As reported by WBAY, police in Green Bay, Wisconsin will begin fingerprinting you if you are issued a traffic citation. The fingerprint will appear next to the fine on the ticket, and is apparently there to protect motorists. Green Bay police claim that they want to prevent the identity fraud problem that Milwaukee, 112 miles south of Green Bay is experiencing. Apparently 13 percent of Milwaukee drivers give a false name when pulled over.
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I fail to see why the police can’t just check the driver’s license of the people they pull over. Even the bouncers in Boston can correctly spot a fake ID, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for the Police. Isn’t that, after wall, the ENTIRE point of a driver’s license in the first place?
Drivers are legally allowed to refuse to give a fingerprint and not be arrested, but I don’t see that scenario happening very often. Most will probably just give their finger willingly. For those that do refuse, they then cross the line into lawful non-compliance, which, to some cops, can be just as bad as unlawful non-compliance. Looking for a break, or just to leave the traffic stop quickly? That might not be so easy if you give the cop a hard time. Moreover, if you refuse to give your fingerprint and then appeal the ticket, the Judge in traffic court will see that you refused, since you fingerprint will be missing. Now the first thing they know about you is your non-compliance with the system (however lawful), and your chances of being let off just decreased drastically.
Of course, if rights to privacy and overbearing government arguments don’t interest you, there is logistical nightmare of being fingerprinted away from a sink that should ruffle anyone’s feathers. Fingerprinting is done by sticking your finger on an inkpad. Not all of the ink gets transferred to the paper, so now you have your index finger covered in ink, with nowhere to wipe it off. And you have drive, probably getting ink all over your car in the process. And your finger will now be black for the next day. Hope you weren’t going anywhere important…
on December 25, 2007 at 10:46 am Sam wrote:
I agree that lawful non-compliance will be misconstrued by police, even though it’s within the driver’s rights. Sort of like not consenting to having a vehicle searched when there is no probable cause.
on December 26, 2007 at 4:08 pm Noah wrote:
Precisely. Not to mention that most people won’t even know that they have the right not to get fingerprinted. And of course, if you can waive the fingerprint, what is to stop someone who stole your identity from also waiving the fingerprint?