It could happen in Northwest Indiana.

A vigilante group forms to combat drunk driving.

The group gathers online — coordinating using Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter or blogs – then takes position in various bars around Lake and Porter counties waiting for drivers to leave the bar intoxicated so they can call the police.

Would this practice be good citizenship?  Or, it would it be vigilantism?

Video: DUI Busters use Craigslist to catch DUI drivers

 

It’s already happening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a group called DUI Busters who have set up shop on Craigslist.

Writes FOX6 about the DUI Busters:

Some people on the popular website Craigslist have decided they’ve had enough, and they want to put a stop to it. They call themselves the DUI Busters, but some are questioning their controversial tactics. …

The DUI Busters say they hang out in bars looking for people who’ve had too much to drink, trail the unknowing person to their car, then follow them down the road, and call 9-1-1.

What do you think?

If a group such as DUI Busters set up shop online in your neighborhood and started patrolling local bars and taverns, would you support the group?

Would you be opposed?

Personally, I don’t support taking the law into ones own hands and wouldn’t support people doing this type of activity because of the risks involved in any type of “police” work.

There’s something creepy about people watching and waiting for someone to have a little too much to drink in a bar so that they can call the police with a report.  What happens if you’ve only had a beer or two and aren’t close to the legal limit, but get pulled over because someone calls the police to report your car?

The First Amendment allows people to gather and express themselves.  As long as the DUI Busters aren’t pulling drunk drivers over themselves and are only calling the police with their truthful observations of someone’s driving, I don’t see that they are doing anything illegal themselves.  And, I can see the point of not wanting DUI drivers on the roads crashing into innocent victims, potentially causing death, devastation and property damage.

Milwaukee police and MADD representatives have come out against the group, according to the news report.

Some lawyers are also opposed, including The Wilson Law Firm’s Katy Moore:

While some do not have a problem with these methods, others raise the important question-why not stop them before they get into the car to avoid any possible injury to innocent drivers? The MADD organization agrees with the Sheriff’s department that the methods of the DUI Busters are dangerous. MADD also says making up stories to have drivers arrested for DUI “helps no one”.

Another lawyer opposing DUI Busters is Lawrence Taylor in a blog post about the Milwaukee group:

So where do we go next in MADD’s hysterical War on Drunk Driving?

What say you?

Would you want to see a DUI Busters group set up shop where you live?

Or, is it a little too Big Brotherish for your tastes?

If a DUI Busters came to Valparaiso, Crown Point or another Northwest Indiana city, would you join?

Photo credit: llimllib

Technorati Tags: crime, dui, DUI Busters, police, vigilantes

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