Friday, February 3, 2012

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten's plan to curb crime: ban hoodies and baseball hats

Posted by Ben Palosaari on Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Bill Bunten is so old-fashioned, his official portrait is black and white.
  • Bill Bunten is so old-fashioned, his official portrait is black and white.
Here is an epically stupid idea. Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten has told the City Council that he thinks it should ban baseball hats and hoodies. Topeka's law enforcement officers, like they do in every city, rely on surveillance cameras to help nab criminals. But sometimes, people wear clothing that makes it difficult to identify them on camera. So, Bunten argues, the city should just ban them altogether when security cameras are present.

Bunten told the council that Police Chief Ron Miller suggested the idea. The mayor says other cities have reduced crime with similar bans and outlawing the clothing would be good for Topeka. "Anything we can do to lower crime and make it safer for people who work in businesses, I think that's a positive," he told the Council.

Local media, however, didn't have a hard time finding people who thought the idea sucked. One downtown business owner told KSNT-TV, "Seems very socialist, very communist. I think we would lose a lot of customers over this. I know that in a downtown area, unlike a mall, when you have on your outdoor attire you're not going to leave it in the car." And The Capital-Journal quoted council member Andrew Gray as saying, "Ironically, I wore a hoodie all day today at work."

The best input on the ban came from the mayor himself. "I wouldn't have a quarrel with it. Now, I don't have a hoodie and I don't have a ball cap, but if I did I'd take it off. Most people take their hats off when they go into a store anyway. Well, they used to," he told the council. Would you expect anything else from a man who once said he was "too old" to support a domestic partnership registry?

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Comments (18)

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he was kidding..., and he has a ball cap, and it's cute.

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Posted by Sandra Bunten on 02/08/2012 at 8:10 PM

power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely; im 67 and wear urban hoodies; i can see it now; police arrest cop with 40 years of service for wearing a hoodie; man......this is kick ass police work :)

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Posted by Mike Guinn on 02/07/2012 at 12:14 PM

Not a bad idea when you consider which demographic primarily wears hoodies all the time. (at least the males do)

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Posted by Taylor on 02/07/2012 at 5:03 AM

Why they don't ban steel toe shoes so it doesn't hurt that much when they get kicked in the ass for spending our tax dollars on stupid laws? Do they really think that any criminal will obey and take the hood down? Being stupid is one thing but being dumb ass public official is another.

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Posted by Pavel Splechta on 02/06/2012 at 8:09 PM

Stupid idea that will never see the light of day and is not really newsworthy? Yes. But, the Pitch did get us to read the article, and some of us even commented. So now who's stupid?

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Posted by anonomously on 02/06/2012 at 11:37 AM

Ummmm.....how about leaving it to the discretion of the business owner?

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Posted by Wink Dinklemeyer on 02/06/2012 at 9:30 AM

this is making news this monday morning, they can blame the other party all they want, but they are from being Angels themselves get a load of this (kinda goes with my statement below) latest ------} http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-573716…

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Posted by Crazy Clown on 02/06/2012 at 6:16 AM

Well remember these are the same ones who Claim they want less Government in your lives, (don't forget the US Patriot Act they rammed thru the congress), then these same Morons always want to point the finger at the other party, well just as I suspected , Mr. Bunten is a Neo-Con GOP Republican,ya know that same bunch that tried to sell everybody on those Fantasy WMD's, then created the US Patriot Act, then on top of that - the TSA, and we all see whats happened with that, yip just more Wolves in Sheeps clothing - trying to make you think their Angels in Disguise - a Trojan Horse, and we all know whats in the bottom of that Gift Horse, don't we !! here read this -------} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bunten

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Posted by Crazy Clown on 02/06/2012 at 12:57 AM

Is Topeka not the same city that said they would no longer press charges in domestic assaults? I have a friend that lives in Topeka and had his house broken into and he got the license plate number but the police officer didn't want it nor would he run a check on it. Maybe there is a problem with the TPD wanting to work and pursue the criminals.

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Posted by Jim on 02/06/2012 at 12:44 AM

That is the most idiotic, Communist idea I have ever heard. Kansas is just so lost. Why on Earth would someone behave in such a way? This mayor uses a b&w official photo of himself? So people can see he intends to stay 75 years in the past? This is a total joke. This won't change squat. I was a criminal youth, and I can tell people what straightens out the youth--COMMUNITY SERVICE. HARD WORK, NO PAY. Imposing ridiculous rules only makes them more detatched. Between Brownback, Bunten, and Phelps I'd say Kansas is maintaining it's fanatical ignorance quite well. It's a shame too, so much good territory there.

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Posted by Creepy Won on 02/05/2012 at 9:12 AM

What a terrific idea! The crime rate should drop by 75 percent immediately. The only problem is that I couldn't wear my paper sack over my head (with the cutout eyeholes).
Sincerely yours.......The Unknown Shopper

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Posted by The Unknown Shopper on 02/05/2012 at 7:26 AM

I think this man has been going to one to many Westboro Baptist Church meetings or Sunday services. He is starting to think like old Phred him self. And like old Phred his cheese has done slid off the cracker and the cracker broke! I for one do not remove my hat unless I want to and 99% of the time whether it by a ball cap or one of my cowboy hats I wear they stay on my head, oh! and I do own a couple of hooded jackets that are lightweight for warmer weather. Sorry Billy I refuse to remove them just to please you!

And the state of Kansas wonders why it is targeted for being a state full of crazy’s with idiots like Billy here and Ole Phred what do you expect from a pig but a grunt. OINK!

Sure glad my plans are taking me away from that state permanently come May of 2012.

COME ON KANSAS WAKE UP! GROW SOME AND DO THE RIGHT THING!

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Posted by Leaving Kansas on 02/04/2012 at 8:11 PM

Please investigate the Hudson Crossing Crimes Ben. A key
player that was involved in Pitch's article What A Drag from
2001 is involved

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Posted by ottawaway on 02/04/2012 at 12:06 PM

What a naive man- how could he forget to include hockey masks and fake mustaches? What good is a ban if you have obvious loopholes?

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Posted by Sammy on 02/04/2012 at 11:35 AM

I guess I won't be coming to you city! I'm almost 50 yrs old, I'm bald and wear a hat to protect my head and have done so my whole life! Why does goverment think they have a right to impose a dress code and tell me that I have to have a cold or sunburned head? I aready will not enter a bank or go to church for the same reasons!!!

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Posted by JOHN BECK on 02/04/2012 at 6:59 AM

What about those Dr Seuss meth head sock caps?

I bet they cause more crime than ball caps.

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Posted by Refractional on 02/03/2012 at 8:09 PM

Only a drooling mongoloid idiot would try to impose a dress-code on an entire city. By the way, you don't "curb" crime. you FIGHT crime. You run crime off the road with your Dodge Charger and when crime tries to escape on foot, you tackle it and beat it with your nightstick until it loses control of its' bladder and bowels. Then you pick crime up like a sack of potatoes and toss it in the squad car and go fight more crime!

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Posted by Jeffrey Heavin on 02/03/2012 at 7:17 PM

Just have them pull down the hood part when they are inside of the business, that what we used to require when I worked for Texaco, along with motorcycle helmets.

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Posted by peggy on 02/03/2012 at 5:21 PM
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