Calgary Bike Thieves

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

What do the police do to prior to a crime being committed to prevent it from being committed? I am not being an ass, just ignorant...

I think the theory is that when a crime is committed and they are able to successfully investigate the crime, build a proper case, charge the individual as identified by the facts and then hand it off to the crown for successful prosecution and conviction. This is supposed to be a deterrent to future crimes from the convicted criminal and a deterrent to would be criminals.

All just theory though! Steinbeck says there are just bad people. You can't take the bad out of these people.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Why wouldn't you want to take action to stop them?

If you see a guy driving around your neighbourhood with 4 barbecues in his dirty old pickup truck you look the other way?

That's my point exactly. There are pictures of these guys. Perfect, wonderful. I hope the CPS can catch them.

But in Puckluck2's example, let's say for instance I am walking along the street one night and decide to be a jerk, throw a brick through his window and take the change and the MP3 player he's left in his car. No one sees me do it, there is no video surveillance or anything around at all, it's just a normal street. I decide to be really nice and even leave the brick in the car.

There is almost no reason for the police to go to an incident like that. Brick takes prints horribly. No one saw anything. There is nothing linking me to that crime. What is sending a police officer out going to do beyond making Puckluck feel a bit better about the situation? He could report it and get the case number (and add it to the neighborhood 'file') faster online and free up an officer. Folks have been asking for years for police services to 'catch up' or 'keep up' with the times. This is a perfect example of a crime that could be reported online...and you get nothing but pushback. Wonder why CPS is 'understaffed'...they are going out to crimes like this where they can do nothing at the scene. They keep an eye on known places that move stolen goods, and depend on neighbors to help keep an eye on the neighborhood.

Now...let's pretend I throw that brick through Puckluck's window...and his neighbor sees me. I dash off, and they can't (by some miracle on my part, 'cause I'm a horrible runner) catch me. But they get a good look at me. You bet an officer is coming out to take my description. Or maybe I used a tire iron on his window, and had a brainfart and left that behind. Yep, an officer will go and secure the evidence. Or maybe Puckluck knows that his neighbor two doors down has a camera that points at the street, and that was the direction I was most likely to leave. He asks the neighbor, and sure enough...he does have a picture of a strange guy heading quickly away with what appears to be Puckluck's MP3 player. The cops will be out for that one, too.

The cops don't not care...but they don't need to come out for every little thing.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

I think the theory is that when a crime is committed and they are able to successfully investigate the crime, build a proper case, charge the individual as identified by the facts and then hand it off to the crown for successful prosecution and conviction. This is supposed to be a deterrent to future crimes from the convicted criminal and a deterrent to would be criminals.

All just theory though! Steinbeck says there are just bad people. You can't take the bad out of these people.

Certainly the police do their part in that chain of events - but can we also thank Harpers crime bill as well

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

What do the police do to prior to a crime being committed to prevent it from being committed? I am not being an ass, just ignorant...

Are you seriously questioning whether policing plays a role in crime rates going down?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

How long are car thiefs locked up? Again not looking to argue but with the catch and release justice system in Canada I'd be shocked if a car thief spent more than 24 hours in jail.

Has anyone ever had their car broken into and called the police? They don't care at all and don't even come out to investigate. More time and resources should be spent on catching thiefs that actually have victims rather than having police catch them using bait cars, but that's just my opinion.

This is just blatantly not true. I called because I saw a neighbours car being broken into, police came out, caught the guys, took statements, etc. On a totally separate occasion a number of people had vehicles ransacked on our block and the police came to our door (at 4am nonetheless!) because one of ours was hit. Again, they took statements, and implored us to list anything stolen because if we didn't then they couldn't pin the stolen property on those they caught.

I totally understand that the police have much more important things to deal with, but to suggest that they somehow don't care or won't act is just plain wrong.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Are you seriously questioning whether policing plays a role in crime rates going down?

It's a fair question. Are crime rates going down because of things the police are doing? Or are the rates of reported crimes down because more and more people are learning that reporting the crime does nothing?

I'm usually pretty "pro-police", however it is unfortunate that situations like Puckluck's are becoming common. A number of years ago my car was stolen. It was recovered and sent to impound; and when I asked the police if they were going to check for fingerprints, I was told they didn't have the resources to do that kind of investigation.

[puckluck2]

You must live in an upscale neighborhood.

Edit: to Slava. Saying it's untrue does not make it untrue.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by ken0042

It's a fair question. Are crime rates going down because of things the police are doing? Or are the rates of reported crimes down because more and more people are learning that reporting the crime does nothing?

I'm usually pretty "pro-police", however it is unfortunate that situations like Puckluck's are becoming common. A number of years ago my car was stolen. It was recovered and sent to impound; and when I asked the police if they were going to check for fingerprints, I was told they didn't have the resources to do that kind of investigation.

Also, about a month ago I posted in the gear grinder thread about a public masturbator and how I called the police.

A couple weeks later it was in the news that they were looking for a public masturbator around the same area and if anyone knows anything to call the police. So I did, and I was met with a "meh", didnt take my number down or anything or ask me further questions.

So I called crime stoppers and they handled it like true professionals.

[Ozy_Flame]

While I can't seem to locate any good fact sheets, I believe the City's Centre City plan that deployed additional officers in the downtown core, as well as deploying Peace Officers has helped reduce the crime rate. I'll try and track down statistics.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Are you seriously questioning whether policing plays a role in crime rates going down?

yes.

[calgarywinning]

I know several police officers and the volition is always management based. They may deploy extra patrols or resources to a specific area and then once there is a marked improvement or stat, they fold up and move on.

Kind of like the wire where it's all stats based management but the real problems are never addressed. We need McNulty on these bike thieves now.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

You must live in an upscale neighborhood.

Edit: to Slava. Saying it's untrue does not make it untrue.

Well you've provided purely anecdotal evidence and I'm doing the exact same.

I actually think crime decreases and increases along with the economic cycles. When jobs are easier to come by and things are good there is less crime. I'm generally not in favour of adding police officers either, so this isn't a case of me defending them for everything. The last thing I want is another 300 officers on the force to set-up speed traps to fund the monstrosity in the name of road safety!

[jammies]

Decreasing crime is also a demographic thing. Smaller numbers of young males in the population means less crime.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I'm usually pretty "pro-police", however it is unfortunate that situations like Puckluck's are becoming common.

Once again, I appreciate anecdotal stories and having a negative experience...though the large portion of Calgarian's (ie. 96%) are satisfied or very satisfied with CPS.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/10/02...e-survey-shows

In its 2012 annual citizen satisfaction survey, the Calgary Police Commission found residents’ confidence in police work ranks high, with 96% saying they are either very satisfied or satisfied with the service.

“The Calgary Police Commission is very pleased to see that citizen satisfaction with (the force) has increased for the fifth year in a row from a low of 89% of citizens who were satisfied or very satisfied with our police in 2008 to a high of 96% today,” chair Mike Shaikh said during the release of the report Tuesday.

On the topic of under-reporting...

Brookwell said the tendency for people to underreport crime is disheartening and yet a mind-set that seems to be seen across North America.


The survey shows about 65% of those who didn’t report a crime claim they “didn’t want to bother police,” while “22% felt police could not do anything.”


“There is an inherent trend to underreport,” he said.


“Many people don’t want to bother us with their petty little things — nothing is minor, because 10 to 15 minor things become a problem in the community.”

[Ace]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Is there any evidence that it does actually stop crime? Have bait cars made a difference in the amount of cars being stolen? Honest question as I don't think it would make a tonne of a difference.

This was the only time I have heard about bait cars working:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Te...663/story.html

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

Yep Vancouver has bait bikes set with GPS. CPS is way behind the times in stopping crime.

GPS strikes me as unnecessarily expensive.

We just need bikes with bear traps that activate when someone sits down.

Steel teeth clamping down on your genitals might cause you to look for alternative sources of cash.

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Also, about a month ago I posted in the gear grinder thread about a public masturbator and how I called the police.

A couple weeks later it was in the news that they were looking for a public masturbator around the same area and if anyone knows anything to call the police. So I did, and I was met with a "meh", didnt take my number down or anything or ask me further questions.

So I called crime stoppers and they handled it like true professionals.

I don't get it. You reported it once. Then you called wanted to report it again? That doesn't strike you as odd?

Not really sure what you expected. The fact there was a story on the news about proves your original report (and others probably) was being followed up.


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[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Canehdianman

GPS strikes me as unnecessarily expensive.

We just need bikes with bear traps that activate when someone sits down.

Steel teeth clamping down on your genitals might cause you to look for alternative sources of cash.

Some people would pay good money for that.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Bent Wookie

I don't get it. You reported it once. Then you called wanted to report it again? That doesn't strike you as odd?

Not really sure what you expected. The fact there was a story on the news about proves your original report (and others probably) was being followed up.


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Yeah, what's odd about that? They probably get thousands of calls a day and it had been some time after that the story came out so it's possible it get lost in the mix.

I was hoping they had gone out when I originally called and spoke to a suspect. If the police can't return phone calls it's not hard to believe they don't compare and connect every single call placed to them.

Plus the description they gave was vague so I though I could help in that regard. Maybe release a better description, what's the harm in that?

Originally Posted by puckluck2

Yeah, what's odd about that? They probably get thousands of calls a day and it had been some time after that the story came out so it's possible it get lost in the mix.

I was hoping they had gone out when I originally called and spoke to a suspect. If the police can't return phone calls it's not hard to believe they don't compare and connect every single call placed to them.

Plus the description they gave was vague so I though I could help in that regard. Maybe release a better description, what's the harm in that?

Thanks for the more detailed response.

So did you see this fella in the act then go home and report it immediately? What does , "meh" mean?

I'm sure the police would love to speak with a suspect every time they get a call from the public. Fact is, sometimes finding a suspect isn't as easy as it sounds. Don't believe me? I'll give you a description of someone and the last known location and ask you to drive 3-?? Minutes and locate them.

I'm sure they have your original report thus the news report. I'm sure they have multiple reports, thus the news report. I'm sure they took a look at the descriptions and took similarities to create the news report.

Or they completely disregarded everything you reported... Your expectations are clearly different then that of the cops.


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