My Texas Defense Lawyer .com discusses the use of hook books to target and monitor recent arestees when looking to solve and prevent crimes.
Dallas, TX (1888PressRelease) December 28, 2010 - Although finding and following people known for past criminal behavior is an effective way to prevent future crimes and to potentially solve current open cases as well, can monitoring these previously convicted criminals be considered harassment, after they've done their time? My Texas Defense Lawyer .com recently added a new article that contains more information about this topic and it can be found here:
In Dallas, police departments are using what they call "hook books" to target recent arrestees and frequent offenders when looking to solve crimes and prevent others from occurring. Hook Books are a database made available, where officers can be shown recent police reports on arrestees, their phone numbers and known addresses, organizational charts connecting offenders, and even aerial photos of drug houses.
There are hook books for narcotics offenders and robbers, and one on the way to track auto thieves, chop shops, and theft rings. All seven patrol stations within Dallas have adopted the program and about 700 arrests have been made since the beginning of 2010 with this program. Hook books are available at all stations, and not accessible in patrol cars, but officers can easily know where offenders have last been seen with the use of an interactive map.
The hook books seem like the logical way for police to find people involved in crime. However, one can't help but wonder about potential abuses. Because an arrest isn't an indication of guilt, it's likely there are many innocent people being followed by these hook books, and can potentially consider it harassment.
The recent story in the Dallas Morning News highlights one offender who was a known burglar. He had recently been released from a treatment program and was arrested using the hook book on a probation warrant. While he did have an active warrant, what would have happened if he was completely successful in his rehab stint? Would the constant following by the police affect his potential for relapse?
Police must walk a very fine line between crime control and individual rights. Enforcing the law and even preventing crime can very easily infringe on the rights of the people and be seen as harassment if the proper measures aren't observed.
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My Texas Defense Lawyer .com discusses the use of hook books to target and monitor recent arestees when looking to solve and prevent crimes. 
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