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Call your insurance company, if you're insured, then get on with your life. The cops don't have a time machine and they don't give a shit about you getting mug

• elliottcarlson 13y ago
  Not all cops let things slide. Some see it as a job, some get a power trip, and others take pride in their work. I've posted this before on HN, but will quickly cover it again; A few years ago, my wife was at school and (completely her own fault) left her purse in the class during lunch (this is a medical career school and the class had about 8 students). That night we received a call from Chase asking about a string of purchase attempts using one of her cards - which she then realized was missing. Based on the list of places the card was used, we went to the stores the following day explaining what happened. Once we had done the leg work, confirmed that they would have video surveillance during the time the card was used, we called the police. The officers that showed up went to great lengths to file the report, work with GameStop, Target and Stop&Shop security personnel to not only get us to identify the person, but get video evidence of the crimes at each location. In the end, the classmate who stole the card was prosecuted and served jail time in two separate counties as well as payment of damages (small, but still) for the attempted use of the card which got her nothing in the end. Coincidently, the detective on the case also saw that the girls mom had a warrant out for her arrest so they picked her up as well. The experience was very positive from our side of things - and perhaps it's not the common experience people hear about, but these officers were very happy to help. As a side note, the county that these officers were in was not a small, nor "safe" county and it wasn't a matter of them not having anything else to do at the time. All that being said, the original advice of not talking, and knowing your rights should definitely be adhered to if you are on the other side of things. The way everything was used to aide us, can also be used against you. Not all police will treat you the same.
  • bougiefever 13y ago
    This is a good example of how people should use police services. They were and prepared, and they did as much of the legwork as they could. The advice to stay away from the police and to not talk to them when they are soliciting you is also good advice, but maybe not when taken to the extreme. Imagine if the shop owners refused to cooperate? It would have been much harder to solve this crime. There are some guidelines that I think can help. If you get stopped for a traffic stop and the cop says he wants to take a quick look through your car, you should (respectfully) decline. That can lead to nothing good for you. If you think you might be suspected of a crime (right or wrong), or you don't know why the police want to talk to you, do not go and meet with them. If you get arrested, get a lawyer and let him/her deal with talking to the police. You can talk to the judge if it comes to that. If they explain that they are investigating a crime and you have some information or evidence they need, go ahead and help them if you are not a target. Just remember, the police are not your friend. They do not care about your life. They will lie to you and manipulate you if it suits their purpose. However, they do in fact serve an important function, that you may need them someday. Use them for their intended purpose. The system is certainly imperfect, but does work much of the time. I believe the trend towards police wearing body cameras during every interaction can only lead to good things for everyone.
  • Amadou 13y ago
    The experience was very positive from our side of things Your experience is almost certainly the common experience for people in your socio-economic group. The common worst case being they do let it slide and you are just left with wasted effort on your part. The problem is that you have no way of knowing ahead of time if you are going to get an outlier -- a cop who decides there is something hinky about you and focuses on that rather than whatever reason you solicited their help for. It is absolutely a rare event (somewhat less rare for other groups, but still rare). The problem is that the consequences of having one of those rare events happen to you can be life-ruining. It is a very real case of one bad apple spoiling the bunch. In your example, you had nothing to gain from the culprit's arrest and prosecution. The chance of you ending up on the wrong side of the law was quite small, but not zero. Perhaps the purse was recovered and they found a joint in it - even if the drugs didn't belong to your wife, you risk becoming the target of an investigation. Given that balance of low-chance, high-consequence risk with essentially zero upside it would make sense for most people in that situation to avoid it completely.