john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (06/09/90)
In the spirit of government over-zealousness, how many have noticed
(at least in California) the latest media attention to the role of
telephony in the matter of drug sales? It would appear that drug
warriors have just discovered that many drug deals are consumated with
the assistance of public telephones, pagers, and cellular equipment.
According to some of the stories (including a mention in this forum),
a number of the utility pay phones have been replaced with old rotary
dial models (so that pagers can't be activated) and some merged subset
of these phones have also been disabled from receiving calls. In the
Bay Area, there has even been talk about removing some pay phones
altogether, although Pac*Bell spokespeople have pointed out that
should be considered a last resort option.
So it appears that in the name of the War On Drugs, telephone service
is to be denied to a certain subclass of people. Disabling the TT pad
after the call is dialed (or installing rotary phones) eliminates the
use of many services, not just pagers. What we are in effect saying to
people who live and work in certain (arbitrarily selected) areas is,
"You are not entitled to have the convenience or utility afforded to
those in more upscale places." Not that drug use or trading doesn't
occur in Willow Glen (as an example), it's just that more money makes
possible a more sophisticated and covert methodology that isn't
obvious to residents or police.
Saying to people whose only telephone service might just be a public
telephone that they will have to do with less because of a current
hysteria is highly offensive. But I feel that more is on the way. In
the California legislature is a bill under consideration that would
make it a crime for anyone under the age of 18 to have a pager (Dougie
Howser--watch out!). I predict that in the forseeable future,
legislation will be considered that will require ALL users of pagers
and cellular phones to register with the state attorney general's
office, stating the use and purpose of the equipment. No registration,
no service.
It is sad that while we are seeing great advancements in both the
utility and convenience of telecommunications, congresscritters (and
others who depend upon re-election for their fat pay checks) feel the
need to artificially restrict citizens' use of technology in the cause
of "crowd pleasing". Do they really think that if you take away pagers
and pay phones that the "drug problem" will go away?
John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395
john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
[Moderator's Note: The Chicago City Council is now on this same
tangent, thinking somehow that if Illinois Bell eliminates pay phones
in the housing projects (or makes them one-way outgoing, or removes
the touch-tone or some combination thereof), that the drug traffic
will slow down. Of course, the fact that these steps would be all the
more oppressive to people who live in Housing Authority properties and
are too poor to have a phone of their own and must rely on the single
outdoor (frequently out-of-order) payphone in front of the combination
liquor store / state lottery agent on the corner is never considered. PT]David Ptasnik <davep@u.washington.edu> (06/12/90)
In article 6647 of comp.dcom.telecom, john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) writes: >According to some of the stories (including a mention in this forum), >a number of the utility pay phones have been replaced with old rotary >dial models (so that pagers can't be activated) and some merged subset >of these phones have also been disabled from receiving calls. >is to be denied to a certain subclass of people. Disabling the TT pad >after the call is dialed (or installing rotary phones) eliminates the >use of many services, not just pagers. What we are in effect saying to This would only slow the dealers down momentarily. There are little hand held touch tone generators readily avialable at Radio Shack and better stores. You just hold the device up to the mouthpiece of the rotary payphone, and can merrily beep away. Most of these units have speed dial capabilities, so dialing might become even easier. They start in price at less than $25.00. Although drug dealers aren't terribly bright as a group, I imagine that word of mouth would spread this technology as quickly as the use of pagers spread. As usual this kind of move would not hurt the criminal as much as the average citizen. davep@cac.washington.edu
John Higdon <john@bovine.ati.com> (06/12/90)
David Ptasnik <davep@u.washington.edu> writes: > This [removing TT payphones] would only slow the dealers down > momentarily. There are little > hand held touch tone generators readily avialable at Radio Shack and > better stores. Whenever you attack an effect of a problem rather than a cause (I'm sure that TT payphones did not cause the "drug problem") you are lucky to even slow something down. But in this case, you have to realize that the mighty drug warriors are deadly serious. There has been discussion concerning the installation of DTMF receivers on the payphone lines in question. One DTMF digit transmitted during a call and POOF, the call is disconnected. Never underestimate the ingenuity of law enforcement! I'm sure that congress feels that the best way to keep a fish from smelling is to cut off its nose. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !