You are lucky we get EVERY kind of call from barking dogs to kids walking across the lawn..
Defending the weak
- Thread starter zDom
- Start date
You are lucky we get EVERY kind of call from barking dogs to kids walking across the lawn..
If you see a situation where you know for sure that unless you act quickly life, limb or property will be at serious risk, that's a good indicator..Some punk kid sitting in his car on your street who tells you to "honk off" when you ask him to lower his music...Get a plate and advise the PD...ALWAYS GET A PLATE
And a description of the car and (if possible) the driver.
Nothing's more frustrating than to have an actual assault or a hit and run or some other "real" complaint fall apart because the tag didn't match the car... or the return on the tag took so long that I sat in the intersection and watched the car go by without knowing it. We can often guess at common errors on tags (in VA, the letters M, N, and W are easily confused, for example) and find the right tag if it's close enough AND we know what type of car we're looking for. Even color and body style (sedan, pick-up, convertible, etc) may be enough.
And when you're not talking about a car... Address and physical descriptions are important. "I'm on Main near Cross" is a lot better than "somewhere on Main", and "101 Main, near Cross" is better still. Same thing with physical descriptions... "A kid" doesn't tell us much; "a white kid wearing a black jacket with a mohawk walking towards 101 Main" makes the person in question VERY identifiable!
100% truth ...I usually stress getting a plate above all as 90% of the people cannot tell one make and model from another, I even a have a diffficult time..As much information as you can gather will be helpful..Private citizens are our additional set of eyes and ear..There input has helped collar many a bad guy..
More than most private individuals realize, law enforcement relies on them to alert us to what's going on. I work in a small jurisdiction (less than 10 square miles), and we have a lot of cops on the street for our size. Even with that -- the reality is that there are plenty of streets that don't see a cop unless there's a call for service. I'd love to say that I know the jurisdiction well enough to know who fits and who doesn't -- but it wouldn't be true. BUT -- everyone has an idea about who their neighbors are. They may not know their names or talk to them, but most people at least recognize their nearby neighbors well enough to know that the guy going into that house doesn't live there... Most people know what's going on in their area well enough to realize that there shouldn't be a group of people hanging out over there... And most people have enough "defensive awareness" (to coin a phrase) to get that gut feeling when things aren't right. As in the incident I described a few posts back with the young mom... She knew this wasn't right, but was afraid to act on that suspicion.
If you notice something doesn't fit in your neighborhood or go into a business and get that weird vibe... Call the cops. What's the worst that'll happen? Somebody won't get a ticket because the cops are busy checking that business out? Well, darn! LOL
That about says it all..Good post...
