“If you're out walking, we're going to stop you, ask why you're out walking, check for your ID,”

[dixiegrrrrl]

49. Just announcing they WILL do it may have enough of a chilling effect.

In our little town's ( pop. 6,000) weekly paper ( owned by a big wig Repub, natch) awhile back was a headline:

"Citizens complain of people walking around at night "

reading the article, it was clear that one or 2 groups of "youths" had suddenly developed a habit of" walking around "
in a lower income mixed race neighborhood, after dark.
race was not mentioned.
age was guessed at, by the complaining "citizens" as being somewhere between 18 and early 20's.
Sheriff's office vowed to investigate and "put a stop" to this nefarious practice. In big type. On the front page.

Have'nt heard of any "problems" since.

What non-southerners need to know is that in these small towns, people do not "walk aorund" at night.
Usually houses are lights out by 10 pm, everybody indoors, most are asleep.
So a group of older "youths" wandering around an entire area after dark is looked at with much suspicion.
Esp. if they are not white.

Mayberry is a strange place at times.