An Unpleasant Trip to the Park
If a visit to the park to find a few solitary moments of privacy is what you seek, stay out of Hillcrest Park in Fullerton. The park is peaceful and pleasant enough. Solitary it isn’t.
In fact, your visit is almost sure to get your auto license plate number in the police files and an official letter from the Fullerton Police Department advising you that your car was observed in the park, that the police are investigating cases of lewd conduct and that the police want the identity of the driver and a report on whether the driver observed any such violation or was approached and solicited.
We understand police concern and fully support their efforts to protect the public and control the sexual solicitation and lewd conduct that has been such a problem in the park. About two weeks ago, Fullerton police launched another enforcement effort that included stepping up park patrols, recording license numbers of all vehicles in the park and mailing the letters, which they said passed legal muster by the Fullerton city attorney, the district attorney’s office and the presiding judge of the North County Municipal Court.
It may or may not be within constitutional bounds, but even if it is, it walks the dangerous line of intrusion. One essential difference between a free state and a police state is the privacy of the individual and the fundamental right to be left alone.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed its apprehension about police singling out a particular area to randomly collect information from people not suspected of committing a crime. And it notes that letters are not mailed in a search for witnesses to other crimes. Those are valid fears.
Police say the letters, hundreds of which have been sent to registered owners of vehicles whose licenses were noted by officers in the park, are intended only to find victims or witnesses to illegal sex acts and solicitations. That may be the only intent, but it is not the only result.
Built into the letters is a degree of harassment and police intrusion into individual privacy. And that, whatever the reason, is objectionable.