or ill it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law upon himself; it invites anarchy. To declare that the end justifies the means – to declare that government may commit crimes – would bring terrible retribution.”
It is illegal and dangerous for motorcycle units to take a fixed post position on sidewalks. The law is clear. Pedestrians have a claim to the sidewalks. In the year 2000, 4,739 traffic deaths were pedestrians, with children representing 40% of the pedestrian accidents.
A motorcycle unit on a sidewalk is an unacceptable trade-off for safety from a speeding driver. Our officers are placed in unfair and unsafe positions through the unlawful practices which place revenue generation over public safety and the safety of the officer.
Since I will be off to the CIF games tomorrow, I will be happy to carry on this debate Sunday evening with specific VC Codes prohibiting motorcycle use of sidewalks. Stay safe. cathy schlicht
Dear Cathy, It’s useless blogging with you. But, keep up the good work as our guardian angel.
Hey, what can I say? To know me is to love me. But seriously, there is not any code section in any state across our nation that allows the police to break the law to enforce the law. We are a nation of laws. From the President on down, no one is above law.
In fact, the law is very specific on the discharge of duties by our peace officers, as evidenced by criminals walking free because the law was not followed by the police or the prosecutors.
Only when the public becomes aware of unlawful or unethical police policy, such as a “training exercise” of tossing a loaded gun or drugs into a trunk of a suspect’s car or setting up a radar trap on the sidewalk, is the illegal practice stopped.
The public holds a very high regard for our police officers. But that positive public opinion begins to deteriorate when our public servants, under the color of authority, abuse their positions. We cannot have anyone in law enforcement, whether it is the sheriff, a police chief or a deputy, who will retaliate for criticisms or questions. And we certainly do not need to have an officer on a power trip who believes, and I quote anonymous #10: “Spend your time and energy, in court. You think any cop cares if you win or lose. The cop won as long as you spent your precious time. He get paid no matter what happens.” Unquote.
The first step to a lawless state is the administrators of the law being lawless.
I would suggest that Anony read Steve Greenhuts Sunday Editorial in the Register.
Acting like an occupation force and hiding behind administrative translations and keeping the facts from the citizens is unacceptable.
Xezeon
Keeping the facts from citizens’? Admin translations? what in the world are you talking about?
You want to see lawlessness??? Then get rid of the motor officers. Period. Then watch your step as you have your daily fun walk around your city. Look out for the kids driving 70MPH+, jumping the curb and running over citizen’s. You don’t think this will happen? Better guess again.
The only reason people keep their speeds to a small roar is that they know a motor officer is lerking at a street corner nearby. Maybe the officer should park at the corner and hold up a big yellow flag so oncoming motorists see him parked there.
Yeah, that would make people slow down.
You need to understand, but you probably won’t, that officer’s sit on sidewalks only for their protection. If they don’t, they can’t work that area, then it becomes an area for speed, which KILLS. Just hope you child or firend is not the one who is a victim of that. You think it will never happen. I live in this city, I see the cops owrk and I’m proud of what they do AND how they enforce the law. It is what should be done.
And ref: Cathy’s blog, I’m a retired cop from a north OC PD after 20 yrs. on a motor. I did misquote myself in that paragraph: If you win or lose; should be, if HE wins or loses., but you may win, or you may lose in court. It’s up to the judge. No cop will lose any sleep if he loses. And, no one is on a power trip!
The cops is our city do a great job and the motors give their life everyday. Just ask SGT. Matt Davis’s family. But you don’t care about that, do you? You just want them off the sidewalks. UNBELIEVEABLE
The motorcycle is one of the most dangerous type of vehicles to operate. The unfortunate death of Sgt. Matt Davis shows that police are not immune from motorcycle accidents. While motorcycle use by police services may facilitate traffic control duties, they offer zero protection for the driver.
The grim statistics released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration indicates that in 2003 almost 4,000 motorcyclists were killed and over 67,000 were injured.
One of the most common reasons for multiple vehicle accidents involving a motorcycle is because the motorist did not see the motorcycle.
Again I will state that a motorcycle on the sidewalk is an unacceptable tradeoff for safety from a speeding driver. If you want to stop speeders, then the officer needs to be visible. For revenue generation purposes, an officer will be hiding behind bushes and on sidewalks. Hiding puts everyone at risk, including the officer and the public from the speeding driver.
And yes, just like the OSHA rules for highway workers, I think the motorcycle officers should wear bright orange vests for visibility. cathy schlicht, research division of the holtzman commission
Cathy, I have seen the statement twice that motor officers are hiding for revenue purposes. No motor officer cares about revenue for any city. Do you really think that a Sergeant or Lt. tells the officers to get as many tickets as they can so boost revenue. I told you earlier that it is useless blogging with you, but I still do, I don’t know why. You don’t get it and you never will. You don’t understand the mentality of an officer and the pride they take in their jobs. That’s all it is. PRIDE. Motor officers train monthly for dangerous situations and are more than capable to handle most traffic situations, except where teenage drivers pull directly out in front of you!
I DO understand your point, but we will never agree on most points. Wearing a bright orange vest?? Give me a break. Statements like that is why you can never be taken seriously. Go ahead and hire Cal Trans, or other civilian city employees to stand on the street and wave a bright flag to remind the citizens to slow down. Well, they won’t. They don’t care unless they know there is a penalty. You can never understand unless you put on a uniform. Why don’t you become a reserve with the Sheriff’s Department in your city and really see what goes on, so you make an INFORMED and more accurate assessment of the duties of law enforcement personnel. Don’t be so judgemental and critical if you haven’t step in the shoes. DFB
I appreciate your candor, but pride is a double-edged sword. We take pride in our police, firefighters, armed services, family and friends, our nation. But pridefulness leads to blindness to failings, arrogance, and haughtiness or feelings of supremacy.
Police work does not even make the top 10 of America’s most dangerous jobs. The Bureau of Labor reports those jobs to be commercial fishing, loggers, aircraft pilots, steel workers, refuse collectors, farmers and ranchers, electric powerline installers, truck drivers, agricultural workers and construction laborers.
Safety for all should always be the highest priority of law enforcement and it should never be sacrificed for revenue generation. Most people know that tickets are about money and not safety. Traffic tickets are big business. Revenue generated in Mission Viejo for fiscal year 2004-2005 was $809,157.35.
If you want to stop speeders, police will be visible. If you want to catch speeders, police hide. The public resents unfair police tactics. If the public did not expect the police to be visible, then why do our officers where uniforms, and why are black and white police cruisers emblazoned with light bars, full markings, and logos ?
Both my parents come from cop families and my dad was a volunteer fireman. So don’t make assumptions on what I may or may not understand. The law is the law. When officials exercise authority over us and they break the law to enforce the law, it arouses ire and disrespect by the public.
Greatness is found in service and all of us need to lead by example. What do our young people think when they see deputies, who are role models, on their motorcycles on the sidewalk, breaking the law ?
As I said in a previous post, motorcycles are the most dangerous type of vehicle to drive. In 2004 Mission Viejo had 7 traffic fatalities, 3 of them were motorcyclists. Nationwide, 8% of traffic fatalities were motorcyclists, a high number when you consider that motorcycles are only 2% of all drivers.
Current practices of motorcycles hiding on sidewalks and private property creates a safety hazard for both the deputy and the public.
I will end with a quote from the bible of police traffic services, The Highway Safety Desk Book. It states that high visibility of patrol vehicles for the motoring public serves a two-fold purpose, and I quote: “Not only is a deterrent factor provided, but the public can readily identify a source of help during a time of need.”