My parents vs the City Cops

[posol]

As some of you may remember, my 240 was broken into at work last july.... basically across the street and up a half block from the PD. my kenwood head unit and shoei helmet were stolen out of it, along with the smashed window.

pics 17-26 here: https://hondaswap.com/brian/2004/

First things fucking last.

It happened after work... i left around 630 that night from the office to find the car as it sits. it was july 2nd, the friday of the holiday weekend. I called the cops, and basically, they wouldn't do shit but take my name, address, phone num, location of incident, and what was stolen over the phone. they refused to send a patrol car to look at it-- as i stood there on my mobile, at least 4 cruisers passed my parking lot going to and from the PD just down the road. could not one of them pull in for 5 min and take a look?

appearently, it was too much to ask.

My mom got all pissed off, and took it a step further. she wrote an op-ed article to our local paper.

it aired 10/15/04.
http://www.bristolpress.com/site/news.cfm?..._id=10486&rfi=8

In yesterday's paper, 2/9/05 a police officer replied:
http://www.bristolpress.com/site/news.cfm?..._id=10486&rfi=8

Now, the plot thickens.

The cop who replied, happens to be one of my good friend's uncle. (Barry for those of you who know me/him). This caused some drama today between several of my friends.... Now, i've never met his uncle- and i'm sure he doesn't have a clue that i know his nephew either.

read them both with an open mind. you have the background to my parents letter.



Now, for my comments.

Two things pissed me off on the reply:

• He made an UN-personal crticism of the level of service i received a personal attack on my parents intelligence.
• A main focal point that he dwells on is - in a word - time. Petty crimes, such as what happened to me, are dealt with just as it was with me according to the SOP (standard operating procedures) -- over the phone, file the report, and thats about it. Appearently there is too much time involved for him or any other patrol officer to stop in for 5 min on his way BY where i'm standing..... but at the same time, he has enough free time to sit down, and type up a letter to the editor-- at LEAST an hours worth of time to type that much for a decent typer and then editing it, printing it, mailing it in to the paper and so forth. Thats a LOT of effort, in my opinion.

So, what do you folks think.

I'd like to see this post turn into a good debate.

one-liners like "fuck the police" need not post (and in fact, i'll delete it if you do, so don't.) if you don't have the time to reply with a well though-out reponse in paragraph form, please don't bother replying.

Thanks.

 

[jeffie7]

The Police around here come out to you and fill out a rather long piece of paper with all the details so they can have it on record as to where it happened and how much $ worth of items was stolen.

Sound like no one up there wanted to file a report. wah wah wah to them.

 

[neonmike]

well being a close friend to B and having had a similar experience with the local law enforcement, i feel that the police are not doing there jobs. for starters even though it was "just a radio" it is still personal property of a citizen, this is what they are paid to do is to patrol areas so things like this do not happen. i know that they can't be everywhere at once but if they can't they should damn well make an attempt to look like they care and come out to take the report. when i had my $5,000 in stereo equipment stolen they said there was nothing they could do it was not a "priority". now is it fair to me that i worked my ass off to pay for that stuff only to have it ripped off by some heartless prick. no it isn't, but to add insult to injury two days after the incident when mowing my lawn i found the tools used by the rejects of society and they had the persons name written on the handles, first and last. what did the fine officers of bristol do, came to my house looked at the tools, walked to my trash barrell and threw them out.
with that being said i think that the officer who wrote that article owes B's family a written apology for the blatent disregard of kindness he showed. at least come out to humor the person and take the report, that would have probably pleased B and his parents. this could have all been avoided had an officer just done what they are paid to do. i am glad to see my tax dollars are hard at work paying people to eat donuts and get fatter

 

[One Stop Customs]

damn bro, you officially live in a place with more crime than Los Angeles... I don't even think that our P.D. station gets 170 calls a day LOL... I know, I use to volunteer when I was younger there hehehe. Anyway, the one time when they broke into our car and took the stereo, we didn't even call the cops because that's a crime that they cannot do anything about... its a stereo, all you have to do is just buy another one really...

When I worked at the station, those cars were tended too hours after the call or were "forgotten" about. So really, I understand where you guys are coming from and where the PD is coming from... but here, the police have no witnesses or anything.

P.S. We have gotten police shot in their parking lot, so yes, crime does occur within steps of the P.D. lol

 

[Airjockie]

I'm shocked

Sorry to see this happening to a buddy and his reletives, but I can see both sides of this...and both sides are both in the right to complain at each other. First...it was Brians stuff, and his car got damaged, and some real items were taken. B has every right to bitch. I'm not sure about what was happening in that area on that night that was more important to blow B off. But I also know that a majority of cops are constantly busy...except for the ones that patrol with out care. But more than likely, something prolly took presidence that night. Who knows?.

When I had my Z and my buddies Z broken into last year, I was lucky, and found a cop in minutes of the incedent, and they helped out. When my Jeep's sterio disappeared, the cops came the next day to check it out. And that's the Stratford and Bridgeport cops...and they are really busy all the time. And even when I got hit in the Z, an officer came in 5 minutes...maybe they like me, or I'm lucky...

At least they could have came and done a follow up and make a report, cuz I bet the helmet prolly ended up in a pawnshop the next town over, and most pawn shops have a vid camera in their lobbies....or at least they should.

Tell your parents to go one step further....don't take crap from a sargent repling to a newspapper artical...go to the real officers...or even the officers boss.

 

[SlushboxTeggy]

its one thing to not respond to a crime. its entirely different to take the time to write a letter telling the press that you were not in the wrong in doing so. from my own experience, there are really good cops and really bad cops. i know cops that are the best guys in the world, and try to help me out with all my tickets and what not. then there are cops just there trying to piss people off. one got kicked off the force for dropping a ticket in return for a blowjob. others have failed drug tests. some cops will bust a party, take all alcohol and drugs, and then go have some fun at the station. no doubt there is messed up stuff going on in every police station, but luckily i have gotten away with only two bullshit tickets that are going to be thrown out thanks to help from a good cop.

 

[kyleirwin]

honestly, what more do you expect them to do in person than what they did over the phone? i've had my car broken into and my stereo stolen, and filed a report, and they didn't give a shit, and it didn't make me feel to good. but when you think about it with a level head it makes sence. there is little to no evidence, no suspect and not much they can do about it. nobody was stabbed, nobody even threatened, it didn't threaten the safty of the citizens.

as for the news paper stories, your parents pissed that officer off by insulting him and his co-workers... and he did the same to your parents. does he deserve an apology as well? although he wasen't professional in the way he wrote the letter, it was written from the heart and truthfully... he makes valid points that all make sence.

buy a new head unit, buy a new window, and maybe buy an alarm so this shit dosen't happen again. it fuckin' sucks... i went through it... but it's pretty much all you can do unless you catch the fucker in the act. it's too bad that you'd have to put out your own money for an alarm just in hopes that your shit won't get jacked... but it's not the police's fault.

 

[Drake]

It seems that they thew a huge volkswagon sized rock through your window. Im not a cop by any stretch of the term but wouldnt that maybe be effidence? I would think that they would send a car out just for that reason. In the officers reply understand that in the grand sceme of things a break in compaired to a shooting, the shooting will win. But still I am sure that radio was bought with well deserved money. I also find it odd that the passing cop cars didnt stop and see if you needed help because really if they were in that big of a rush they would have lights on right?

I dont know I am begining to think that I grew up in a very sheltered area. Walla Walla doesnt have the kinda crime Spokane does and I am understanding more and more that I grew up in a "quite" area. And that maybe my experince with the cops hasnt been very realistic. I guess that is the price you pay when you live in a small town.

As far as the letters go, I think it was a good thing for your mom to bring this ordeal into the light. Maybe it will help other people ask for the service they deserve. I know there are more high priority crimes going on in a city but I would think that there would be at least one cop that isnt on one of those "High Priority" calls. The officers response I think was valid in some points but that last line was very third gradish, "Its not all about you." I think he could have said that with alittle more taste. Anyways I hope this is the kinda response you were looking for. Just thought I would add my two cents and im sorry about what happned to you Brian. Hopefully nothing like that shit happens to me when i take my car back this weekend. Hope it all works out for you.

Jeramy

 

[xj0hnx]

I don't see anywhere in the letter he wrote that bash's your parents. It's a good explaination of why so many times it seems they "do nothing". Anytime you have an occupation that is undermanned according to situation than you are going to have give somewhere. Unfortunely, I see it everyday, people often don't realize that the world doesn't revolve solely around them, and that services provided aren't geared towards only them.

For example, if you go to a restaurant, and there are 500 people there and 2 cooks, then you can expect that there is going to be a good long wait for your food. But that doesn't change the fact that you are going to feel put out and complain about service when it takes an hour and a half to get your food.

Simply put, there is too fucking much crime in the US compared to the number of people fighting it. Blame it on the me me mes that think of no one but themselves when they see your property and decide they want it enough to steal it instead of getting there own. It isn't the police fault that someone stole your stereo, or killed your neighbor, or whatever.

Maybe if being a cop was more respected, more people would do it.

Maybe if the laws was more respected, people wouldn't steal as much.

Maybe if humans had more respect for each other, they wouldn't steal from each other or kill, rape, whatever each other.

 

[crazkene13]

Cut stupid government handouts.
Triple pay for police and firefighters.
Set higher standards.
Terminate those that don't make the cut, as there will be more recruits with higher wages/benefits.
Demand and recieve better service.


vicious circle= cops don't get the pay or respect they deserve so they start to act like your average fast food employee=less benifit to being a cop=less cops=more work for same pay for existing cops.

though I still think most cops have issues

 

[Cashizslick]

y0 B,

The same thing happened to Me in Boston, except i ACTUALLY got to talk to the cops since a car drove right past me and i flagged em down. They were like, "Shut up - we are busy".

Its funney, since about 10 cars got broken into in the area i was parked in and NO cops were present.

 

[Slammed90Lude]

i'm writing a novel- give me a bit

 

[CRX-YEM]

I'm afraid to say this doesn't happen in just Bristol. It happens everywhere.
It seems to me that the polie are never around when you actually really need them. The only time you actually see an officer is when they suspect someone of wrong doing.

I think the public reply letter published in todays paper is quite disturbing seems to me the replying officer took the article your parent had published quite personally. He responded subjectively rather than objectively as he should have. I think it makes the police union of bristol look like imbeciles.

If the call volume to the department is a problem wouldn't that be a sign of needing more employees and officers. How can a phone call fro ma citizen about stolen property determine if there is or isn't a suspect. How can that be determined without a proper investigation I'll bet you could of found at least one fingerprint which could generate a lead.

I also don't think your parent were insinuating that crimes should or can not happen within a small radius of the police department as the office in responce seems to of interpretated it that way. They were simply stating facts.

This is just another example of why I think police these days are extremley over paid.

 

[Slammed90Lude]

As of Oct. 17, 2004, we had logged 41,247 calls, which equates to 137 calls per day. Every call is treated with the proper response and no situation that is a police matter is considered to be "unimportant."

I find these two consecutive sentences to be the most entertaining of the entire letter. First, I find the use of average figures a little disturbing. The officer leads on with these numbers that they receive 137 calls every day no matter what. Although he did not describe that number as an average, it clearly is. Fact is, like any other business, including a restaurant, there are busy days and slow days. Perhaps your car was broken into on an extremely busy day and that’s why an officer couldn’t make it to the scene on the day of the crime or within the next few days?

I’m going to use the example of restaurant service extensively throughout my response because it is a very similar situation; both the police and restaurants are establishments that people pay for a service. Like someone previously said in this thread, if a patron enters a restaurant that is filled with 500 people and only has two chefs, they should expect slow service. And that is understandable, being understaffed certainly makes it difficult to serve everyone in the timely fashion they would probably like. However does being exceedingly busy give any of those employees the right to provide poor service? If the police were indeed busy the day B’s car was broken into, perhaps they could have offered to come take a look at the vehicle at a later date, just like a good restaurant would apologize for the long wait and serve you as quickly and courteously as possible. Instead though, the police brushed this petty crime aside, never offering to come by at a later date. Imagine walking into a busy eatery, and then being rudely ignored or brushed aside because you were “only†going to order burgers.

While a person would quickly solve problems like these with a restaurant by simply no longer patronizing the establishment, this becomes extremely difficult because a citizen has no control over the amount of money the police receive. Suggesting that the police are paid on the level of satisfaction they’ve provided to their “customers†is obviously out of the question. However a system like this would make more sense than blindly throwing the taxpayers money at police officers that I feel are either grossly underpaid or completely overpaid. My grandparents often talk about the police officers when they were younger; these officers were good standing members of the community, everyone knew them and everyone looked up to them. These officers truly made every person and every crime victim feel like it was “all about themâ€, and this is exactly what one should expect from a public service. That is not to say that some of these officers still don’t exist. However for the most part, police officers seem to have taken on a feeling of omnipotence over the people they were hired to protect. And the police officers can deny this all they want, but even in my small town, where the police, for the most part, are respected members of the community, I still see this all the time.

And with that said, I agree with John that the real problem is more than likely a result of being understaffed or underpaid. But the fact is, if the current police officers presented a good moral example, more people would want to join the force, not because the job pays well or has a pension, but because they want to be a role model and protector over a community. It all goes back to the restaurant example; just because the restaurant is understaffed and overcrowded absolutely does not mean that the minimal staff on duty can’t make every patron feel like they are the only one that matters.

 

[dveit]

where's the cliffnotes?

just kidding, very well said.

 

[Celerity]

I am going to read this whole topic later, because I love multi-paragraphed responses, and I love the underlying tones of displeasure that no one can offer like a young Honda / Hybrid owner can offer.

But I would like to quickly point out that the Police, by their admission, Are so completely fucking inert, almost braindamaged, so have crime on their doorstep:

"The police have responded to thousands of calls within a quarter mile of the station, up to and including a shooting on the front steps of the station and an officer shot just around the corner."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Sorry... Lemme get my breath.

I'm not laughing at the cop getting shot. I'm not laughing at the shooting on the steps. I'm laughing because, as I stated, this guy is flat out AGREEING with you, and he doesn't even know it.

Your police farce ... Force... should be fired and replaced with the LSD dropping British troops.

I'm sending this to the Bridgeport and Shelton PD, and gauging their response.

Tell Officer Useless I'm on the case.

-> Steve

 

[dveit]

Originally posted by Celerity@Feb 11 2005, 01:06 PM
Your police farce ... Force... should be fired and replaced with the LSD dropping British troops.

Bahahahah

 

[OldEMaltLiQuoR]

When my car was stolen last week, it took the police about 1hr to get to the scene. (the precinct is about a 2min drive from the scene of the crime) Once they got there, there was an air of "cockiness" about them. A sort of "I don't wanna be here so lets get this over with quickly" feeling.
If i were to guess I would say the police try not to take thefts as seriously 1) because they happen so frequently and 2) because they are not the romantical cop vs. robber kind of crime that I'm sure most officers prefer. I mean lets face it, would you rather be called to the scene of a murder, or to some kid who got his import broken into?
Now I have a few friends who are police officers, and I'm not saying that every cop is like this. But I think there's a police culture that looks down on petty crimes and sort of glorifies the higher midemeanors and felonies.

 

[Celerity]

Tell them you left a few baggies of cocaine in the car.

They'll find it, even if you say "No, I'm just kidding"

-> Steve

 

[Battle Pope]

This is absolutely 100% true.

I live and work in an area of about 25,000 in population. Much smaller than Bristol, I'm sure. The area is a conglomeration of 2 cities, them having grown together over time. As a result, there are 2 police departments, plus the county sherriff.

The North Bend police are mostly assholes. They're a little more involved in the community, but again, mainly assholes. Motto: "If it's not a violent crime, it ain't worth our time."

The Coos Bay police are a little different. A motley crew of concrete commandos and ex-militaries, they are definitely worse to deal with. There was an incident where someone reported a kid having a paintball gun outside one of the college buildings, 3 squad cars pulled up, officers with guns drawn, and one of them grabbed a shotgun out of the trunk.

I hate the local police. Not only are they thoroughly incompetent, they profile imports like no other.