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Have you ever been a victim of property theft? The police caring is highly irregular. Feels like justice for the rich.

knzhou 7y ago
I've had stuff stolen from me plenty of times, and the police never cared because there was nothing they could do about it. My stuff was here, now it isn't, what are they supposed to do? Obviously it's different if the owner of a stolen thing literally sees it out on the street, which is what happened in this case.
- riversflow 7y ago
  uh, idk, try and look for it on Craigslist, eBay, and the local flee market? If they cared about justice this is something that they would do. I’ve seen cops laugh at property crime, even with specifics on who stole it and where they are. They can never be bothered unless you are powerful.
  - knzhou 7y ago
    > uh, idk, try and look for it on Craigslist, eBay, and the local flee market? How much free time do you think these guys have? They have a full time job, you know. My dad likes to tell this story: when he was my age, his bike would get stolen all the time, and it would always end up at the same spot in the local flea market. He'd come up and say "that's my bike!", they'd say "no it isn't", and he'd just have to buy it back. Now suppose the police actually could have been damned to show up. Obviously, the same thing would happen. He'd say "that's my bike!", they'd say "no it isn't", they would just stare at each other for a while and the policeman would have wasted his time. For this reason property crime has never been worth it for police to pursue unless the object is very valuable, or unique, or its ownership is easily identifiable. Yes, that correlates with being rich and powerful, but that's not the actual reason.
    - riversflow 7y ago
      How much is justice worth to you? I think it would be worth it for the police to have squads of people dedicated to this when we spend so much on things like EOD techs, armored cars and SWAT teams in America. Phone thievery should be a risky business to associate with. Also, the police absolutely have no business caring if something is valuable, their work all pays the same. What you are suggesting is not justice at all, and justice is at the very core of American values. In your dad’s story, suppose he had a receipt with a serial number, which is fairly common these days. The police absolutely should have done something. The fact that you see activation locked phones on eBay is honestly disgusting, stealing a smartphone should be treated as a special case of grand theft like stolen cars! A $300 asset loss is a big hit for a lot of people, and the impact it has on the victim’s life beyond the monetary loss is substantial and usually lasting(loss of photos, contacts, communication, banking) Try getting your phone stolen when you just started a vacation or lost a job(or both at the same time like me).
    - fzeroracer 7y ago
      You're quite literally advocating for selective law enforcement based on the income of the individual in question. If the victim is too poor or the thief is too rich, then the law doesn't get enforced. In this scenario then, only the corporations can enforce the law or prompt the police to act. Do you not see why that might be a problem?
      - knzhou 7y ago
        I'm not advocating for anything, I am describing what already happens and why it is pragmatic. Look, in a perfect world, maybe there would be a police officer ready to spend all day scouring the flea markets for my stolen bike, the second I ask, but we don't live in that world. There are a finite number of police officers and, unless the stolen object is very valuable or the investigation will be quick, they have better things to do. For example, they have reduced the murder rate in East Palo Alto (right next to Facebook campus) by over 97%. That is far more important than anything discussed in this thread.
- SilasX 7y ago
  I was defrauded by wire transfer and could point to the exact local address the money went to. Still nothing.
- FireBeyond 7y ago
  I've had phones stolen and found them on eBay. I have had the buyer of said phone give me the identity info of the seller (when they refused a refund). I've gone to the local, quiet, PD with this information, along with the seller's eBay shop which had over 100 laptops and phones, almost all listed as "activation locked", "unknown PIN", "no charger/no case/no accessories". "Well, he probably didn't know that they were stolen". "Other than the message on the screen of mine at least that says "Stolen phone, please call, reward offered...?" They couldn't care less.
  - t34543 7y ago
    Law enforcement is highly subjective and irregular. This is the true danger of things like facial recognition, ANPR, etc.

I've had stuff stolen from me plenty of times, and the police never cared because there was nothing they could do about it. My stuff was here, now it isn't, what are they supposed to do? Obviously it's different if the owner of a stolen thing literally sees it out on the street, which is what happened in this case.

riversflow 7y ago
uh, idk, try and look for it on Craigslist, eBay, and the local flee market? If they cared about justice this is something that they would do. I’ve seen cops laugh at property crime, even with specifics on who stole it and where they are. They can never be bothered unless you are powerful.
- knzhou 7y ago
  > uh, idk, try and look for it on Craigslist, eBay, and the local flee market? How much free time do you think these guys have? They have a full time job, you know. My dad likes to tell this story: when he was my age, his bike would get stolen all the time, and it would always end up at the same spot in the local flea market. He'd come up and say "that's my bike!", they'd say "no it isn't", and he'd just have to buy it back. Now suppose the police actually could have been damned to show up. Obviously, the same thing would happen. He'd say "that's my bike!", they'd say "no it isn't", they would just stare at each other for a while and the policeman would have wasted his time. For this reason property crime has never been worth it for police to pursue unless the object is very valuable, or unique, or its ownership is easily identifiable. Yes, that correlates with being rich and powerful, but that's not the actual reason.
  - riversflow 7y ago
    How much is justice worth to you? I think it would be worth it for the police to have squads of people dedicated to this when we spend so much on things like EOD techs, armored cars and SWAT teams in America. Phone thievery should be a risky business to associate with. Also, the police absolutely have no business caring if something is valuable, their work all pays the same. What you are suggesting is not justice at all, and justice is at the very core of American values. In your dad’s story, suppose he had a receipt with a serial number, which is fairly common these days. The police absolutely should have done something. The fact that you see activation locked phones on eBay is honestly disgusting, stealing a smartphone should be treated as a special case of grand theft like stolen cars! A $300 asset loss is a big hit for a lot of people, and the impact it has on the victim’s life beyond the monetary loss is substantial and usually lasting(loss of photos, contacts, communication, banking) Try getting your phone stolen when you just started a vacation or lost a job(or both at the same time like me).
  - fzeroracer 7y ago
    You're quite literally advocating for selective law enforcement based on the income of the individual in question. If the victim is too poor or the thief is too rich, then the law doesn't get enforced. In this scenario then, only the corporations can enforce the law or prompt the police to act. Do you not see why that might be a problem?
    - knzhou 7y ago
      I'm not advocating for anything, I am describing what already happens and why it is pragmatic. Look, in a perfect world, maybe there would be a police officer ready to spend all day scouring the flea markets for my stolen bike, the second I ask, but we don't live in that world. There are a finite number of police officers and, unless the stolen object is very valuable or the investigation will be quick, they have better things to do. For example, they have reduced the murder rate in East Palo Alto (right next to Facebook campus) by over 97%. That is far more important than anything discussed in this thread.
SilasX 7y ago
I was defrauded by wire transfer and could point to the exact local address the money went to. Still nothing.
FireBeyond 7y ago
I've had phones stolen and found them on eBay. I have had the buyer of said phone give me the identity info of the seller (when they refused a refund). I've gone to the local, quiet, PD with this information, along with the seller's eBay shop which had over 100 laptops and phones, almost all listed as "activation locked", "unknown PIN", "no charger/no case/no accessories". "Well, he probably didn't know that they were stolen". "Other than the message on the screen of mine at least that says "Stolen phone, please call, reward offered...?" They couldn't care less.
- t34543 7y ago
  Law enforcement is highly subjective and irregular. This is the true danger of things like facial recognition, ANPR, etc.