4 ms·

Law enforcement does not seem interested in looking for victims, even if it's easy. It seems that they are optimized for responding to complaints. Anything more

Law enforcement does not seem interested in looking for victims, even if it's easy. It seems that they are optimized for responding to complaints. Anything more proactive gets reserved for perpetrators.

loa_in_ 7y ago
That's because every time the police force would call a potential victim to warn them, and it would turn out to be a false positive eventually some business owner would think: "we lost some money today, must have been because of that false warning, police is do incompetent". And then proceed to take the force to the court for "damages".
- nradov 7y ago
  It would be impossible to establish damages for that in civil court.
- dopamean 7y ago
  I don't believe for a second that the primary reason police departments don't look for potential victims is because they're worried about getting sued. The way they handle police brutality cases is enough proof that that's not true.
gav 7y ago
They don't really seem to care much for complaints a lot of the time either. Somebody attempted to cash some fraudulent checks for a company I worked for, luckily this was caught by our bank before we lost any money. The NYPD had no interest in doing any more than taking a report and were extremely happy when the perpetrator attempted to cash a third check, taking the total above $100k and into FBI justification. The FBI took the report and nothing happened even though our bank was able to provide details which should have led to an arrest.
- toomanybeersies 7y ago
  I'm not overly familiar with American police, but at least in Australia and New Zealand, the police are poorly equipped and resourced for dealing with financial crimes and other "information" crimes, they're heavily biased towards solving violent and property crimes. They deal primarily with physical evidence.
  - P_I_Staker 7y ago
    This is certainly an issue in the USA, I can't speak to how it compares. Someone I knew was trying to raise an issue about a caretaker skimming money. She was taking out the maximum amount of money every day and spending excessively on a credit card. They basically told him to get lost, and it was a civil matter It's also the case with more serious financial crimes, eg. Ponzi Schemes. The crazy thing is some of these things are completely illegal operations, yet publicized, with brick and mortar locations. This can go on for years. Sometimes there are complaints. Sometimes it's one determined victim or would-be victim that blows the lid on the whole thing. Even then it can take time; months to years. It's an area where people have been able to get away with it, often for a good chunk of their adult lives.

loa_in_ 7y ago

That's because every time the police force would call a potential victim to warn them, and it would turn out to be a false positive eventually some business owner would think: "we lost some money today, must have been because of that false warning, police is do incompetent". And then proceed to take the force to the court for "damages".

nradov 7y ago
It would be impossible to establish damages for that in civil court.
dopamean 7y ago
I don't believe for a second that the primary reason police departments don't look for potential victims is because they're worried about getting sued. The way they handle police brutality cases is enough proof that that's not true.

gav 7y ago

They don't really seem to care much for complaints a lot of the time either. Somebody attempted to cash some fraudulent checks for a company I worked for, luckily this was caught by our bank before we lost any money. The NYPD had no interest in doing any more than taking a report and were extremely happy when the perpetrator attempted to cash a third check, taking the total above $100k and into FBI justification. The FBI took the report and nothing happened even though our bank was able to provide details which should have led to an arrest.

toomanybeersies 7y ago
I'm not overly familiar with American police, but at least in Australia and New Zealand, the police are poorly equipped and resourced for dealing with financial crimes and other "information" crimes, they're heavily biased towards solving violent and property crimes. They deal primarily with physical evidence.
- P_I_Staker 7y ago
  This is certainly an issue in the USA, I can't speak to how it compares. Someone I knew was trying to raise an issue about a caretaker skimming money. She was taking out the maximum amount of money every day and spending excessively on a credit card. They basically told him to get lost, and it was a civil matter It's also the case with more serious financial crimes, eg. Ponzi Schemes. The crazy thing is some of these things are completely illegal operations, yet publicized, with brick and mortar locations. This can go on for years. Sometimes there are complaints. Sometimes it's one determined victim or would-be victim that blows the lid on the whole thing. Even then it can take time; months to years. It's an area where people have been able to get away with it, often for a good chunk of their adult lives.