mekidsmom wrote:Moral of the story, even if you have proof who the bad guys are, the police won't do anything unless it's a "horrible enough" crime. There is no protection, and the police take the justice system into their own hands deciding what's worth their time and what isn't. Apparently free coffee at the local gas station is far more important.
Sigh... my son wants to be an officer.
Here's a happy story that will make you feel better.
About three years ago I had some co-workers from Ireland come over to the states and they wanted to go hiking up on Mt. Rainier. I took them to one of the remote entrances and we spent the day biking and hiking up to one of the glaciers. When we got back, there was a cop in the parking lot with his notebook out. When he asked if this was my vehicle I thought he was writing me a parking ticket or something. But he wasn't. He told me my car had been broken into. Being a smart feller, I figured that leaving my wallet in my car at a remote entrance would be better than taking it up and losing it on the glacier. I guessed wrong. Wallet was gone, window was smashed, and I was miles away from civilization with no cell coverage to call my bank. There was a ranger station right there at the parking lot, too, so the first thing I said to the cop was "Where was the Ranger?"
He says "I'm the Ranger." And sure enough, he was. Then I put my foot in my mouth just a bit deeper, because that's how I roll.
"When did they start arming you guys?" because he had a side arm and a tazer, hence my confusion about the cop vs Ranger thing.
"In 1872 when they formed the Park Service." OK, so I feel extra dumb now.
I'm expecting the standard "File a report and call your insurance company and bank" response, but then this kid does something completely unexpected. He walks to his truck, pulls out a crime scene kit, and starts dusting my car for prints. He took pictures and took fiber samples. I was amazed. There was a small group of people in the lot that were watching this, and they were all amazed as well. It was quite a spectacle.
The criminals that did it ran to the nearest Home Depot and spent about $500 on tools. The Ranger called the next day and asked if I'd send him my bank details so "he wouldn't have to issue a subpoena for them, and that takes time." No problem, happy to help! And I was. I was so happy I wrote a letter to the head of the Parks Department bragging on his guys and thanking them for at least giving a crap enough to try. I actually said, and I quote, "He did a very thorough investigation, including dusting my car for prints, fiber samples, and other things that left me with the distinct impression that he actually cared about what had happened. That alone did much to make me feel better about a bad situation. I don't have any faith that we'll ever catch the clowns that broke into those cars, but it's nice to know that your man is at least trying." We will come back to that.
So Ranger Dan (his last name is Dutch and unpronounceable) calls me about a month later, long after I'd forgotten about all this. He had gone to the Home Depot, took their surveillance tapes into custody, worked with the local PD who helped ID the people, and did all that crime investigation that we all hope cops will do but they never seem to. He says "Well, we have one guy in custody and are about to execute a warrant on the other. I need to known we have the right address for you so we can send you the right court docs." To say I was gobsmacked would be an understatement. I couldn't believe it. I had to write another letter to the Director of the Parks Service and correct myself.
Now that's not even the good part. 
The good part is this. Because the the crime to place in a National Park, it is under federal jurisdiction. That means it is prosecuted under federal laws in federal courts. Two years went by and I got a letter from them saying that the following two people had been charged with various crimes including identity theft and using a false passkey (my ATM card), which carries a mandatory minimum two years in the poke. One had plead guilty and the other not guilty, so he was going to trial. I was so happy! I got a subpoena to testify against the guy that didn't plead out, and just before I was supposed to go to court, got another letter that said he's plead guilty and is doing his two years, too.
So sometimes the stars line up and things work out. Tell your son to be a federal cop. If he wants to be an awesome cop, tell him to be a National Park Ranger. I love those guys.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/waw/press/2 … liams.html
Someday we'll win this thing...
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