In the spring of 2003, the door to the house I was renting was kicked in while I was working at my second job, and the thief proceeded to simply take all the things I had worked hard to paid for. I was told at the time the police department doesn't classify it as 'grand theft' unless the value of the stolen goods exceeds $3,500, and the total value of what was stolen came to around $650. That may not seem like much to you, but when everything you own (excluding the car) adds up to about $800, and a burglar just waltz's in and takes $650 of it... that's over 80% of your belongings! The responding officer then proceeds to tell you the police department won't do much because it's less than a certain dollar amount?! If you only cater to the wealthy... then what good are you?
Fast-forward a few years to June 9, 2011. The house I bought with my girlfriend was burglarized. Sliding glass door was pried open with a flat head screwdriver. We didn't have an alarm system, and we were both at work, so the thief had as much time as he/they needed. Of course, the moment I confirmed the break-in, I called 911 to report it. The police, lights a-blazing, sirens a-wailing, and tires a-screeching.... went somewhere else, because it took them almost an hour to get to my house. Going through the list of missing items with the officer, it was estimated the value was around $5,000 of stolen goods. So we have surpassed the 'grand theft' mark, and should have better luck this time, right? It was also beautiful thinking on the girlfriend's part to write down all the model and serial numbers of any electronic device over $25 (which was all the burglars took), so this was great news! I also had a YouTube username that was created on my laptop after it had been stolen. Surely the police department can monitor that account and find the IP address from wherever it accesses the internet next. I was optimistic at first, considering the wealth of information we had to help to police recover our property. I was optimistic for the first month. My optimism waned after the 6th month passed. Now, well into the 10th month afterwards... I have more faith in aliens than I do of my local police department. If I give you ample information to track down the thieves and all you do is file it away... then what good are you?
Yesterday afternoon, there was an attempted burglary at the house directly behind my mother's. Luckily, the homeowner was home during the attempt, and scared off the would-be (most likely has-been) burglars. The suspects have, to no surprise, not been found.
I have come to the conclusion that my local police department is nothing more than an expensive joke, with squad cars, badges, and legal authority. I have friends who have also been the victims of a burglary and the crook(s) have also never been caught. However... when there is an attempt to break-in to the house belonging to... the Chief of Police... the crooks are captured over the weekend. So, if you only catch the burglars that attempt to break into your boss's house... then what good are you?
News flash! The crooks are not scared of the police department because there is no real fear of being caught. When my home was burglarized, it wasn't just my home that was hit. A number of other houses in my neighborhood were broken into over the following few days. If the police weren't able (or wouldn't) do anything to catch the thieves with all the information we had given them, what were the odds of my neighbors having a better experience?
Our town now has red light cameras at most major intersections, eliminating the need to have uniformed officers to issue tickets for running a red light. Not that it matters because I've seen people on numerous occasions run red lights while a police officer was in the opposite lane. Did the officer flip on the blue lights and go after him? Would I have bothered to mention it if he did? I see people speeding and running red lights every day and never see them being pulled over. People are being robbed and burglarized everyday and I never hear a happy ending to their ordeal.
You can't catch burglars, you don't bother with speeders, and we don't need you for the red lights. Honestly, I don't exactly know what it is that you do... so what use are you?
News flash! The crooks are not scared of the police department because there is no real fear of being caught. When my home was burglarized, it wasn't just my home that was hit. A number of other houses in my neighborhood were broken into over the following few days. If the police weren't able (or wouldn't) do anything to catch the thieves with all the information we had given them, what were the odds of my neighbors having a better experience?
Our town now has red light cameras at most major intersections, eliminating the need to have uniformed officers to issue tickets for running a red light. Not that it matters because I've seen people on numerous occasions run red lights while a police officer was in the opposite lane. Did the officer flip on the blue lights and go after him? Would I have bothered to mention it if he did? I see people speeding and running red lights every day and never see them being pulled over. People are being robbed and burglarized everyday and I never hear a happy ending to their ordeal.
You can't catch burglars, you don't bother with speeders, and we don't need you for the red lights. Honestly, I don't exactly know what it is that you do... so what use are you?
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