Woods & Brangwin Law Firm, PLLC

A recent story in the Wenatchee World noted that five men were arrested for attempting to solicit a prostitute in Wenatchee.  These arrests were the result of a sting operation masterminded by the Wenatchee Police Department.  With all of the news about budget shortfalls, layoffs and decreased revenue, it might be interesting to look at what this sting likely cost the City of Wenatchee, and compare it to what it achieved.

First, let’s look at what it achieved.  Five men were arrested for patronizing a prostitute.  The more accurate description might be attempting to patronize a prostitute, as there was actually no prostitute involved. Instead, there were three police officers and an un-named female Confidential Informant who was posing as a prostitute over the phone and not even present at the time of these arrests.  But there is no need to quibble about the exact nature of the charge.  What is important to this discussion is what the police were trying to accomplish.  A police department Sergeant was quoted in the paper as saying, “We just don’t want prostitution in our city.” So we have to presume the goal of the sting was to discourage prostitution by arresting the customers.

We all love technology when it works and hate it when it doesn’t.  Our computers have become an indispensible and useful part of our everyday lives, but if the internet is down or our hard drive crashes it can ruin our whole day.  Everyone seems to have a cell phone so we are never out of touch no matter where we are.  Except it drives us crazy if we are some place where there is no signal.  Generally, we all love the new technology.  But how do we feel when it starts to be used against us?

Wenatchee recently installed three cameras designed to catch red light runners.  The cameras are installed at the intersections of Mission and Kittitas Streets, Chelan Avenue and Fifth Street, and Chelan and Orondo.  According to a study the City conducted these three intersections have the most people running red lights so they got the cameras.  So smile if you run a red light at one of these busy intersections as Big Brother is taking your picture.

We have all seen the commercials.  “Drive hammered, get nailed,” the stern-voiced trooper announces.  Or the one where the driver is literally sitting in a car full of beer which pours out of the window when the police officer approaches to ask the driver if he has been drinking.  And you cannot drive down a highway without seeing a sign warning, “Legal Limit .08.”  So if you are not hammered, and are not above the legal .08 limit, you are safe, right?

Wrong.