Law enforcement going too far

While I'm generally for law and order and favor stiff penalties to deter criminal activity, I'm not for unfettered policing techniques that result in a loss of privacy or entrapment. There are a couple examples from the past week which should worry all of us.
The first involves mandating an increased usage of security cameras in Chicago.

Mayor Richard Daley wants to require bars open until 4 a.m. to install security cameras that can identify people entering and leaving the building. Other businesses open longer than 12 hours a day, including convenience stores, eventually would have to do the same.

I strongly disagree with the red light cameras some cities are installing and don't like this either. If banks and other businesses want to use cameras to increase security that is their call but should not be mandated.

The second example is an outrageous case of police using entrapment to bust prostitutes in Spotsylvania, Pennsylvania.

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. -- The sheriff said Friday he will no longer allow detectives to receive sexual services while investigating suspected prostitution after they spent $1,200 at massage parlors last month and sparked a public outcry. Court documents show that four times last month, county detectives allowed women at Moon Spa to perform sex acts on them _ once leaving a $350 tip. A total of $1,200 was spent during the visits, Smith said. He said multiple visits were necessary so detectives could build trust with the operators.

So the police use tax payer money to get a happy moment and they're nice enough to leave a $350 tip with other peoples money. Why are they stopping?

Spotsylvania County Sheriff Howard Smith defended the practice as necessary to obtain a conviction but told his department he was suspending it. "As sheriff, I understand the feelings and concerns the citizens of this county have expressed," Smith said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Friday. "And I empathize with those feelings. Because of the public's express response, I have suspended this practice."

So the sheriff is NOT saying he understands it was wrong just he is responding to pressure. He should be fired before he gets a chance to waste more money creating crimes. What a moroon.

(h/t Galley Slaves for the second item)