We see a whole lot more of this kind of policy in California. This state imprisons more people per capita than anywhere else on the planet. Yet no one in Gilroy seems to have a problem with the program. Guadalupe Arellano, usually a liberal voice on the Council, has embraced the program. We're going to watch and make sure he knows we're watching and deter crime.
Suppression walks a lot of fine lines.
Even the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union doesn't see anything illegal. But Gilroy's cops, he says, are not breaking any laws. Tactics that would otherwise be blatantly unconstitutional are permissible when someone is on probation or parole. The Gilroy Police Department knows the important link between probation and the work that they do. Mike Clark, a Santa Clara County probation officer assigned to the unit full time, goes along with the officers on their searches.