1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

I am writing regarding the failed SB1635 and any similar legislation attempting to criminalize community members monitoring law enforcement activities and alerting their neighbors to what they see. This is poorly-conceived legislation, exemplifying the kind of police-state overreach that seeks to control not only what a population does, but what it can conceive of doing. By criminalizing everything from blowing whistles to communicating electronically, this bill would create a burden that would either require total surveillance of Arizonans or would result in selective prosecution of only those perceived to be engaged in the type of alerting activity currently being targeted by politicians in power. Every tenth post on Nextdoor is an alert about police presence for the kind of civil infraction sweep that immigration enforcement is currently targeting, as neighbors alert their communities to “speed traps” in their area. The same site hosts questions and responses about police activity at parks, at neighbors’ homes, at local businesses that can deter those seeking to avoid police from those areas. This absurd legislation amounts to a criminalization of something that is routinely accepted for other civil infractions like crossing the border without documentation. Arizona lawmakers should be focused on balancing our budget, finding workable solutions to our water problems, and ensuring our state control over elections is not usurped by the federal government. Surely that’s a full agenda.