Good Ole Law enforcement?

[182much]

Yesterday my car was stolen from my wife's work. She works less than a 1/4 mile from home. I needed the car and went to go get it, and found the car in another parking lot.
Figuring the wife had some car trouble and left it there, I drove it to her work and asked her about it. That's when we figured out it had been stolen. The ****** must of had a key, because nothing was broken.
I had some pretty important errands to run and since the car had been moved, I'd report it latter.
The wife talks to fellow employees and find out another person's car had been broken into 2 days before, and was caught on security tape, but couldnt see the ****** license's plate. They call the law and was told "Since it happened on private property they wouldn't come take a report"
(but they write tickets there all the time for expired reg) This happened about 7:00-7:30.
My wife got to thinking, the car was there when she took her break at 6:45 and the car that filled her spot belonged to another employee that started at 7:45. Anyone see a pattern here?
I called the sheriffs about this and was told they couldnt set up a "sting" but to call WE TIP and they could. We tip said they couldnt do anything since I didnt have a license #. NOW WHAT?
So I called the Mayor's office and told the story. The lady was dumfounded that the sheriffs wouldnt do anything about this, and would send off emails.
Guess the law enforcement around here is just good for writting tickets

[Tom Slick]

They are busy doing stuff other then helping regular folks.
My dad had his car stolen last year from a gym parking lot at lunch time. thieves stole everything out of his locker then used his keyless entry to find and steal his car. the gym made the security tapes available and the credit card company made real time transactions available (the cc card was being used). The police weren't interested in either. The police drove past his abandoned car for a couple of weeks and didn't notice! The thieves took the car for a joy ride then parked it in an apartment complex in the same town it was stolen from. Someone from the apartment complex finally reported the car as abandoned in their extra parking spot. When the cop showed up she commented that she had seen it parked there for awhile. I guess a $45,000 acura parked in section 8 housing isn't odd enough. They didn't bother taking finger prints because "you got your car back".

in some fairness their community has a problem with drug trafficking and gangs. some businessman with a stolen car is no biggy.

[JR]

in some fairness their community has a problem with drug trafficking and gangs. some businessman with a stolen car is no biggy.

You can't be refering to the Safest City in America!

[jking]

The ****** must of had a key, because nothing was broken.

You can have extra keys made at the dealership from the VIN. I've received the e-mail warning about this one & always ignored it. However, this does appear to be true. A friend of mine checked it out & found out his company does this often when someone loses a key.

The wife talks to fellow employees and find out another person's car had been broken into 2 days before, and was caught on security tape, but couldnt see the ****** license's plate. They call the law and was told "Since it happened on private property they wouldn't come take a report"

So, if the car was stolen from your driveway would they not take a report? Hey, it happened on private property! Sounds like a lazy sheriff's office.

This happened about 7:00-7:30. My wife got to thinking, the car was there when she took her break at 6:45 and the car that filled her spot belonged to another employee that started at 7:45. Anyone see a pattern here?

Sounds like someone has cased your wife's office. I'm not sure why they would steal a car & then park it close to where it was stolen from? Could it be a fellow employee?

[Mrs. Wallnut]

I know how things can be frustrating. Back in April we had something similar happen when a 15 year old backed in to me at a gas station and he didn't get a ticket because we were on private property. I also know that it was frustrating to the officer that showed up because, like most small towns and with me working a graveyard shift I know a lot of the officers, either by name or at least by sight. And he said he wished (stated at a later date while talking one night) that he could have done something more to help us out and given the kid a ticket or a ride. And I was also told that since I was on private property that usually they don't take a report but since the officer knew me and what an upstanding citizen I was and a jerk the kid was he took a report and pictures for me to use at a later date if I needed to.

And I think that I have some understanding of law enforcement because of close friends that Mark and I know who are police. But I do understand the frustration also.

[182much]

KInda makes you wonder What the **** has happened to OUR country.
I bet our fore fathers are turning in their grave

[crokett]

I'm curious as to this 'happened on private property' reason for not taking a report. When I was in Cleveland in April somebody backed into my rental car while I was eating lunch. The rental co required a police report be filed even though I never saw it happen. A patrolman came out to the restaurant where I had eaten and took a report. Maybe some parts of the country are different than others?

[JeffW]

Makes no sense to me. The laws of the state are still in effect on private property. Crimes occur on private property. We would have taken a report and entered the stolen car as necessary. Sounds like someone was lazy. Additionally you should know if a report on a stolen car is not taken, than that is one less stolen vehicle report to enter into the "Uniform Crime Reporting". Some police administrators have figured out that if you don't take a report, you can make you crime stats go down.

[Russianwolf]

Makes no sense to me. The laws of the state are still in effect on private property. Crimes occur on private property. We would have taken a report and entered the stolen car as necessary. Sounds like someone was lazy. Additionally you should know if a report on a stolen car is not taken, than that is one less stolen vehicle report to enter into the "Uniform Crime Reporting". Some police administrators have figured out that if you don't take a report, you can make you crime stats go down.

I was about to say the same thing. Most murders happen on private property I imagine. I guess suspect can't be charged since they can't file a report, huh. No sense what-so-ever.

[Kristofor]

I've always had pretty positive interactions with my local law enforcement types, and would be SHOCKED if any of the groups (city cops or county sheriffs) said that they wouldn't file a report.

Politely take the name of the LEO, and their stated reason for failing to take the report (if it's really a department policy there's no reason to give the guy/gal any flack). Then go to your next City Council or County Board meeting, and during the open portion of the meeting explain what happened and ask the elected members to comment on the appropriateness of the response and suggest that they provide some guidance to the local department on what their priorities and expectations should be. (Of course, if you're in the middle of a murder wave or whatnot that's one thing, but if they have officers on parking lot tab check duty one would hope they could spend a couple minutes to write up a car theft)

But, that said, there is much less revenue to be generated by filling out stolen vehicle reports than writing traffic tickets... While it's apparently not kosher in Minnesota to have hard quotas for tickets many places do have requirements for the number of traffic stops or other "interactions" they have per shift. There was a local sergeant charged recently with writing warning tickets for people who didn't exist or who did exist but who didn't/couldn't have committed the offenses in question...

Kristofor.

[drumpriest]

A while ago (at our last house) there was a kid going around with a bb gun shooting out car windows. This happened to my wife's car twice in a week. We called the cops, and they told us they would not come take a report because we lived on the "good side of town", and they had more important things to do on the bad side.

The second time, when we called again and complained about them not doing anything, and that our insurance company required a police report, they sent a guy over. He looked at the car and was reluctant to file a report because he said it would make the town's crime rate look bad. It really seemed to me that he just didn't want to be bothered. We were persistent and he eventually wrote one up for us.

[Wood_workur]

so let me get this straight... if something happens on private property then the police will not get involved? Then why are robberies and murders investigated, do they not take place on private property (at least part of the time)?

[gsmittle]

I dunno... I was pulled over once in my own driveway. AFAIK, that's private property.

Sounds like a LEO at the end of his shift, maybe...

g.