4 ms·

This is absolutely not the case in Oakland and San Francisco (among other places), where the police will require you to go to a station to file the report in pe

This is absolutely not the case in Oakland and San Francisco (among other places), where the police will require you to go to a station to file the report in person and then will stall or outright refuse to do it.

solardev 3y ago
Really? They don't let you file it online? https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/report-a-crime-online https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/report-a-crime-online https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/get-service/police-reports https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/get-service/police-report... There's apparently even a SaaS for them called Coplogic.
- el_benhameen 3y ago
  There’s a difference between having the site and actually doing anything with the information, including providing a copy of the report to the person trying to file it. I have friends, family members, and neighbors who have all had this experience with OPD. The news, Nextdoor, and Reddit around here are also full of stories of people who get nowhere with OPD and SFPD. Anecdotal, sure, but it’s been an almost universal sentiment amongst everyone I’ve talked to.
  - solardev 3y ago
    Oh yeah, I don't expect anything to come from police reports. It's the same here in Oregon. They're useful for insurance claims but I don't expect the police to spend even a minute investigating them afterward.
  - deaddodo 3y ago
    The police usually can't do much for stolen items. Unless you can give them unequivocal proof of an injustice, personal theft is a case of he said/she said. Just think of the implications if they did act on every request. You meet up and hand off a PS5 and take cash for it, you decide you miss your PS5 so you claim it's stolen. Should the police just take you at your word? If you provided them an audio (ideally with visuals) recording of the interaction and the identity of the thief, of course they can help. Otherwise, it's up to the courts to figure out in most cases. As to the point of filing, as the sibling response pointed out, it's more for an official record to be on the books for insurance to act on. They'll then use it in their investigations/civil proceedings.
    - el_benhameen 3y ago
      All of that is true. But what I’m saying is that the police routinely will do their best to avoid even taking a report or providing documentation, at least in the experiences I’ve had described to me. There’s essentially no expectation that anything will be done to investigate the crime.
      - deaddodo 3y ago
        > There’s essentially no expectation that anything will be done to investigate the crime. Sure, but that's like saying there's no preparation for an earthquake being done on houses in London. If you can show an earthquake is likely to happen, sure people will prepare. Otherwise, why bother? Let the Court/insurance sort it out.

solardev 3y ago

Really? They don't let you file it online? https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/report-a-crime-online https://www.oaklandca.gov/services/report-a-crime-online https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/get-service/police-reports https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/get-service/police-report... There's apparently even a SaaS for them called Coplogic.

el_benhameen 3y ago
There’s a difference between having the site and actually doing anything with the information, including providing a copy of the report to the person trying to file it. I have friends, family members, and neighbors who have all had this experience with OPD. The news, Nextdoor, and Reddit around here are also full of stories of people who get nowhere with OPD and SFPD. Anecdotal, sure, but it’s been an almost universal sentiment amongst everyone I’ve talked to.
- solardev 3y ago
  Oh yeah, I don't expect anything to come from police reports. It's the same here in Oregon. They're useful for insurance claims but I don't expect the police to spend even a minute investigating them afterward.
- deaddodo 3y ago
  The police usually can't do much for stolen items. Unless you can give them unequivocal proof of an injustice, personal theft is a case of he said/she said. Just think of the implications if they did act on every request. You meet up and hand off a PS5 and take cash for it, you decide you miss your PS5 so you claim it's stolen. Should the police just take you at your word? If you provided them an audio (ideally with visuals) recording of the interaction and the identity of the thief, of course they can help. Otherwise, it's up to the courts to figure out in most cases. As to the point of filing, as the sibling response pointed out, it's more for an official record to be on the books for insurance to act on. They'll then use it in their investigations/civil proceedings.
  - el_benhameen 3y ago
    All of that is true. But what I’m saying is that the police routinely will do their best to avoid even taking a report or providing documentation, at least in the experiences I’ve had described to me. There’s essentially no expectation that anything will be done to investigate the crime.
    - deaddodo 3y ago
      > There’s essentially no expectation that anything will be done to investigate the crime. Sure, but that's like saying there's no preparation for an earthquake being done on houses in London. If you can show an earthquake is likely to happen, sure people will prepare. Otherwise, why bother? Let the Court/insurance sort it out.