The Latest App Craze: Jailbase!

Over the past few years, the tabloid papers at the registers of local service stations that show arrest databases have decreased in popularity.  However, at first inception, they were HOT!  Now, their popularity has been replaced by an app that provides the same information: Jailbase!

I was first made aware of the Jailbase app a few days ago.  A few of my Facebook friends were going through its pages, becoming increasingly shocked by the people they know who'd been arrested.  Curiosity got the best of me, and I downloaded it from my Play Store.

Soooo...... Did I see anyone I recognized? Yes. Was it funny to me?  Maybe initially, but what I also saw was the reasons these people were arrested.  Some people went to jail for traffic violations, including no proof of insurance.  At that moment, it occurred to me just how easily any of these people could have been me.

I can remember when I struggled to stay afloat, and could only afford to purchase a car from Ford, using the discount that I get as my grandfather being a retiree. At that time, having car insurance wasn't a priority to me.  Making sure I had reliable transportation to get back and forth to work, get my daughter to and from her appointments, and having heat in the winter and air in the summer were my concerns. Buying new vehicles with warranties were the best options for me.  After making my car payment, I wasn't always able to pay full coverage insurance as required by law.

One day, I was pulled over for speeding.  I got a speeding ticket and one for no proof of insurance. Let's be honest. How many "speeders" actually stop speeding after receiving a ticket?  Suppose I'd gotten another ticket and another that resulted in my license being suspended.  My face could have just as easily been sprawled in the public eye for ridicule.  I was talking to a friend about the app, and he said that arrests are public information and should be open to viewing by everybody so you'll know if the person you're dealing with has been arrested.  My thinking is that not all criminals get caught.  So, the ones that do are "worse" than the ones that do wrong and make a mockery of doing right only because they've never been caught OR REPORTED?

I think I'll take comfort in knowing that there is now an even easier accessible system to hold each of us accountable for keeping the law. Hopefully, you'll never see me in Jailbase, but if you should happen to click on one day and see my tear-stained face, just understand that your girl got caught slipping, and call my sister to make sure she's already bailed me out.  If it seems like I'm going to have to sit for a while, whisper a prayer for me and put $5 on my books.