Guy in the hoodie holding a sign? That hobocop may cost you more than you think

Imagine sitting in your car and being approached by a man in a hooded jacket carrying a piece of cardboard that says “I’ve Got High Hopes — Frank Sinatra.”

What comes to mind?

If you thought “panhandler,” you would be wrong. It turns out the man is a cop, and he probably has high hopes of catching you on your cellphone.

Recently, a Toronto police officer, dressed in a jacket and jeans and carrying the above-mentioned sign, took to walking among vehicles coming off Highway 401 at Markham Rd., in search of distracted drivers.

When a culprit was discovered, out would come the badge from behind the coat, and the sign would be flipped to read: “Hello I’m a police officer. If you are reading this, you are about to get a cellphone ticket.”

Sneaky? Creative? Or just plain wrong?

Even if the average citizen is more accustomed to tales of undercover police officers cracking drug trafficking rings than slapping fines on cellphone users, experts say the move is perfectly legal.

“On the scale of activity designed to catch people breaking the law, it is at the low end of deceit,” said defence lawyer Frank Addario, who recently crafted a draft policy on carding for the Toronto police.

The tactic isn’t even new. It was famously used by officers in cities across the country in 2012 in a bid to crack down on distracted driving, including Halton Police in Burlington. It appears to be a first for Toronto, though.

Used for five days between last Thursday and this past Monday in Scarborough, the tactic came almost immediately after Ontario’s increased fine for distracted driving — $280, up from $155 — went into effect, on March 18.

Distracted driving has become one of the leading causes of death on Ontario’s roadways. Toronto police traffic services spokesman Const. Clint Stibbe said officers have tried a variety of ideas to get motorists’ attention and remind them to keep their focus on the road.

One example was the recent campaign against texting and driving that involved officers driving a hearse around the city, to remind drivers of the possibly severe consequences of distracted driving.

Stibbe said officers laid about 150 distracted driving charges over those five days in Scarborough, with 90 per cent of the charges involving texting. He emphasized that the hooded officer from 43 Division had no intention of trying to pass as a homeless man or a panhandler.

“He’s simply dressed as a regular guy blending into the environment,” he said. “If you were to think otherwise, you would be assuming … He was not asking for money, and his sign doesn’t say he was asking for money.”

Const. Randall Arsenault, 43 Division’s community engagement officer, said it’s a good thing to get people talking about distracted driving. He denied that using the hooded cop was simply a cash grab.

Still, John Clarke, organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, called the police response disingenuous, saying that a person walking up to cars with a sign “clearly, deliberately” creates the image of a panhandler.

He expressed concern that the police tactic could lead to greater public distrust of the homeless.

“I think for the cops to be enforcing the law by sneaking up on people by masquerading as homeless people is inherently invasive and unsavory conduct,” he said.

John Sewell, of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said he saw no ethical issues with the idea, but did wonder about the impact it could have on the police’s image.

“Is this a good use of police time and public money? I’d like to have the chief’s thoughts on that,” he wrote in an email. “And does he think this will enhance the reputation of the police with the public?”

Chief Bill Blair’s spokesman, Mark Pugash, did not respond to a request for comment.

Reactions on Twitter were mixed after Arsenault, from 43 Division, tweeted the photo of the hooded officer. Some called it an ingenious idea, with one user saying it should be implemented across the city, while another accused the police of only wanting to find more ways to fill public coffers by issuing more fines.