Lack of help from the people paid to protect and serve?

[CThunder-blue]

After reading the theft stories on here and other places, I wanted to ask anyone to post their stories about their interaction with the police as it relates to theft. Why is it that some police departments refuse to help citizens protect their property? These are the same professionals who have no problems writing you tickets if you break the speed limit, but as soon as you ask for help, it's no where to be found.

I actually have had good experiences with our local law enforcement. Back when I lived in an apartment and in a not very nice neighborhood, I had 3 break ins to 3 of my cars. 2 of them, we didn't find out until the morning. The one time they broke into my stealth, my alarm went off and I ran down. They were long gone, but I called the cops anyways. It was about an hour later when they came out. They dusted my car for prints and took my report. They also had extra squad cars combing the area. Later that morning, they called me and told me they caught the thieves. The idiots were walking on the sidewalk in plain sight with all the loot they had gotten that night and were apprehended.

Post up your stories if you don't mind sharing. Maybe we can find a solution to the apparent apathy some pd's have towards theft? Being in a big city or metro area isn't an excuse either. My own incidents happened in the bay area with millions of people.

[Live2ride]

We had someone break into our house by prying open a window. The only thing they took was my father's 9mm out of the secret spot he puts it. It had to have been someone who we had invited over prior because they knew exactly what they wanted and where it was. My father does not wave his gun around like some maniac and tell everyone where he hides it. A few police came to the house and dusted the window for prints; they ended up matching the prints to some kid that lives around here but my father wouldn't tell us exactly who it was. bottom line, the police did there job and did it in a decent time frame. I live out in the country, not in a high crime rate area whatsoever.

There was one other time where some redneck A-hole on a dirt bike decided to dump his bike in our front yard while the police chased him down the side of our house and into the woods. I'm sure they caught him, but we had a good laugh at that.

[wvninja]

I had someone break into my car and steal over $3000 worth of stereo equipment, camera, and my cell phone. The police pretty much said "sorry about your luck" and when I provided numbers my phone had called to LOCAL HOUSES the police said "thanks we will look into it" aka we have better things to do. I can understand how this happens in big citys but we are talking in a town with a population of about 1000 people and everyone knows everyone.

Needless to say I knew some "country boys" that I had went to highschool with in this town. They took care of things for me. I didn't get my stuff back as apparently the takers had already parted with it. I think I got my message across though.

[Racer x]

Someone kicked the garage door hard enough to set off the alarm . When the police showed up the person was gone. Duh. The police said it was a false alarm. Huu?
Another time my dog got loose and was woundering around the neaborhood in front of my house. Someone called the police. The dog went in and out of the yard a couple times but the police did not close the gate. Then when a officer opened the door of the cruser .I guess the dog thought it was going for a ride. So the officer shot the dog and put three bullets into my garage. Lucky the garage was there or else the bullets would have gone into the houses behind it.
I called the police to ask what happen and I guess I yelled at them some.
I got 1500 dollars worth of fines and it cost 1600 to fix the dog.
By the way the viscous beast that atacked the police was a 6 month old lab puppy. I tiold the police they shot him because he was black.
The dog and owner have made a full recovery.I don't call the police anymore.

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Someone kicked the garage door hard enough to set off the alarm . When the police showed up the person was gone. Duh. The police said it was a false alarm. Huu?
Another time my dog got loose and was woundering around the neaborhood in front of my house. Someone called the police. The dog went in and out of the yard a couple times but the police did not close the gate. Then when a officer opened the door of the cruser .I guess the dog thought it was going for a ride. So the officer shot the dog and put three bullets into my garage. Lucky the garage was there or else the bullets would have gone into the houses behind it.
I called the police to ask what happen and I guess I yelled at them some.
I got 1500 dollars worth of fines and it cost 1600 to fix the dog.
By the way the viscous beast that atacked the police was a 6 month old lab puppy. I tiold the police they shot hi because he was black.
The dog and owner have made a full recovery.I don't call the police anymore.

Holy crap! I'm surprised you didn't hire a lawyer.

[caps]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

Holy crap! I'm surprised you didn't hire a lawyer.

x2

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by racer x

someone kicked the garage door hard enough to set off the alarm . When the police showed up the person was gone. Duh. The police said it was a false alarm. Huu?
Another time my dog got loose and was woundering around the neaborhood in front of my house. Someone called the police. The dog went in and out of the yard a couple times but the police did not close the gate. Then when a officer opened the door of the cruser .i guess the dog thought it was going for a ride. So the officer shot the dog and put three bullets into my garage. Lucky the garage was there or else the bullets would have gone into the houses behind it.
I called the police to ask what happen and i guess i yelled at them some.
I got 1500 dollars worth of fines and it cost 1600 to fix the dog.
By the way the viscous beast that atacked the police was a 6 month old lab puppy. I tiold the police they shot hi because he was black.
The dog and owner have made a full recovery.i don't call the police anymore.

wtf?

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by cthunder-blue

holy crap! I'm surprised you didn't hire a lawyer.

x1,00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

[sombo]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

Holy crap! I'm surprised you didn't hire a lawyer.

I agree, that's worth sueing them over and getting that cop off the streets. A cop that reacts like shooting a puppy, AND putting holes in your personal property should NOT be handling a gun. You should not have had to pay any fines, but rather been reimbersed for the damages to both your dog and garage.

[Racer x]

Here is the thing. No one is suing me and that is good. I paid the 1500 dollar fine . Case closed.and that is good.
If I get a lawyer .he will make money and I will loose somehow or another.besides I was the one that left the gate open. So it is my fault.

I am just glad the dog is OK and noe one says he bit them or something like that. I have learned to avoid doctors laywers and rabid animals

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Here is the thing. No one is suing me and that is good. I paid the 1500 dollar fine . Case closed.and that is good.
If I get a lawyer .he will make money and I will loose somehow or another.besides I was the one that left the gate open. So it is my fault.

This, unfortunately. You go up against that blue wall and you're gonna lose every time.

[CThunder-blue]

Originally Posted by Racer x

Here is the thing. No one is suing me and that is good. I paid the 1500 dollar fine . Case closed.and that is good.
If I get a lawyer .he will make money and I will loose somehow or another.besides I was the one that left the gate open. So it is my fault.

I am just glad the dog is OK and noe one says he bit them or something like that. I have learned to avoid doctors laywers and rabid animals

So you somehow convinced yourself or were convinced that you leaving your gate open is justification for a cop to shoot your puppy? If you had gotten a lawyer, you could have just found one that would take a cut of the settlement as their fee. You could have taken this story to the media where it would have angered local animal rights activists and the department would not only have settled out of court, but investigated the cop to determine if he should be let go. If he's trigger happy about shooting a puppy, what happens if someone talks back to him? Taser in the face?

Originally Posted by Flashmonkey

This, unfortunately. You go up against that blue wall and you're gonna lose every time.

haha. No. There are lawyers who LOVE suing police departments. It happens a lot here. There's always settlements as well.

[CC Cowboy]

I work out with the chief of police and have never had a problem with thieves or response of the depertment. It has to depend of where you live.

[Flashmonkey]

Originally Posted by CThunder-blue

haha. No. There are lawyers who LOVE suing police departments. It happens a lot here. There's always settlements as well.

LOL yea that's right....sometimes I forget that I'm in a different country than most of you.

[ricochet08]

on the way home from the club with some friends, we got followed by some guys and they started shooting at us on the highway...
Dispatch lady said and I quote "There's nothing we can do about it"

[wyckedflesh]

Originally Posted by Racer x

I called the police to ask what happen and I guess I yelled at them some.
I got 1500 dollars worth of fines and it cost 1600 to fix the dog.
By the way the viscous beast that atacked the police was a 6 month old lab puppy. I tiold the police they shot him because he was black.
The dog and owner have made a full recovery.I don't call the police anymore.

Having had to deal with Dog Bite claims, even Puppies can have Rabies and not yet show the signs. If the puppy had bitten the officer, the puppy would have had to be put down regardless of whose fault it was. Had the officer been bitten, since it was a puppy, the officer would have HAD to have the mandatory Rabies routine since the Quarantine to make sure the Puppy didn't have rabies would have put the officer in danger.

Was it tragic? Yes
Could it have been handled better? Sure, but is there a situation out there that we can't armchair quarterback a better way to have handled it?


I have noticed, the more polite and courteous I am from my 911/Non-emergency call to when the officers arrive, the more cooperation I get from the PD. Trust me, in my younger days, I had anger issues that caused me more angst and lack of cooperation from the PD when I needed them

The most rapid response, and because I was very cooperative and polite, was when my target gun was stolen. I had the insurance inventory photo with the serial number, as well as photos of the handgun with all of the accessories in place. I also told them that a box of ammo was taken as well It was recovered in about 6 hours from when it was reported with an officer at the door within 30 minutes.

It was 60 days before I got the handgun back, but that was because of it needing to be evidence.

[Jinx250]

A LOT of factors influence police response, up to and including the type of crime and the immedicay of the threat.

When it comes to standard property thefts (you come home and find your house has been robbed, you wake up and your car was broken into), that's going to be a low priority call, and it may take a long while for an officer to arrive. If the theft involved violence (strongarm robery, armed robbery, etc.) then the response may be quicker. If the crime is in progress then the response will def be quicker. Thefts of firearms or deadly weapons will also (usually) result in a quicker response time.

Political concerns - politicians live and die on statistics. So if say the Mayor got elected on a crime reduction ticket, then he will quietly ask someone in a position of influence to change the minimum reporting level for specific crimes. An example - in a SoCal jurisdiction some time ago, as a result of a budget cut that was unpopular, the minimum damage requirement for PD to take an accident rpeort was lowered. This resulted in many more accident reports being taken than would previously been taken under the older higher minimum. The *number* of accidents didn't change, just the number of reports. But since the number of reports is what drives the statistics, for all intents and purposes, the number of accidents increased. Thus the evidence was presented and the unpopular cut was undone.

The PD's job is not "active" theft prevention. Their responsibility is to take action once a crime has been committed, and the requirements vary from state to state and county to county.

Add to this the fact that a lot of agencies are laying off their officers (and fire personnel) because of budget issues, so there are a lot fewer officers around to do the job, so it becomes even more critical to prioritize which calls get the limited attention available.

My last 2 interactions with the PD were exactly as one would expect. A loud party next door on a friday night, took them about an hour to show up with only one unit. A prowler in my back yard, I had 4 units there plus the chopper inside of 5 minutes.

And on a tangent, you cannot compare traffic enforcement actions to other police actions. Most juridictions (that are not tiny little towns) have officers dedicated to traffic enforcement.

[kkim]

those of you with issues with how the PD responds should apply to become a policeman and do their job for 10-20 years to see how easy it is.

gl... I bet you don't make past the academy stage of becoming a police officer.

[RhinoJC]

Originally Posted by kkim

those of you with issues with how the PD responds should apply to become a policeman and do their job for 10-20 years to see how easy it is.

gl... I bet you don't make past the academy stage of becoming a police officer.

How difficult it is to become a cop or do the job is irrelevant. If they are unwilling or unable to do the job, they shouldn't be doing it.

[kkim]

just because it may appear to you that they are "unwilling or unable", that may not be the case if you knew the story from their side. Are there bad cops??? most definitely, but don't assume they all are bad just because of one's bad experience due to a single incident/bad experience.

I'm not saying they're all good, either... it's just I'm seeing a lot of criticisms towards the PD in this thread and was trying to bring back some balance.

[Nemesis]

I'm literally 3 minutes from the police station via car. My house got broken into twice and both times they have been very receptive in response time (5 mins.) and very thorough as to helping us remember what items were stolen and reminding us to jot it down. Compassion...non-existent. And I don't expect that from them since they probably have more than enough experience with these types of calls.

But one thing I do not and will not forget (and probably has changed my perspective towards LEOs) is being profiled and an attempt entrap me. And on another occasion being pulled over on my motorcycle for going to slow (10mph below speed limit) with a gun pointed at my back 10-15 feet away. All I had on was a 1 piece suit with hands on the tank.

Will I call them for help. Heck ya! Will I treat them like shiet if I get pulled over. Not unless they give me shiet will I verbally give them shiet and file a complaint so it gets recorded/filed against them.

Being profiled and treated like you're some kind of criminal is something I don't want anyone to experience.

[ungluck]

i spent 6 years as a ranger..then reenlisted as a beret. my father did 4 years as a ranger and 19 as a beret, my grandfather did 29 years in the army...from a pfc to a colonel. my grandpa and my dad weren't citizens...

my father went into a state police state job for 4 years then into the SS. he once told me the hardest thing he ever did...was the 4 years as an officer in colorado..

i am awaiting police academy to start in july(was supposed to be april)

my bro in law is a 14 year vet here and i have 3 friends on the force. i have done ride alongs and full shifts with these guys.

being a police officer is a mix of some of the most intense jobs and positions around..you have to be a politician, a first responder with a small emt background, unbiased, unselfish and ready to take the blame for doing your job.every second of the day.

you have people who only think THEIR problem is the WORST problem..when these guys have a hundred other possibly and more than likely worse, things happening before they got to you..or yesterday.

they have a job filled with red tape and political correctness, they are stuck..and then there is the paperwork..**** tons of paper work, and a lot of stupid people who can't communicate.

add these things up with a **** ton of other variables and so on and so forth.you have a lot of things on these guys/girls plates and little time in the day and a lot of more crime and emergencies to respond to every 5 seconds.

i'm with Kim..but not as nice..go bitch somewhere else and think of **** you do before you do it.

turn your stereo down when close to home, all your doing..is drawing attention to yourself, "hey..i got some serious ICe yo!!"

be mindful of your surroundings,which is something i shouldn't say here..we ride motorcycles... take a lot of the small life saving aspects of riding and apply them to everyday life and a lot of things will be much better.

i could go on..but i've probably said too much..all i her is bitching. and i have been on your shoes, repeatedly.

millions of people..4% of them are police officers(don't quote me)..and you expect immediate and justifying results.

[ungluck]

as far as profiling and ****..you unfortunately have idiots who do make it through the webs and apply too much of their personal beliefs and views to their work.

depending on the area..perhaps they have dumb asses on bikes who carry guns and such..and you just got treated like a situation previously gone bad...

when i lived in south east DC..i got jumped by undercover and uniformed LEO's..cos a white guy in a black neighborhood..is the crack dealer..dumb asses

[Nemesis]

Originally Posted by ungluck

as far as profiling and ****..you unfortunately have idiots who do make it through the webs and apply too much of their personal beliefs and views to their work.

depending on the area..perhaps they have dumb asses on bikes who carry guns and such..and you just got treated like a situation previously gone bad...

when i lived in south east DC..i got jumped by undercover and uniformed LEO's..cos a white guy in a black neighborhood..is the crack dealer..dumb asses

Since this was directed at me I will respond: Profiling in my car...they spotted me while walking to my car. I know because I saw them parked. As I got into my car that's when they slowly followed. Okay, understand....it can happen but don't accuse me of doing something when I didn't and trying to entrap me into saying if the officer is lying or not (not directed at you). That's the part that got to me. I was so freakin' pissed...I just remained silent even after he kept repeating his questions and stupid ass comments. I ignored him and looked straight through the car windshield (he pulled me over after I got into the car (parking at the mall). Over a fookin' seat belt. Really? Using an the seat belt as an excuse to harass me over 30 minutes? I have friends and relatives who are in the force and all of them share with me the inner things with the BIGGEST GANG in America. And basically, they are no different from any average employee--you have the good ones and the bad ones. And the bad ones are the ones who abuse their power to make people's lives miserable. Those are the ones I'm referring to.

[ungluck]

Originally Posted by Nemesis

. And basically, they are no different from any average employee--you have the good ones and the bad ones. And the bad ones are the ones who abuse their power to make people's lives miserable. Those are the ones I'm referring to.

welcome to a million other people and lines of work.

it won't change..with the human factor involved in everything we do..it will always suck in some way..everything..

[Sailariel]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

I work out with the chief of police and have never had a problem with thieves or response of the depertment. It has to depend of where you live.

I agree with Oscar. Depends on where you live. Our Chief and his wife both ride Harleys. Six out of ten of the officers also ride. They are a good police force. They do investigate all thefts. One of my customers had his bicycle stolen. Our guys recovered it in two days. I have total confidence in our City Police and our Sheriff's Department.