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Heading for the State line

On May 23, 1934, half way through the great depression, six American law officers notched a place in history when they gunned down the Notorious Bonnie and Clyde on an isolated road in Bienville parish, northern Louisiana. Four of the officers were from Texas and two from Louisiana. The Louisiana pair were there for "jurisdictional purposes."

For several years, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow had been exploiting the famous (or infamous) "state line" rule which prevented officers from one jurisdiction from pursuing a fugitive into another. The Texas group, led by retired Texas Ranger captain, Frank Hamer, had been tracking the pair.

After studying their movements, Hamer realized that their escape strategy involved skirting around the edges of five or six adjoining states, with a state line invariably within easy drive of each robbery. Armed with this intelligence, Hamer's group of Texas law officers tracked and ambushed the doomed pair.

Police pursuits ending at the state line, usually marked by little more than a sign, have been a feature of many Hollywood movies over the years, but times have changed. In fact the state line problem was one of the driving forces behind the formation of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1935.

Implications

For criminals, crossing a state line in the conduct of a crime can have huge implications. For the average driver, the implications are far less but, nevertheless, very real. Each state has its own licensing system for drivers, variations in traffic rules and different styles of enforcement.

Nevertheless, one of the great joys of the automobile in North America has been the ability to move easily from one jurisdiction to another. Even internationally, between the U.S. and Canada, the transition has, in places, been as simple as a check-in "honor system" at an unmanned border station. But that’s all changing rapidly, as Canadian Michel Jalbert found out to his cost.

The tiny American community of Escourt is in the northernmost corner of the state of Maine. Look it up on Google Earth and you can see the U.S./Canadian border running alongside the road that runs through Escourt, just behind a row of Canadian houses, sometimes through them, then slicing across the street at an angle and finally turning 90 degrees east along a river towards the border with New Brunswick.

Jalbert had crossed the street to buy gas, just as he and other Canadian locals had done many times before. But this was October, 2002, a little more than a year after 9/11, and the U.S. government was under pressure to tighten up its borders. Jalbert was about to become embroiled in a dispute over alleged laxity in Canada’s immigration system and border security.

As he emerged from the Gas station, Jalbert was stopped by two U.S. customs officials. A hunting rifle on the seat of his truck complicated his situation (carrying a gun over a border can be serious). A background check indicating a minor criminal offence 12 years earlier added to his problems. He spent the next month in a U.S. Jail before being released on bail.

Jalbert's case signaled a dramatic shift in how both Canadians and Americans regarded the previously informal border running through their tiny community. The actions of the two customs officials smashed local understandings about the border and customs that had evolved in this isolated community over almost a century.

Border issues

In geographical terms, borders often don't seem to make sense – just lines on a map without reference to local topography. But as Bonnie and Clyde figured out, they can be significant law enforcement, economical and political barriers. It doesn't pay to treat them lightly.

Sometimes changes are so minor as to be almost subconscious. For example, the traffic signs, signals and markings used throughout north America are almost exactly the same in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces, but they may be used slightly differently in different situations.

In other cases, crossing a border might put you in a whole new world. In some countries drivers, especially strangers, are preyed on by bandits, or even police who might lay frivolous charges and demand a bribe to put them aside.

Any kind of criminal record might prohibit you from being allowed through at a border check point. After Michel Jalbert ran afoul of customs a number of locals stopped by the Customs station to pick of application forms for a pardon of criminal convictions that could prevent their entry to the U.S.

Then there are more mundane matters:

Identification – travelers between Canada and the U.S. need a passport if traveling by air but alternative identification can be used if by car.

If children are passengers and both parents are not in the car then the driver will have to present a written note from parents or guardians affirming that the children are allowed to leave the country.

Traffic violations or a suspended license can be a problem depending on the reciprocal agreements in effect between the countries on either side of the border.

Large amounts of cash can be a problem if they exceed limits of the countries involved. This is an anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering measure in many countries but may also have economic reasons.

When traveling from one country to another an International Driving Permit can be a useful, if not essential tool. For example, if, under certain circumstances, you need to surrender your passport, an IDP can act as backup Identification.

Security measures at borders can have major implications for individuals’ rights to privacy. Many people worry about the trend towards embedding Radio Identification tags (RFIDs) in driver licenses. In theory, these could be read from a distance and contain personal information which could be hacked.

Related Links:

• Drivers.com links on travel and driving
• Drivers.com on International Driving Permit
• Ontario’s souped-up driver license
• Drivers.com on privacy

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Comments

MIke G., on Friday, 24. October 2008 at 05:08 PM

kannan, on Thursday, 13. November 2008 at 12:04 AM

karunaa, on Wednesday, 31. December 2008 at 10:06 AM

DK, on Wednesday, 31. December 2008 at 01:26 PM

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