Description:

What is a Hero? This collection of short stories indirectly asks the question – what is a hero? Each of the 13 authors wrote about a specific person whom the author identified as an American Hero. Each author had a different take – some heroes were thrust into danger; others were comedic, yet heroic; still others were role models because of their heroic nature. While all different, there is a common thread: heroism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: American Heroes Press (March 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604815787
• ISBN-13: 978-1604815788

ASK A COP: http://www.coptalk.info/ask-a-cop-ask-us-a-question/

Please be patient with me as you read the following, and keep in mind that my words come from the heart. If anyone gets offended I should probably apologize but I’m not going to. When I started this project I vowed to always speak boldly off the record, and this is something that needs to be said. Or rather asked…

Where have all the parents gone?

My words come from 24 years of being a parent to your kids when you’re not around.
24 years of frustration in seeing kids desperately seeking love and guidance. And not finding it at home.

I don’t have any children. Sometimes I ask God why that happened. Other times I’m almost thankful that it didn’t happen.

My brother Mark on the other hand, is the proud father of two beautiful daughters. One just entered one of the most challenging stages in her life. High School.

I remember back when I went to high school. What was different then as compared to now, is attitude. School was fun back then. Most the time I actually looked forward to going. You’re not really thinking a whole lot about the future then, but I was encouraged to do well by parents and teachers who didn’t expect me to “Be the Best”, but to always try and “Do my Best”.

The difference now is attitude!

I frequently get dispatched to group fight after group fight when the local high school lets out.
Fights that started over one kid looking at another kid the wrong way.
Fights that involve the use of guns and knives.
Fights that involve one kid wearing red and one kid wearing blue.
I arrive at a fight call and the attitude I get from these kids is appalling.
They spit on the ground at my feet (the universal sign of disrespect towards cops),
They walk or run away from me while yelling obscenities,
And they display the most defiant demeanor I’ve ever seen.
Where’s all this anger and hostility coming from? I grew up in a rough city, but my Mom and Dad always taught me to treat the Police with respect. I knew that if I didn’t do anything wrong, I never had a reason to fear the cops. After all, the cops were there to keep us safe. Why would I show disrespect to someone who was there to keep me safe?
Years ago, my Mom would always make cookies at Christmas time for the local police and fire department. (She still does it to this day) My parents would always take Mark and I to go with them to drop them off, and she always MADE us take them in.
When we were really little, it was cool. The cops were really impressive in their uniforms and the firefighters let us sit inside the firetrucks. In junior high school I was thinking that I was pretty cool. Too cool to be doing this Santa thing at the police department but, it made Mom happy after going to all that trouble.

I remember feeling a little self conscious, but wow, all these cops who were inside the station always came out to personally thank us and it seemed like they really appreciated the thought. They didn’t make me feel like a dumb little kid. They made me feel like it really mattered to them that we appreciated their efforts. They asked us where we lived and they always made a point to drive by and wave on a regular basis.

Hey, don’t get the wrong idea here. I wasn’t some little cop groupie. I had no plans to even be a cop until I was 27 years old. It had everything to do with respect. My parents taught me to respect those who took an oath in life to protect us.

I’ve had my turns screwing up in life. I remember going to the senior ball and scoring a couple bottles of champagne that I had kept on ice in the back of my car. After the dance was over my girlfriend and I drove out to a secluded area overlooking a lake and met a few other friends.
I remember a bright flashlight being directed in my eyes and my first thought was
“I’m in deep —- now”. Two officers from the local park police had seen vehicles parked in an area closed to the public, and they had walked in on foot to sneak up on us.

I was respectful and honest while answering their questions. They found my champagne and made sure that I hadn’t been drinking. (yet) They called my parents, and my girlfriends parents, to see if they knew where we were at. Of course they didn’t. But I could tell by the cops conversation what my Dad had asked. “No Mr. Lambert, he hasn’t caused any problems, he’s been very cooperative.
The Cop looked at me, shook his head and smiled. “Jim, your Dad says you have 30 minutes to drop Sharon off and get home or it’s going to be the worst night of your life.”

“And by the way, when you drop off Sharon, when you see her Dad it probably will be the worst night of your life!”

The cop made me pour out the champagne and said the infamous “you’re free to go”.
I asked him, “that’s it, I’m free to go?” The smile faded a bit as the cop told me that if he ever caught me in a similar circumstance in the future the outcome would be entirely different and not to my liking.

I could have been cited for a minor in possession of alcohol.
I could have been cited or arrested for trespass.
I could have had my license suspended.
I could have had my car towed.

But the officer had appreciated my honesty and respect. I didn’t try to lie my way out of it. I didn’t spit on the ground at the cop’s feet. I didn’t use profanity towards him. I didn’t have attitude. I just went with the flow and figured I’d take the rap for what I had done. It was wrong. And it was no one’s fault but my own.

But the course of following what my Mom and Dad had always taught me, being respect to others and taking responsibility for my own actions, led to me getting one of the biggest breaks I can remember from my teenage years.

That cop had done his job.

He made sure that I hadn’t been drinking and that I wasn’t a danger to other motorist on the roadways or to ourselves.

He had let our parents know what we had been up to so that they could handle it appropriately.
And he had acted in a professional manner and had treated me with respect.
To this day I remember that night when I stop kids in similar situations.
I can make a good kid hate me, or I can make a bad kid hate me.

I’ll stick with making bad kids hate me. They don’t get any breaks. Spit at my feet, and I’ll spit back by making that arrest for trespass and towing your car. Call me every name in the book and I’ll find just as many violations in the vehicle code to set your wallet way back! Act like a disrespectful punk trying to be a big shot in front of your friends and I’ll make you look like the biggest class clown in history!

On the other hand, show a little class, take some responsibility for your actions, accept the phone call to Mom and Dad, and realize that the cop is there to ensure your safety, not wreck your night. You might get the break I got way back then.

However, a main ingredient in my situation, was caring parents who ensured that they would handle the matter at home. Caring parents, not over protective parents.
I’m still amazed by the parents who don’t care where their kids are at or what they’ve done wrong. Many times they blame us and threaten us with law suits.

No concern.

No surprise.

No shock that a cop is calling at 3 in the morning wondering if you know where your 16 year old daughter is at. You didn’t know she was with a 19-year old with a bottle of vodka and a box of condoms?

No questions. Except for the one that makes me want to haul your rear to jail!
“Is she under arrest”
“Where is she?”
“And what right do you have to search their car? Do you have a warrant? I want your badge number, my lawyer is going to hear about this!”
Or how about…

Me: Mrs. Smith, I need you to come out to where we’re at so you can pick your son up. He’s been drinking beer and I have to release him to you.

Mrs. Smith: Can’t you just let him drive home? I have to get up for work tomorrow. They were just out having fun. Just tell him to lock the car and to walk home. It’s not like he just killed somebody, he just had a little to drink.

Me: Mrs. Smith, it’s 3 am and your kid is 10 miles away from your home. I need you to come and get him. I’m not going to let an intoxicated juvenile walk home at 3am. I can’t understand your lack of concern here.

Mrs. Smith: Now you’re calling me a bad parent? Why can’t you just bring him home? That’s your job isn’t it? I have to get up early for work tomorrow. Why are you making such a big thing out of this officer? Weren’t you young once?

“Yes I was young once but I had responsible parents looking out for me you lazy pathetic irresponsible moron who shouldn’t be a parent!”

I have to argue with you to come get your kid that just blew a .13 on my alcohol tester?
A 16-year old kid that should be home in bed for school tomorrow!
A 16 year old kid who hears me arguing with you on my cell phone and laughs in my face because he knows you aren’t going to do anything about this.

You won’t do anything about it until I knock on your door one morning to notify you that your son Billy was killed in an automobile accident involving alcohol. And even then, you’ll blame me, or someone else.

Your kids need your support and love. NOW, not LATER.

One of the best sayings I’ve heard is:
“ The teenage years are too late to start parenting!”
Start early. Start young. Start at that “take the cookies to the police department age!”
Look at these pictures.

What’s a 6-year old kid doing walking home from school along a busy street by himself? Crossing busy railroad tracks without supervision. Whatever happened to YOU being there after school to be with your kid. To see how his or her day went. To let them know you care. Do you know how easy a target this child is to the criminal predator? No you don’t or he wouldn’t be out here all alone!

Two more youngsters walking home from school along busy streets. These kids are too young to be out here alone. When you get the news that your 5-year old was hit by a bus after running out in front of it, will you blame the 8-year old brother who was supposed to watch him? Hello!!!! You’re the parents here. Where the hell are you?

These young children turn out to be the ones walking down the street with “Attitude”.
Looking for trouble wherever they can find it. Their family becomes their friends because they have no family at home. No love. No support. No Guidence.

Where have all the parents gone?

I live on a big boat on a beautiful river. Behind my big boat, I have a smaller jet
boat that I use for cruising around the delta when I feel like going 45mph instead of 12mph. The other day I was taking my dog “Gilligan” out to his favorite beach in the jet boat.
We passed 3 little kids no more than 8 or 9 who were swimming out to the channel buoy.
A channel buoy located in the middle of the boating channel! I looked at Gilligan and wondered why my “Mutt from the dog pound was wearing a life vest, and why these children weren’t wearing any!”

I was the one looking out for Gilligan in case anything happened to him. No One was watching these kids in case something happened to them. What’s up with that?

A river with a strong current.
A river with no visibility. We’re not talking the crystal clear waters of Hawaii here….
A river with no lifeguards.

What happens when one of the kids gets fatigued swimming against the current and disappears under the water?

What happens when a drunk boater blast through the 5 mile per hour marker and runs over these kids with a propeller spinning at 4500 rpms?

Where have all the parents gone?

Why does this bother me? Two weeks ago a family had a get together along this very same river. A 7-year old drowned while swimming along the shore line. He didn’t know how to swim. He lost his footing and slipped into water that was over his head.

In an instant he was gone.

In less than a minute, a family picnic turned into a panic when they noticed he was gone.
In less than a minute, that boy breathed his last breath in dark murky water.
Where have all the parents gone?

• You have a responsibility to be there for your kids!
• You have a responsibility to make sure that they are safe from the dangers of the world!
• You have a responsibility to help prevent the cops from having to do your job!
• You have a responsibility, in making your kids know that they have to be responsible themselves. To take responsibilities for their own actions. To know the difference between right and wrong.

• You have a responsibility to give your kids the love they need. Not $500.00 to keep themselves amused while you and your wife leave and go away on business or vacation through the weekend.
You wonder why your house got thrashed after your kids had a beer party at the house and a fight broke out. Stains on the carpet, broken furniture, cigarette burn holes on the couch, missing personal items, and a kid in the hospital with a broken face.

I call you on the phone from your house and you have the nerve to ask me what I’m doing in your house without a search warrant ?

“Gee, I’m sorry sir, but 12 of your neighbors called in about the 100 kids over here unsupervised, who were smashing beer bottles in the street. Squealing tires in their cars, yelling profanity, smoking marijuana, loud music and then we got called here after a 15 year old kid was beaten unconscious with a baseball bat in your backyard.”

But hey, you’re right on one point. I don’t have a search warrant to be in your home right now. But I’m kind of thinking that “If you were home being a parent, then I wouldn’t have to be here!”
Where have all the parents gone.

I don’t care what you say to this. Behind every bad kid, there’s a lack of parental supervision.
I’ve worked in affluent areas in my county where love is replaced by money and expensive gifts and cars. These kids have no respect for anyone and anything, and if they do something wrong, mommy and daddy’s lawyer will get them out of it. No responsibility. No parental support.
Where have all the parents gone?

I’ve worked in violent crime ridden areas in my county where mom and dad are gone all day just trying to make enough money to keep the utilities on. Sometimes working 2 jobs.

Area’s where the kids have guns in their hands instead of cans of beer. I’m talking 12-year old kids here. I got into a vehicle pursuit one night of a stolen car. I radioed to dispatch and my back up units that the car was occupied by 2 subjects who were crouched down in the front seat. The pursuit lasted 3 blocks before the car lost control on a turn and spun out.

I jumped out of my car with my K-9 partner and prepared to unleash a 130lb Rottweiler on the two subjects who refused to sit up in the car. They couldn’t sit up. There were already sitting up as high as they could. The driver was 12. The passenger was his 9-year old cousin. They could barely see over the dashboard.

Where’s your Dad? “I ain’t got no Dad”.
Where’s you Mom? “She’s with her boyfriend”.
Who’s her boyfriend? “I dunno”.
Where’s her boyfriend live? “I dunno”.
Where are you supposed to be at right now? “At home.”
You’re supposed to be home all by yourself? “I always stay at home by myself.”
Where did you get the gun? “I don’t have to tell you shit Cop, I know my rights.”
That’s coming from the mouth of a 12 year old.
No respect for anyone or anything!
I ask you again, “Where have all the parents gone?”
To all the good responsible parents in the world who provide love and support to their kids, and who teach them “right from wrong, To the kids who grow up in the world showing respect to others whether or not they learned it at home, To the parents who make their kids feel like their KIDS and FAMILY instead of roommates or burdens, To the parents who MAKE their kids take responsibility when they do wrong, we salute you with all our hearts.

We rarely have contact with you because you do a great job at home. Your efforts do not go unnoticed and we are truly thankful for you.

To all the violent “kids” who are incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities across the United States, who would just as soon put a bullet in your head at an ATM machine than swing a baseball bat at a little league game, I have a question to ask you…

Where have all your parents gone?

The criminal justice system isn’t working. The kids get younger and younger. The violence gets worse and worse. The hatred gets stronger and stronger.
Why did my Dad put the fear of God in me for having two bottles of champagne in my car on prom night, and in this day and age the parents want to sue me for illegal search and seizure?

Parental Liability.
Parental Responsibility.
Parental Love.
Parental Support.

How can you punish a kid for doing wrong, if he hasn’t been taught right from wrong at home? Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to start holding 2 other people accountable!
My favorite saying…Every action has a reaction.

If you’re a good parent, you’ll have great kids and reap the benefits.
If you’re a bad parent, you’ll more than likely end up with 15 years of hell on your hands.
If you can’t swim, don’t jump in the river. If a career means more than properly raising a family, don’t have kids. If you do both, one has to be way more important than the other.

If you haven’t figured out which one that is yet, then maybe you’re the one that can answer the question for me…

“Where have all the parents gone?”

In the pigeon drop scam, swindlers work in pairs or teams. One befriends an unsuspecting consumer, the "pigeon”, (usually an elderly person) while the other approaches them with money or valuables he claims to have just found. After some rehearsed conversation, the con artists agree to split the money three ways with you and arrange to meet at a lawyer’s office or somewhere else of their choosing. But can they trust you, they ask. To get your share, you’ll need to put up some "good faith" money, which they will return to you after the goods are divided. To prove yourself trustworthy, you turn over a large sum of money to them and later go to meet them at the designated spot. Soon after arriving, you realize the pair is long gone — and so is your money.

Unbelievably, a lot of people still fall for this scam frequently. The list goes on and on. People’s greed often makes them let their guard down or not follow their “gut” instincts. I just finished an investigation that EVERYONE needs to know about. It’s a scam that is claiming victims every day across the country. Here’s how it works:

“Buyers” are searching Craigslists ads all over the United States and responding to the ads telling people that they want their item (laptops, cameras, jewelry etc). The “buyer” tells the person that they will pay via PayPal, the online money transfer and banking site owned by eBay. The “buyer” tells the person that they will add an additional $80 or $100 to ship the item overnight.

The “buyer” often states that they are out of the country and request the item be shipped to a U.S. address. The “buyer” then sends the person a very realistic looking but fake PayPal notice stating that the buyer is a confirmed buyer with a verified address. The fake PayPal notice states that the money has been deducted from the buyers account and is being “held” until shipping confirmation is verified at which time the money will be credited to the persons account.

The scam I investigated was using an address in the city where I work. Unsuspecting victims shipped laptops, cameras, jewelry and all kinds of items to the requested address where a middleman resold the items and sent the “buyer” the proceeds after keeping a cut for himself. The money is usually sent out of the country, in my case, Nigeria. The sellers of the property never receive payment because the e-mail notice was a fake notice from PayPal.

I recovered 4 laptops, several expensive cameras and diamond rings at the residence. There were several empty boxes where the items had already been sold. All of the victims stated that the PayPal e-mail they received stating that the money would be deposited in their accounts after the item was shipped looked very official and real. I posed as the middleman and began corresponding with the “buyer” online who was telling me what items were being sent overnight; there was expensive jewelry, game consoles, more laptops etc. It was an unbelievable amount of merchandise that people were unsuspectingly shipping without any knowledge it was a scam.

I use PayPal myself, it is a fast, secure and protected way of making purchases or receiving money. But please be aware, there are scams using fake PayPal e-mails like the incident above. PayPal DOES NOT hold money until shipping is confirmed. Sometimes a transfer may show as pending but all purchases, transfers and pending transactions will show up on your PayPal account statement. If someone tells you they sent you money via PayPal, log on to your account to verify the funds were sent. You are protected by PayPal this way. Everyone that fell for the scam did not check their PayPal accounts until it was too late. PayPal could not help them because the transactions never went through PayPal, they were all fraudulent fake e-mails.

I see several “phishing” e-mails that try to claim victims. Scammers send out very realistic e-mails with logos from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Bank of the West etc stating “your account was possibly compromised and your account has been temporary frozen to avoid fraudulent transactions. Please click on the link below to verify your information so we can unlock your account. We are sorry of any inconvenience this may cause you”.

These notices are VERY real looking because they have cut and pasted actual bank logos and wording from real banking websites. If you click on the link it requests your personal information including your PIN to “verify” your account. Your account is then quickly drained of all your money and you won’t realize it until you start getting overdraft notices or bounced checks.

NEVER NEVER NEVER give anyone personal information such as social security numbers, bank account information and PINS, or other personal information unless you know who you are talking to. Request a call back number and call it, call your bank to verify suspicious e-mails. Most sites are secure and trusted so beware of scams or e-mails using the same realistic looking logos asking for your personal information.

All banks and most web-sites have a security department. If you have any doubts, call your bank or send an e-mail to the security department of your bank to see if the e-mail is actually from them. Sites such as PayPal and most banks request that you forward the entire suspicious e-mail to them and they will let you know if it was a scam.

Certain things should raise red flags such as someone offering to pay an unusually large amount of money to ship an item overnight, saying they are out of the Country and asking to ship to a different address, e-mails stating the money will be held until the item is shipped, people selling electronics cheap in a parking lot, promises of large sums of money if you send good faith money, all red flags pointing to a scam.

These scams have been around a long time so none of this is new information for crooks. We are just trying to make innocent people AWARE of these scams and help them avoid becoming a victim of crime.

And follow the old rule; “if it seems too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true”…… Or else you might end up with a box of rocks instead of a TV…….

Mark
© Coptalk.info

Suicide Attempts: "5150"

I have been to a lot of suicide attempts in my career as a police officer. There are many reasons people have for trying to kill themselves. Some want attention, some may have a severe medical situation they want to end, some lose a loved one that they can not handle losing, and some are just drunk, stoned and stupid. Luckily, most people tell someone what they are planning to do, or someone catches them trying to attempt the act. Usually we respond out and put the person on a "5150" hold, which means that the person is sent to County Hospital for a mental evaluation by a professional doctor. The 5150 hold is good for up to 72 hours. Depending on the mental evaluation, the person is released, held longer, or referred to another hospital or psychologist. Very rarely does the police officer find out what happens to the person, unless the person is a chronic "5150" who often gets sent over to the hospital and released, only to be sent over on a weekly basis.

When someone makes a comment about killing themselves, whether or not they mean it, it puts the police officer in a bad situation. If the person tells an officer "I didn’t mean it, I was just angry", and the officer leaves, the officer is liable if the person follows through on his/her threats. Usually the person is sent to the hospital on a 5150 hold and a health professional will make the decision whether to hold the person or not. If someone actually made an attempt like overdosing on pills, or slashing wrist, it’s an automatic "5150" hold. These are the usual types of "5150′s" that I usually deal with. Tonight, I had one that made me think, and brought a tear to my eyes. (Yes, cops do cry at times. Most do)

It was 1809 hrs. (6:09 p.m.) when I got dispatched to a quiet street in my beat. A doctors office called stating that a out of state relative of a person named "Helen" (we will call her Helen to protect her Identity) called saying that they were on the phone with Helen, and that Helen was trying to commit suicide by asphyxiation with a plastic bag over her head. The relative said that Helen then dropped the phone and they tried to call back but only got a busy signal. I arrived moments later, and knocked on the door. No answer. I went around to the back, and saw a light on upstairs in the bedroom. I knocked on the walls, back door, and windows with my flashlight to get a response.

Still, no answer. I had my dispatch call into the residence but they still got a busy signal. I requested a supervisor since I thought I was going to have to force entry to check on "Helen" due to the nature of the call. I again pounded on the front door, and this time, an elderly woman dressed in pajamas answered the door. I asked the woman if her name was Helen, and she said yes. I asked if I could speak with her, and she was hesitant, but agreed to let me in. I explained to Helen why I was there, and she kept telling me to leave her alone, that she was busy. Helen was 90 years old, but still had all her faculties, able to walk, drive, clean her house, shop, etc.

Helen kept saying that her daughter was coming from out of state tomorrow, and for me to leave and come back to talk to her daughter. I told Helen that it was her that I was there to check on, and asked her about the threats. Helen said that she only told her daughter that she was going to suffocate herself to get her daughter to come visit from out-of-state. Helen said that she was lonely and depressed since her husband died years ago, and she had no local family nearby.

Helen went on to tell me about how her late husband used to practice medicine in the city for 40 years, and about her long, interesting life. Helen was almost convincing about just making the suicide comments to get her daughter out to see her. Helen said that she not feeling like hurting herself or anyone else, (a necessity for a 5150 hold). Helen kept telling me to leave; saying that she had things to do. As soon as my Lieutenant arrived, I began to check Helen’s house. Know what I found?

All of Helen’s financial papers were organized on the dining room table, along with attorney names, numbers, and will papers. All of Helen’s relative’s names, addresses, and phone numbers were laid out. A note to Helen’s daughter, with financial instructions. Upstairs, on Helen’s bed, a pad of paper with a note that was just started. Also on the bed, a large plastic bag with a string wrapped around it.

I had obviously interrupted Helen in her suicide attempt. As I banged on her wall, she put the phone back on the hook, put everything aside and answered the door. If we got the call 15 minutes later, it could have been a dead-body call. If someone didn’t call, Helen may not have been discovered for a week or more. Helen still denied wanting to hurt herself until I showed her the bag I found. Then Helen said, "90 is too old to live" You know, it’s sad. I see people in their teens try to commit suicide because of a failed romance. I see a lot of people try to commit suicide because they cant enjoy life like they used to do to a serious injury or illness. But here is Helen, 90 years old, still up and about, good health, driving, cleans her own house, all her senses. But she lost the will to live, because she had no one left to share life with. I admit, I got teary-eyed talking to this wonderful elderly woman, who knew exactly what she wanted to do. I thought about what she might have gone through. Each and every day, alone, no one to talk to, family out of state.

Helen had got all her financial affairs in order for her family, and she was going to "check out" of life. That is until I interrupted her. Helen was not pleased with me.

But I took Helen’s hand as she laid on the ambulance gurney, and I told her that although she may hate me now, I hope that she will appreciate it later. I told Helen that she was a wonderful, interesting woman, and that I was going to make a habit out of stopping by her house to visit her when she gets out. And I meant every word. I just hope that Helen re-thinks her situation and realizes how wonderful life can be. Because Helen seems like a determined person, I can only try to get her some help. To try to help her get rid of the feelings that are making her want to give up on life. Just because there is no one to share it with….

I’m lucky. I have a wonderful caring local family. I have both my parents in their 70′s who still go out, dance, dine, and have a great time. I couldn’t imagine having no one in my life. But a lot of people are in that situation. If you have a relative that is alone or lonely, please call them. You don’t want a call from a police department or coroner with bad news. Sometimes, just a phone call is just what it takes to let someone know that someone still cares. If you know someone who has made comments about hurting or killing themselves, don’t "blow it off" as false threats. You don’t want to live with a death on your conscious that you could have prevented. Even if it is in your own family, and you don’t want your family problems exposed, someone who is making threats to harm themselves is calling out for help. Let a professional make the determination if the threats are real or not. Don’t wait till it’s too late; don’t wait until someone "really" does it. Because it’s too late then.

Most thoughts of suicide, depression, despair, can be corrected through medication, counseling, or both. Whether you or someone you know is having suicidal feelings, please call. There are a lot of cops, paramedics, and professional people who care and who still get a tear in their eye trying to help.

ML

© Coptalk

Why does it work?

To understand the value of neighborhood watch in a community, you must first understand that your local law enforcement agency is limited in their available manpower. A neighborhood watch program in your community will greatly help your local police overcome their manpower shortage. This is done by the use of alert citizens within the community who are constantly observing their neighborhoods for suspicious activities.

On a national average, there is approximately ONE police officer for every 2,000 citizens.

Here’s an example; a police department in a city of 65,000 citizens might have a force of 85 sworn police officers. That may sound like a lot but remember that includes ALL personal including the Chief, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, administrators, evidence personnel, traffic officers, narcotic officers, detectives, etc. Those officers are not on the streets patrolling. A force of 85 sworn police officers may have a patrol force of only 35 officers that regularly patrol the streets. Of those 35 officers, they are divided into different shifts and work days. Depending on how many officers are assigned to a shift, there may be 6-8 police officers on duty during the busiest time of the day or evening. Take away officers for vacations, sickness, injury, court appearances, training etc and there might only be 4-5 officers on the street. As you can see, that’s not a lot for a city of 65,000.

Police officers in high crime areas or busy cities usually have to be reactive, responding to calls and incidents AFTER they occur. There is not much time to be proactive to try and PREVENT crime from occurring. I used to work a very busy graveyard shift running from call to call to call. High priority calls such as fights, robberies, injury accidents etc and most in-progress calls always take priority over a “cold” call where the suspect is unknown or already gone. I’d show up at “cold” theft or burglary call 2 hours after it was called in and the homeowner would be furious at our response time. I’d ask how many officers they thought we had on the street and people would usually say 20 or 25. They would be shocked when I told them that we only had 4 or 5 officers on the street and that there were over 15 calls still waiting to be dispatched.

That’s why neighborhood watch is so important. An alert citizen’s call can be the difference between police responding to an in-progress call such as a burglary and apprehending a suspect versus police showing up hours later to write a “cold” report with unknown suspects. Obviously there are many more citizens than there are police officers. Citizens become an extension of the police department’s eyes and ears.

Here’s an example;

A burglar pulls onto a residential street and cruises slowly through the street. A few open garages with tools and bicycles in view but no one around. He parks near a house and watches for a few minutes. After seeing no one around, he pulls up to an open garage, quickly grabs the toolbox and bicycles and drives off undetected. Or he might have even knocked on a door to see if someone was home, went into the backyard and broke in through a window. After taking jewelry, cash and a gun, he walks back out to his car and drives off unnoticed. The homeowner later arrives home from work to find their house ransacked. The police are called and check the neighborhood for witnesses and a few people say they saw some unfamiliar cars come and go during the day but they didn’t pay attention and couldn’t provide any information. The crime will be unsolved with the suspects unknown.

With a neighborhood watch group in place;

The same burglar pulls onto the same street and slowly cruises through. He sees some people looking out their windows watching him. He parks for a few minutes and he sees another person standing in their driveway writing down his license plate number. There’s no way he’s going to stick around and try to commit a crime with people watching him or with his license plate written down by a neighbor. He knows someone is probably calling the police to report a suspicious car in the area. He starts his car and drives off to find a victim on another street where he goes unnoticed.

Here’s something else: The license plate jotted down by a neighbor can help solve a crime committed elsewhere. Police may be investigating a burglary on one street and check a nearby street for witnesses or leads. A neighbor who reported a suspicious vehicle in the area earlier and provides a license plate number might be the one lead police need to solve the crime. Remember, a thief might cruise through your neighborhood and leave if he is noticed, but he will be going to another neighborhood, probably nearby. That one call of a suspicious vehicle or person in an area can make the difference between burglars being arrested or getting away and committing more burglaries.

How to form or join a neighborhood watch group:

Most police departments have someone assigned to set up neighborhood watch groups. If you are new to a neighborhood there may be one in place already. If there is no neighborhood watch group in place, the police department can help you set up a meeting in your neighborhood and have neighborhood watch signs installed on your street. A police officer assigned to that area or “beat” usually attends the meetings to update citizens of the crimes occurring in their neighborhood and to address the concerns of the residents.

Neighborhood meetings allow residents to get to know each other, know who drives which cars, know who should be home or not. This allows people to call in suspicious activity. For example, if a neighbor knows that you work during the day and that no one is usually home, they would be more likely to call the police if they see a strange vehicle in your driveway or people hanging around your home while you are gone. The police would rather respond to find out it was unfounded rather than get a call from the homeowner hours later reporting that their home was burglarized.

Neighborhood watch groups are not formed for people to take the law into their own hands; they are formed for the residents to be alert and to report any suspicious people or activity in their neighborhoods. Residents should refrain from interrupting suspicious activity and should call the police immediately as a witness. Have a notepad handy by the telephone or window. You might remember a license plate number for a minute or two but it could get mixed up trying to remember it later. Write down a description of suspicious vehicles or people in your neighborhood and save it for a few days. It may be nothing but then again, you may read about a nearby burglary in the paper a few days later and the license plate number you copied down just might be the burglar’s car. Calling the police department and providing the license number of a suspicious vehicle just might help solve a burglary that has occurred. Or an officer on patrol might spot the car “casing” a neighborhood and know from your call that the same car was called in as suspicious hours earlier in another neighborhood.

The bottom line is that neighborhood watch groups work as long as they stay active. Groups usually meet once a month at different residents homes to discuss the things occurring in their area. Some groups even have their meetings on the street during a neighborhood BBQ. Getting to know each other and knowing what belongs in the neighborhood and what doesn’t is the key to a successful neighborhood watch group.

If you don’t have a group formed yet, contact your local police department for information on how to form one. Most departments have booklets with all the information you need to get started!

© Coptalk

September 11th 2001 Posted to Stories

Horrific – Reads the headlines…

Heroic – Are the people…

Our love and prayers go to the hero’s of New York. The Firefighters and Police Officers who lost their lives in the rescue attempt at the World Trade Towers. The Paramedics and EMT’s who responded to the initial calls for help. And to the heroic efforts of citizen volunteers who risked their own lives to save the lives of others.

I was touched but not surprised to hear countless statements made by eyewitnesses at the scene, who had escaped the carnage.

“We couldn’t believe those guys (the firefighters and cops), we were all trying to escape down the stairwell and get the hell out of there, and those guys just kept passing by us as they climbed the stairwell to help the injured”.

Incredible Bravery – Incredible Heroism – Incredible people.

Yes it really happened. We’ve all seen the pictures, the news coverage, the personal stories of tragedy and loss. We are hopeful that the current investigation taking place to identify the responsible parties in this senseless tragedy will be swift, thorough, and complete. Our hope is that retaliation measures will be equally as swift and thorough.

Where a tragedy such as this brings a country together, it is amazing to me to listen to talk radio and hear some callers say how war is not the answer. How we should not put ourselves on the level of terrorist causing senseless destruction and death. We need to be civil….

It would not be appropriate to comment on just how misinformed these people are. I will only say this. “Every action has a reaction.” Our Nation’s reaction to this terrorist action will determine what kind of message we send to the world as to how much tolerance we have towards terrorism.

I heard a talk show radio host say he supported arresting the responsible persons, bringing them to justice, and locking them away forever. Uh huh…

When you think about these animals watching Cable TV in prison for the rest of their lives, working out in the weight room, eating 3 meals a day, and writing daily letters to their comrades back home, think about something else.

Think about being at work in the World Trade Center having your morning cup of coffee and the nose of a 767 jetliner being flown by terrorist smashing through your office and ending your life and the lives of thousands in an instant inferno.

Think about being the Husband or Wife of the Firefighters or Police Officers who lost their lives in that carnage.

Think about your daughter on the street below pushing the baby stroller with your brand new grand daughter in it, being crushed by falling debris.

Think about being a passenger on one of those 4 planes.
Think about having a relative on one of those 4 planes, calling you on a cell phone to say goodbye for the last time.

Think about looking out an office window and having to make the decision of burning to death, or jumping 110 stories down to your death. Think about the targets that could have been anywhere in the United States.

The bottom line is, think about this having happened to you, or near you.
Hey, it doesn’t matter that this happened in New York and that you may not have known any of the victims personally.

It happened to all of us. In an unexpected second, it happened to each of us who calls ourselves an American. We all became victims of terrorism and we must all remember this could have happened anywhere in the United States.

Terrorists are like a cancer. If not treated properly and swiftly, a cancer can quickly take over a body and death is soon to follow. This cancer must be removed completely and swiftly. It has nothing to do with being “civil”. It has everything to do with establishing one thing and one thing only that these people will understand. Force and Fear.

I will say it again…. these people will understand one thing and one thing only. Force, and fear. In this case, all bets are off. It’s a case of being “an eye for an eye”. Not a pleasant thought for a “civilized nation” to think about but our reaction must set a tone of zero tolerance…or we will be experiencing these tragedies on a much more regular and severe basis.

God Bless our Firefighters and Police Officers who lost their lives. God bless their families and loved ones. God bless those who lost their lives in this tragedy, and for those who are trying to do so much to help.

To sum it all up…God Bless America, and help us stay strong.

Jim Lambert
Netcops PSI

“Plenty of government agencies are dipping their toes into the Twitter waters these days, but when we found the Denton Police Department’s Twitter page this afternoon, we knew we’d found something truly special.”

To See the rest of the story here – Click Here

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Why? Because even basic updates are meaningful to family members, friends, or colleagues—especially when they’re timely.

• Eating soup? Research shows that moms want to know.
• Running late to a meeting? Your co–workers might find that useful.
• Partying? Your friends may want to join you.
• Fighting Crime?

With Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing. Or, you can stop following them any time. You can even set quiet times on Twitter so you’re not interrupted.

Twitter puts you in control and becomes a modern antidote to information overload.

You can join and follow us here at Coptalk on twitter by going to:

www.twitter.com/coptalk

Stories of how Twitter and Craigslist (the popular online classifieds) help to solve or deter crime:

Reposted from: www.Techdirt.com

“With all the stories of police getting worried about new technologies, it’s always good to see cases where they seem to be using them appropriately. Rick recently wrote in to point out a story where police in Maine used Craigslist to track down a prostitution ring. Compare that to others who have been blaming Craigslist for prostitution. And, now we’re seeing stories about some police departments that are actively using Twitter either to send out emergency alerts to people, or to better connect with the community they’re supposed to be protecting. Of course, that story worries about "impostors," but there are ways to deal with that issue. For police looking to make use of the technology, it can be quite useful, and it’s great to see some actually realizing that and embracing the technology.”

Related Stories:

Craigslist used in prostitution sting

What’s the newest police tool? Try Twitter

Please remember Twitter like any other online service comes with its issues for safety and security – please follow good online password practices and also understand how to use it and who to follow or not follow before you dive right in……

I came across this article written by a citizen of Oakland, CA – It discusses many points that just need to be heard by all:

Original Link: Click here
** Special Thanks for the approval to reprint part of the article on our site **

Please visit the link above for the entire story – it is well worth the read

As I sit, there are helicopters circling over our house. Normally, we’d see people out and about this time of night, walking dogs or heading home from the grocery store down the street. But tonight, our neighborhood is quiet. A few blocks away, streets are lined with police in riot gear, closely watching the development of a violent reaction to the New Year’s Eve killing by a transit police officer of a young unarmed man. People peer out of windows, wondering what’s going on. A photographer friend of ours works late into the night, snapping shots of quiet protests that soon become raucous riots. Cars are ablaze. Shop windows shatter. Again and again and again, the copters pass over us. The dog paces back and forth, watching the ceiling, waiting to see what comes next.

By morning, the news has hit the national media: “Riots in Oakland!” one paper shouts. “Oakland turns violent over shooting,” another announces. The narrative is disturbing, the images even more so. Most devastating, though, are the many commenter’s. People living hundreds of miles away are unfazed by this. “Oakland? That hellhole?” one writes. “Let the whole place burn!” “Not surprising,” another notes. “It is Oakland, after all.”

Click here for the rest of the story…..

Aside from the gangs for a moment, there are taggers. Taggers may work alone or in a group at times, but they usually are not confined to a particular area, and usually are not associated with the same kind of street violence that the street gangs are known for. Near my area, there was a group of “taggers” working the area. This type of “graffiti artist” usually is just that, graffiti artist. Usually not associated with a street gang, the taggers usually just spray pictures or spray their moniker names in as many places as they can, usually just for recognition. The ones near my area used a train barrier wall to display their pictures. One thing that I’ve noticed is that some of these taggers are actually pretty good. If they replaced the spray cans and concrete walls with paintbrushes and paper, they could probably earn a living doing the same thing that most call vandalism now. It takes millions of dollars each year to cover the graffiti now displayed almost everywhere you look. I have passed by a location several times in a night while on patrol without seeing anything suspicious, but when first light hits in the morning, the same area is covered with graffiti. Although taggers are usually annoying and bothersome, they are usually harmless, not wishing to become involved in the violence associated with the street gangs.

Street gang graffiti is the graffiti to be very concerned about. I’m sure you’ve driven down a road and saw some writing on a wall, overpass, building, and not thought much about it. What you saw, probably meant nothing to you. But that may have been a threat of impending death to a rival gang. A slap in the face is for a rival gang to come into an area and cross out or deface a rival gangs graffiti, replacing it with their own symbols. In my area, the biggest gangs are Nortenos and Surrenos. These are usually identified as Norte and Sur, or XIV and XIII painted on the side of fences, garages, houses, etc. There are a lot of small gangs which have formed using their own gang name, usually reflecting the area or location where they live, but they are almost all in alliance with one of the above sects. The most common colors for the gangs are red or blue. I have seen innocent people shot for simply unknowingly wearing red or blue in a rival gang’s area. A lot of gangs have become aware of increased penalties for gang association, and some have gone to wearing neutral colors. But they wear the red or blue underneath the neutral colors, and most carry a bandanna with their color of choice in a pocket, able to be quickly displayed when needed. It doesn’t take long for a quiet, peaceful neighborhood to turn into a loud, noisy, and dangerous place to live with gangs, comes drugs, noise, graffiti, and gunfire. It is common to go into a gang infested area and see graffiti covering almost everything, bullet holes in houses, cars, and people afraid to come out of their houses. The scary part is seeing children playing in the same area. Unfortunately, gang members have children too, raising them in this dangerous situation. How did it get this way? People would rather hide in their homes instead of getting involved in neighborhood watch groups, getting police assistance, and rallying together to rid the neighborhood of the problem. You cannot do it alone, and the police cannot do it alone. But together, a gang infested neighborhood can be cleaned up. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.

Chances are that you live in a nice, quiet neighborhood without a gang problem. But it could change, wherever you live. A gang or gang member is probably living a lot closer to you than you think. Maybe right next door. And it doesn’t take much for the gang to start hanging out at a particular member’s house.

The first thing you might notice is increased traffic, cars, and people to a particular house. Then you might start seeing graffiti in the area. Usually a gang banger wont tag their own house, but they will tag the area. Walls, fences, even the street or sidewalk. (Although I did see a group of wanna be’s tag their own house. Might as well paint a target on it since it was shot up within 2 days).

Here are a few tips if you suspect gang activity in your area. (If gang activity is already heavily established in your area, it is harder, but not impossible, to get rid of).

· Don’t ignore a problem. A problem will get bigger if ignored. If allowed to “hang out”, a gang will quickly claim the area as their turf. It won’t be long before graffiti covers everything and gunshots ring out. If you see people starting to hang out at a location, drinking, gambling, and even illegally parking call the police. You can remain anonymous, and if the problem people get “harassed” by the police enough, they will leave for another location where everyone looks away and allows them to terrorize the neighborhood.

· Dont be intimidated. Gangs work on intimidation and violence. In most areas, people are afraid to stand up to the gangs. I have been to the scene of a shooting where 40-50 people witnessed the shooting, but not one will talk to the police. (Some will come to the police station or call in a tip anonymously later). This intimidation is what fuels a gang and gang activity. By no means should you stand up to a gang physically; you do it through the police and as a neighborhood group. A gang will not remain in an area if their intimidation does not work, where they are constantly reported, where they can be driven out.

· Call your local police department. In this day and age, almost every police department has a gang task force, or at least a gang expert. Talk to the gang unit; tell them of your observations, any graffiti you see forming. They are the experts in your area, and they can tell you if this might be a kid playing with a spray can, or if it is a serious problem forming that they need to be aware of. Gangs forming in an area are like a health problem. If it is caught early enough, it can be solved rather easily. If allowed to grow and fester, it is harder to get rid of.

· If you see graffiti, report it immediately to the owner of the property, the police, or your local code-enforcement division if you have one in your city. If allowed to stay, it invites more graffiti, rival gangs coming in to tag their names, and a turf war erupts. The police know this and they dont want gangs infesting neighborhoods either.

I used to live next door to a painter. A nearby concrete wall became the “billboard” for a local gang that formed, and they tagged it daily. My painter neighbors wife took all his scrap paint, and every morning she would go to the wall and paint over all the graffiti. The next morning, more graffiti. Off she went again with a brush and bucket of paint. Eventually, the gang got tired of having their tags painted over, and they went somewhere else. I dont recommend standing up to gangs like my neighbor did, because it could be dangerous, but this shows how determination and persistence drove away a gang. And this was just one woman. Imagine what an entire neighborhood joined with a police force could do. The gang may not go far, but the more resistance they meet, the more likely it is that they will leave. If your block succeeds in driving out a gang, but the next block down ignores the problem and lets it form, it is still a problem for you. Bullets travel miles.

· Be persistent, slumlords can be held responsible for owing a problem house (gang or drug house). I have seen neighbors get together and sue a landlord (and win) for allowing a problem to exist in a rental property. Property ownership is public record, and a strong neighborhood watch group can easily find out the owner of a problem rental house. Chances are, the owner may not even know a problem exist. And if a landlord does know of a problem, and ignores it, he can be sued. Most would rather evict a problem tenant than to be sued by a whole neighborhood.

· If a gang is formed in your area, chances are that you hear a lot of gunfire. A simple handsign from a passing car can erupt in a gunfight. Be a good witness. Dont put yourself in danger, but if you witness gang activity, a drive-by shooting, even just a gangbanger shooting a gun in the air, call the police. You can remain anonymous. Give a good description of the shooter, where the gun is, (a garbage can, waistband, on a girlfriend, etc.) so the police can protect themselves and apprehend the suspect. Guns are kept in bushes, garbage cans, and mailboxes. Innocent children can find these and a tragedy occurs.

This only scratches the surface regarding gangs or graffiti, and there are many good books out which go into detail about gangs. But this article is just to give you an insight into how gangs become established and what you can do to prevent it. With support from neighbors, the police, and persistence, you can live in a quiet gang free neighborhood.

What I’m going to discuss here is the “Pro’s and Con’s” of the system.

The Pro’s would normally cover the prosecution or rather the good guys. The Con’s would normally describe the bad guys, the inmates, and the convicts. Unfortunately the roles can sometimes get interwoven and it can be difficult to figure out who’s who.

As stated before, I cannot possibly comment on the criminal justice systems outside of California. In fact, I can really only comment on the systems that are near the area that I work in. But most criminal justice systems consist of the same players. A criminal case going before the court system can almost be compared to a football game.

· The head referee is the “Judge”.

· The other referee’s and officials are the jury.

· The coach of the home team is the district attorney or their representative, the deputy D.A.

· The players on the home team are the victims of the case, witnesses, and the cops.

· The coach of the visiting team is the defense attorney or public defender.

· The players on the visiting team are the defendants in the case.

What occurs in the courtroom is just like what you watch on Sunday Football games.

There are good plays made, bad plays made cheap shots, dirty play, incredible strategies, and every now and then a “Hail-Mary” that can win the game.

Keep in mind how the coach of the team keeps his job. By winning games! The coach of a losing team isn’t going to benefit in the area of job longevity. On a similar note the district attorney is an elected official. The D.A is evaluated by the county government and by the voters, as to the number of “wins” the office scores. The DA is voted into office by YOU the voting public and that in itself gives you more power than you could possibly imagine. That gives YOU the power to decide who is going to coach your team.

Speaking along those lines, you as a defendant also have the power to control who represents you in your case. An attorney with a poor track record of winning cases isn’t going to be your first choice. A public defender with a non-caring or burnt out attitude that was assigned to you because you have no funds, is not going to help your case very much.

I’m not going to address private attorneys or public defenders here because as we all know there is no drastic shortage of them. The person I’m going to address is the one responsible for sending bad people to jail. The coach of your team. The DA.

Before I got into law enforcement I paid little, if any attention to the people who were running for the office of district attorney. I had the mindset that the person in office was probably doing a good job and that they would have the best experience and background for doing the job because they’ve already been doing it. If you share that line of thinking as I did, you will need to change that thought!

The wrong person in the wrong office can make all the difference in the world as to how criminal prosecutions are handled in your county! Good, bad, or indifferent.

There are district attorneys that do an outstanding job. They have a “Zero Tolerance” approach to the job and I respect their outlook towards their objectives. If someone is guilty of a crime they charge for that crime and go after it. One hundred percent! Their passion is going after someone that wronged someone else, and their motivation is to do “what’s right”.

The case has to be correctly presented to the DA’s office for prosecution, and any deficiencies on the part of the police are evaluated. If it’s a solid case they take it. If there were mistakes made they immediately say “Hey, you guys blew this one, our hands are tied. Learn from it and bring us a solid case next time.”

No Bull crap. Right to the point. They aren’t going to waste taxpayers money in court by going after a weak case hoping for a “plea bargain” that will give them a “win” on paper.

On the opposite side of the coin, there are some DA’s that demonstrate questionable motives and ethics. These traits and expectations are passed down to the “Deputy DA’s” in the courtroom. Win cases at any expense and make me look good, or you won’t be employed in this office very long. It’s all about winning cases and having a good track record on paper.

They get to the point where they don’t really care what the particulars of the case are, or who got victimized. They only care about the end result on paper. The “stats” at the end of the year. The ammunition that they can take out to the voters by means of saying “Hey, I’ve got a 99 percent closure rate of guilty verdicts and I’m doing a great job for you!”

What you need to know, is how many of those serious “felony” cases were reduced down to a petty “misdemeanor” on a plea bargain. A reduction that will result in little or no jail time for the defendant. A reduction that will usually result in the defendant getting “probation” that he or she will violate in the next month or two.

The problem with this, is that the bad guy goes out and commits a felony with the mindset “No big deal if I get busted, I’ll “cop a plea” and get a slap on the wrist.” And the bad guy is right! And the bad guy tells his friends, and those friends tell other friends, and soon you have a whole lot of people running around with NO incentive to not commit serious crimes because they have learned how to “work the system.”

I’m not going to name names, but I’ll say this. I have worked with a number of outstanding deputy district attorneys who make me proud to be in law enforcement. They are a total credit to their profession and to you the taxpayers. They have been around the block a time or two and they believe in standing up for right over wrong, even if it goes beyond the political aspirations of their boss, the “head coach”.

I will always remember one of the first deputy DA’s that I worked with on a court case. He called me several days before the court date to discuss the case. On the date of the preliminary hearing he called me in an hour early to again discuss the case. During the preliminary hearing the case was so strong that the public defender offered the deputy DA a “plea”. Her defendant would plead guilty to a misdemeanor violation with credit for “time served” (no jail time) and limited terms of probation.

The Deputy DA smiled at the public defender and calmly stated, “No deal, your client is going to do felony time on a felony charge and his next home is going to be state prison, not bed and breakfast at the county jail.” This deputy DA was willing to take this all the way to the end in Superior Court, and present the case to the Judge or to a Jury and he was not about to settle for anything less than a guilty plea to a felony charge.

The defendant knew the game was up and pleaded guilty right then and there to the felony charges. He was sentenced a week later to 18 months in state prison and 3 years felony probation.

I had the pleasure of working with this deputy DA several times over the next few years and I was amazed that this guy had a completely different kind of “flair” compared to many of the other deputy DA’s. This guy would take off his suit jacket during a long case, and roll up his sleeves, and present a down to earth and honest approach to the mission at hand. Juror’s loved him because he was so sincere.

Unfortunately, I’ve worked with deputy DA’s who did not share this direct approach towards right and wrong. Many are unprepared when they go to court. They call the officer in 5 minutes before the hearing or trial starts to quickly discuss the case, which is pretty much a smoke screen.

When being questioned in the courtroom by the defense attorney, the officer wonders why the DA is not posing “objections” to inappropriate and irrelevant questions being asked. The DA flips through page after page of notes because they are totally unfamiliar with the case. Worse yet, what they portray to the Judge or the jury is that they are “unprepared”. This has resulted in many lost cases that should have been won.

· More often than not, this shallow involvement with a case results in plea bargains and suspended sentences.

· Plea bargains and suspended sentences result in repeat offenders.

· Repeat offenders will eventually target YOU as a victim!

I bring this up merely so that you know, that what you see in the paper when you read the headlines “Defendant” pleads guilty to charge, may not mean exactly what it reads. I can only remember a handful of times when a victim has called me after a case, to have someone explain the outcome of the case for them.

The only problem is that most the time, the officer leaves the courtroom and has no idea what happens in a case unless they take the initiative to call the DA themselves and find out. Or if it is a high profile case the DA will call the officer and let them know.

If you are the victim in a case, YOU HAVE A RIGHT to know what happened to the bad guy. You have a right to know what the guilty plea was for. Was it a plea bargain dropped down to a lesser charge?

One of the most common cases that fits in here is the DUI arrest. Driving under the influence of alcohol. I see hundreds of driver license histories on my patrol car computer screen on a weekly basis. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a history containing a previous charge for “reckless driving”. With certain particulars involved.

Let’s say I stop a car for running a red light at 2am. I contact the driver who exhibits signs of being under the influence of alcohol. After a few field sobriety test I pull out the portable field Intoxilyzer and the driver blows a .04 /.05 blood alcohol content. That’s half the legal limit in California so not a lot of cops worry about that too much, but I worry about if this driver’s BAC reading is “on the rise”.

I look at his history and see that he has two previous convictions for reckless driving in the past 3 years. My experience tells me that reckless driving convictions are common for younger drivers, and very uncommon for a 40 year-old man.

I ask the guy if he has ever been arrested for drunk driving to which he reluctantly tells me he has been arrested twice in the past, but the cases were dropped to reckless driving on plea bargains. Thus explains what I am seeing on my computer screen. A guy, who has flirted with danger twice, but got off on a reduced charge of what we call a “wet reckless”.

· Less fines

· Less License suspensions

· Less mandatory alcohol schools

· Less insurance rate increases

What I see is a guy who hasn’t learned a lesson in regards to the severe tragedies that drinking and driving can pose to innocent people. And we are letting him get away with this. I ask him “off the record” why he is drinking and driving if he has been arrested for DUI twice before? The guy replies, “Hey I watch myself, I know what my limitations are.” I ask the guy if he will help me out with a little experiment and he provides 2 more sample test on my Intoxilyzer. His .04/.05 reading is now a .05/.06 and he finds himself only 2 points away from the maximum legal arrestable limit. (Remember that a blood test is a more concentrated test and can provide a reading up to 2 points higher than a breath test reading.) He volunteers to lock his car and I give him a ride home.

He tells me that he is going through a divorce and that he was under a lot of stress and felt like having a couple drinks. I ask him if that would have been the excuse if he had struck a kid in dark clothing crossing in the crosswalk at the intersection where he had blown past the stop sign at 35 mph. I get no response from him.

He isn’t thinking of the consequences. He’s thinking about how lucky he is that he wasn’t being arrested again. He’s thinking of the inconvenience and embarrassment he escaped tonight, not the fact that he may have killed you or a family member.

WE have the choice in what kind of tolerance we will have against crimes, by who we select to have playing on our team as the “Head Coach.”

The “I’ll take any win” approach for personal gain cannot be tolerated.

· The DA who exhibits a sincere concern for right and wrong.

· The one who goes the extra effort to insure that justice prevails.

· The one that rolls up his or her shirtsleeves and grabs the bull by the horns to do a good job.

· And the one that believes in the morals and ethics of the position.

That is the person you want as your head District Attorney.

Remember that Actions always speak louder than words. Talk is cheap!

Does your DA put brand new inexperienced deputy DA’s in the courtroom unassisted and unprepared. Inexperienced young lawyers who are encouraged to go after the “plea bargain” to insure a win? Or who are threatened with a short career if not enough “wins” are made in court?

I know of DA offices where it is common practice that if you do not perform up to the DA’s standards, you are assigned to really undesirable assignment. Indefinitely! This promotes bad morale and unfortunately a whole bunch of deputy DA’s running around that are afraid of “making waves”.

Making waves usually means doing anything less than getting “wins” and making the “head coach” look good. Getting “wins” should be dependant upon deputy DA’s being prepared, and giving 100 percent to the case. Win or Lose you go after what is right, not what will be an easy victory when the bad guy plea’s to a lessor charge and sentence.

The fallout from all of this is in the number of repeat offenders:

I don’t know why there is this difference, but a Sheriff is an elected position. The voters put him or her into office but yet a chief of police is “hired” by the city. They both do the same job, but one has the added worry of worrying about votes from the public.

I remember years ago while working for a sheriff’s department, being taught in field training that we were not to write any traffic citations unless they were of an extreme nature. We would not be paid to go to traffic court as a reminder to adhere to that policy.

My first question was “why not?” My veteran training officer shook his head and said, “Think about it kid, you think the Sheriff would get re-elected if the voting public was always getting tickets from his deputies?” “CHP handles the traffic matters, we handle the criminal matters”.

I scratched my head wondering why it was OK to drive like an idiot in an area where a sheriff presided, but in a city run by a chief of police, officers were encouraged to write citations. “It’s not our job I was told”, but I would look down on the badge on my shirt and wonder what made my badge any different than any other patrol officer working the street.

That mentality has changed over the years and it is much better now than it ever used to be. But the fact still remains that a sheriff is often placed in a position of conflict between doing what is right, and doing what he or she thinks the voting public will like. I’m not going to direct blame and describe specific incidents but please be aware of the following.

YOU decide the people that will run your sheriff’s departments and district attorneys offices.

(Just a quick reminder, a sheriff oversees the sheriff’s department, which patrols the unincorporated portions within a county and also for operating the county jails located within their jurisdiction. The sheriff is an elected official. A municipal police department run by a chief of police is responsible for police work WITHIN an incorporated city. The chief is hired by the city and is not voted in by the public.)

Don’t vote to put people into these positions without knowing their complete backgrounds. Don’t read the paper and see a 99 percent conviction rate and take that as face value for the DA’s accomplishments. How many of those were plea bargains and reduced sentences just for a statistic? What’s the moral like within the office? Does this person truly care about right and wrong for the victims?

Question the sheriff who voices how the violent crime rate has dropped and how property crimes are way down! Ask a few deputies on the street what the general opinion of their boss is.

Are crimes down because the sheriff’s department is taking care of business, or are they down because there is less reported activity because of drastic manpower shortages and many crimes aren’t being reported.

How is the equipment? Does the patrol car the deputy is in have 125,000 miles on it with bad tires and poor brakes, or does the department take care of the line staff ensuring they have the proper tools to do the job?

Does the sheriff promote within the department based on qualifications and skills, or is it a “good old boys” club where to get ahead it’s not what you know, but who you know.

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that you won’t read in the paper. You need to do some investigating of your own when it’s time to vote these officials into office. Check facts, not propaganda printed in the paper at election time. Contact the people on the street who work for these “Head Coaches”.

You have the opportunity to take part in whether or not you’ll have the head coach of a winning team or a losing one. TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY!

The Cons:

The Con’s of the system:

· Sentencing

· Probation and Parole

· Incarceration/Jails

· Convicts and Inmates

Let’s talk about Sentencing!

A bad guy commits a car-jacking severely injuring the person who was driving the car. The bad guy gets arrested and goes to jail. The sophisticated bad guy has been in jail before and knows that county jail is by far a better place to do time, than going to state prison. It’s usually closer to home and family and friends can visit him more conveniently. Plus the bad guy knows that the longer he can stall in county jail, he will get credit for “time already served.”

The bad guy stalls his case here and there until he has changed public defenders a few times, and requested continuance after continuance.

By the time he goes to court 12 months later, he takes a plea bargain and pleads guilty to the felony assault with a deadly weapon charge, but only after they drop the car jacking charge. He gets sentenced to 3 years felony probation and 2 years in the state prison. He gets credit for time served after having done 365 days in county jail waiting to go to trial. (Or I should say stalling for trial.) In addition he gets “good time credits” for attending a couple computer classes and for being a worker in the kitchen. Good time credits meaning up to a 25% reduction in sentence!

91 days knocked off for being a good inmate.

Let me do the math:

· A two-year sentence is 730 days in prison.

· Minus 365 days for time served

· Minus 91 days good time

That leaves 274 days for the bad guy to do in state prison. That’s under a year, but wait…There’s more! On the state level good time is one for one. That’s right, every day that goes by where you don’t cause any problems, you get a day of good time credit off your sentence. A 50% reduction off your sentence!

274 days left on a 2-year sentence leaves 137 days. Four and a half months in state prison for stabbing a guy in the face and trying to get the victim’s vehicle.

Now I’m thinking that’s a crime in itself! The only thing this guy is thinking when he walks away from prison is that now he has to be extra careful when he does a car-jack because now he’s on probation.

Our motto, here it comes again! “Every action has a reaction”.

There were 2 felony charges in this case. Why was one dropped in a plea bargain?

Why was this guy allowed to “use the system” with credit for time served? If a person wants to stall the system before going to trial why do it at the expense of the sentencing? Credit for time served is a joke!

This guy traded doing “hard time in prison” for doing easy county jail time.

Credit for good time? What’s up with that? This guy didn’t take computer classes because he wants to work with computers after he gets out. He did it because he knew he could get a substantial amount of time knocked off his sentence and in the meantime learn how to make nifty little homemade cards that he can send to the female inmates on the other end of the facility.

Most every repeat offender that leaves the courtroom has his own calculations already working. Five years in State Prison really means two and a half years right off the bat plus miscellaneous credits for attending classes and holding down jobs in the laundry or the kitchen.

WHEN YOU HEAR SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN STATE PRISON, MOST OF THE TIME IT’S A JOKE! The person will be out way before then. Why is that?

Incentive!

Incentive to be a model inmate. Incentive to further your education behind bars. Incentive to turn your life around. Now heaven forbid that you’re a bad person in prison because we’ll take away your good time credits! That will teach you!

There’s no incentive to not committing a crime and not going to prison. There’s only an incentive on how to “beat the system” and to try harder not to get caught next time.

A few years back we started this “3-Strikes” thing. I’m thinking it was something that looked good under a political advertisement or in a speech, but does it really work. In most cases no. In severe cases where someone is on their last strike and they are looking at doing really long time, then it works.

Do we need 3 strikes? You tell me.

Lets say that the sentence for car-jacking with the use of a deadly weapon was 4, 6, or 10 years in state prison. An enhancement for injuries sustained by the victim ups the sentence to 6, 10, or 15 years in the state prison.

Lets say that this guy get sentenced to 6 years state prison. 6 years to the day! Not a day less!

Doesn’t matter about time served or how much time he used to stall the process.

Doesn’t matter if he attended a few computer classes. If he wants to better himself more power to him. That’s commendable but he has to do it because he wants to do it, not because of how much time it will shave of his sentence.

He’s going to have 6 years in a nasty place to think about why he stuck a knife in some woman’s face because he was high on crack cocaine and wanted her car. This woman is disfigured for life, but she survived with her life. Why should he get out in a couple years after working the system?

Better yet, a second offense and he will get the 10-year term. A third offense gets the 15-year term. Day in for everyday sentenced. No short cuts. Now let me do the math again.

18-year old crack head does the violent crime described above. Gets sentenced to the 6 years in prison. He’s now 24 when he gets out. He’s missed out on a lot in life but is stupid enough to do the same thing again.

Now he gets the 10-year sentence. Now when he walks out of prison he’s 34 years of age.

At this age, he starts up the crack habit again and in a drugged stupor, does the same crime again. This stint in prison is going to be 15 big ones. 49-years old when he gets out.

Now it’s your turn to tell me. If you knew for a fact that you could end up doing 31 years in prison for 3 stupid mistakes, would you do them in the first place? I’m thinking you wouldn’t even think about a second time. Would you do them if you could bank on only a little time here, and a little time there? Maybe you’ll get some probation or parole thrown in for good measure. Hey, what the hell? If you violate your probation they’ll send you back to the joint for a bullet (a year) but everyone knows you can get out in a couple months on a violation. I’m thinking you would.

There’s no incentive not to!

If every action has a reaction, why do we make it so easy for repeat offenders? The injustice of our system is common knowledge even amongst our juveniles, who in turn, grow up to be the repeat offenders who in turn fill up our jails and prisons.

I remember that college kid who got arrested for vandalism in another country. He got sentenced to being “caned” in public. Thousands of activists in the USA jumped to his support and voiced their disapproval over this type of discipline. How barbaric! But you know what? In this country the kid would have gotten a make believe slap on the wrist, a few hours community service, and maybe been on informal probation for 12 months. And that’s after “Dear old Dad” paid for the damages.

YOU know and I know, that when this kid goes back to that country he’s going to know that they don’t fool around with their criminal justice system and nothing could even come close to making him think about trying that again!

That country left a message with this kid. Right across his butt for all to see.

But here? The message is “Oh it’s just vandalism, no big deal.”

I used to live on my boat at a marina located near the heart of the San Francisco bay. Every Saturday morning as I made my coffee I would look up and see 15 to 20 men and women show up for their 8 hours of community service. The majority of them would all show up dressed in typical gang attire. All there to do their 8 hours of picking up trash to make the marina and park look better.

I would watch these people throughout the day.

· I saw the “workers” make drug deals openly in the parking lot.

· Friends visiting the workers in their beat up gang cars with the rap music pumped up. Squealing tires, spinning donuts, and the sentenced community service workers whooping it up. Oh yeah, community service hours just wouldn’t be cool without my homey bringing me down a 40-oz of Miller…

· The walk. The lazy “full of attitude shuffle.” The “why do I have to do this crap” walk.

· I would have to laugh because almost everyday there would be some slob who became exhausted after 90 minutes of picking up 20 or so pieces of trash. He or she would lay down on the bench next to the gang way for my dock, and take a nap! Yes working America, you too can have these kinds of employees!

· And then there would be the dirt bag guys who were trying to scam on the dirt bag girls. True love! Love Connection! All in a park like setting. “Well Chuck, soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew she was for me. I was cleaning near the restrooms, and she was picking up trash in the bushes nearby. Our eyes met and I knew it was true love. We have so much in common…we were both there for possession of methamphetamine!” Hey, we’ll be back in two and two!

Yes, community service hours are a viable deterrent against crime. NOT!

Get busted for dope or drugs and you too can spend 4 beautiful days at the marina partying with your friends instead of going to jail!

The guys who work at the marina turn the other way. Hey they don’t get paid to deal with these people. They just get paid to hand out they’re little plastic bags and a rake or two. After filling out the forms that 32 bodies showed up at 8am, and 32 bodies left at 5pm, that’s all they care about.

The motive is good. But why are we promoting laziness, poor work ethics, and further criminal behavior?

What if there was a cop assigned there to make sure that these dead beats weren’t dead beats for at least 8 hours. You don’t pull your share, that’s fine Mr. pain in the ass to society. How about we just revoke your community service hours and you can do your 20 days in the county jail. You can sleep all you want to there.

When you get right down to it, it’s pathetic. And we all control it by who we vote into office. The officials who are supposed to decide and enforce what happens to these people when they get busted. Or what’s worse, WHAT DOESN’T HAPPEN!

Get smart.

Be aware.

Take part in making sure that the law-enforcers and the lawmakers that you vote into office are the right ones for the job. Look around and you tell me if you’ve been doing a good job or not. It’s a privilege that you have to use, and use wisely, if you want to see a positive change made. EVERYONE has to get involved.

Let’s talk about Probation and Parole:

Parole and Probation are simply a “trade-off’” in lieu of a maximum sentence or doing time in Jail or Prison.

The good news is that the concept of “incentive” is a good one.

The bad news is that on an all too regular basis, the system doesn’t work.

Probation is a less serious action compared to parole and can be granted on sentences whether or not a convicted person or inmate served any time. I’ve had cases where I arrested a person on a felony drug charge; they bailed out of jail, went to court a month later, and got sentenced to 3 years felony probation. All without doing any jail time.

The incentive is that the guy would normally do 6 months in the county jail, but his time is being waived because he accepted the terms of probation. He’ll pay a fine, go to drug school, and be sent on his way to the Probation Officer’s office once a week to provide a urine test for drugs.

Parole is a much more serious action that takes place after a defendant has been incarcerated in prison. Same guy above does a robbery and gets sentenced to 7 years in the state prison. After serving 2 years, he is eligible for “parole”. Once out on parole, he must check in regularly with his parole officer, maintain a legitimate residence, and maintain employment.

Both are almost the same thing. A charge or sentence is REDUCED under the agreement that the convicted person will meet the terms and stipulations of the probation or parole.

Let me give you an example:

You have never been in trouble for anything in your life. You use some really poor judgment going out drinking with your friends one night. While driving home you get stopped by the police, and arrested for D.U.I. The Court finds you guilty and you are sentenced to the following:

Pay a high fine.

Attend Alcohol school.

License suspension for 4 months.

And 18 months “Informal Probation.

Informal probation is court probation, meaning you don’t have to check in on a regular basis with a probation officer. Records of probation are maintained when violations of the probation are noted in court by additional offenses. Probation means you are “trading” jail time or maximum fines, for promising to be good person at least for the terms of the probation period.

Terms of Informal probation usually read something like:

· Must obey all laws

· Must report any change of address

· Must not drive vehicle with alcohol in system

· Must not drive unless licenses and insured

· Must not refuse to provide blood alcohol content test

Therefore, if you get stopped in your car for a moving violation and it was determined that you were driving without insurance, an Officer could file a charge of violating probation which would mean a separate charge in itself being filed “because YOU didn’t maintain insurance on the car.” Additionally you could be sentenced to pay the maximum original fine, or you could actually be sentenced to do the jail time that was traded away by the probation. So, because you failed to keep insurance on your car as promised, you could find yourself doing 30 days in the county jail, BECAUSE YOU BLEW IT!

Probation increases with the severity of the crime. Formal probation can include Drug probation, Juvenile probation, and Felony probation. This is probation where you MUST physically check in on a weekly basis with a probation officer assigned to your case. For drug probation, you are normally required to provide weekly urine samples for drug analysis.

One “Dirty Test” as they call it, can land you an automatic year in prison with no questions asked! It doesn’t matter what kind of probation it is. It’s a probationary period that you agree to accept in lieu of a maximum jail sentence or fine. Period!

If you blow it, you have NOBODY to blame but yourself.

Parole is the same principal only it carries a greater threat being that if you screw up while on parole, YOU WILL GO BACK TO PRISON! Most people don’t want to go back to prison if there is any good inside of them to begin with. They take advantage of getting out of the prison hell hole early, and strive to make sure they NEVER go back.

Unfortunately, for thousands of career criminals across the nation, parole is a game to get out of prison early, and that begins another game of them trying even harder never to get caught again.

When we make a car stop and the dispatcher advises that the license plate comes back to a “Parolee at Large”, you treat this as being one of the most potentially dangerous stops you’ll make in your career. We don’t know what’s going on in this person’s mind, or how desperate they may be to avoid being apprehended. Many of these caution remarks provided to us include “Parolee at Large, considered Armed and Dangerous”. If YOU decide to blow the opportunity given to you, then you suffer the consequences! And that’s going to be 8 cops with guns aimed at your car or in your face, and we aren’t going to be looking like we’re glad to see you!

A simple logic to look at is this:

If you put your hand on a red-hot stove, you’re going to get burned and you’ll never do it again!

If you put your hand on a warm stove, it’s not going to hurt and you’ll do it again.

It doesn’t get anymore simple than that.

Our criminal justice system is often like a warm stove, and from juveniles to adults there are no “hot” incentives to not commit crimes, until they get to a severe extreme. Why do we have to wait? Why not set the tone of zero tolerance right from the get go?

This is a “Real Life” criminal history sheet for a real person. More commonly called a “Rap” sheet.

You tell me if this guy believes in right from wrong. He’s now just over 40 years of age and his occupation is a blue-collar worker.

In 1974 he was arrested for:

Petty theft

Tampering with a vehicle

Action- dismissed in the furtherance of justice

1975:

Misdemeanor drunk driving

Reduced to reckless driving

Possession of a switch blade knife

Sentenced to 36 months of probation without supervision for the reckless

Possession of the switchblade dismissed

In 1983:

Challenge another to fight in a public place

Prosecution rejected, released from detention

In 1987:

Battery on a person

Proceedings suspended, diversion granted

1988:

Battery on a person

Diversion dismissed, proceedings pending

Attempted Murder

Dismissed on plea bargain

In 1989:

Assault with a deadly weapon

Dismissed

Obstructs/Resist public officer

Prosecution rejected

Driving under the influence

Dismissed

Attempt Voluntary Manslaughter

Sentenced to 6 years in prison

Paroled

In 1992:

Assault with a deadly weapon

Obstructs resist public officer

Prevent/Dissuade witness from testifying

Dismissed for plea to other charge of assault with deadly resisting

Sentenced to 8 years state prison

Paroled

1998:

Parole violation

Sentenced to finish term above

What you won’t see on the paper is the days spent in between dates for incarcerations and court actions. “Time served”

This guy got a lesson in the injustice of the justice system way back in the 80′s. Right up to the point where his fights and battery’s turned into resisting the police and attempted murder! Somewhere between 1992 and 1998 he got sentenced to 8 years prison but somewhere down the road he violated his parole with another charge, and got sentenced or rather re-sentenced to finish the original term.

Can you see the wasted time with all the “Dismissed in furtherance of justice” and “Prosecution rejected” actions. All we did with this guy was to teach him how to play the system, and as he did this, we watched his offenses grow with severity.

From drunk driving, causing fights, Battery’s, Assaults with deadly weapons, Resisting and obstructing officers, Threatening/preventing a witness, All the way up to attempted murder. Helloooooo! Anybody home? ATTEMPTED MURDER!

What if this guy got the maximum sentences for everything he did as soon as he demonstrated a pattern of criminal behavior.

What we did with this guy, was give him a warm stove to put his hand on, time after time. I’m wondering what the outcome would have been if we had given him a message with a red hot stove right from the beginning.

Parole and Probation may be OK for a first time offender who can prove that he got the message that society WILL NOT TOLERATE criminal behavior. If a first time offender blows it, then think about delivering the 3 sets of sentences that are listed in the penal code. Someone put those in there for a reason.

Time served?

Good time credit?

School time credit?

Work in the kitchen credit?

Give me a break!

What about the time served by the victim who was stabbed in the face, lost an eye, and is now disabled?

What about time served in hospitals and rehabilitation centers?

What good time credit does this law-abiding husband, father, and tax payer get?

Will he get credit for attending schools to be re-trained to do a simple job because he can’t manage at his old job that he went to 4 years of college for?

Will he get credit for working in a kitchen somewhere as part of a disability placement program?

There are 2 victims here.

· The actual victim of the crime.

· And the person we didn’t teach a lesson to when we had the chance.

And we blew it all the way up to letting Attempted Murder take place.

It isn’t working folks. Put a bookmark on this page and go pick up the newspaper. Tell me our corrections system is working.

Here, don’t get up. Let me save you the trouble.

From the blood that has been stained on my uniform,

From the tears streaming down my face over the lifeless body of a child shot by a ruthless gang banger,

From the hatred I see on a daily basis from the predators who bounce in and out of the system,

For everything that the Badge on my Jacket stands for,

I tell you here and now….

It isn’t working!

And it’s not going to work, until you get sick and tired of seeing innocent people like yourselves being victimized, being hurt, and being killed, by persons who keep getting their hand put on a warm stove for doing wrong. People with no remorse for what they do. People with no sense of right or wrong. People who need to be taught a lesson of zero tolerance.

Hey, I’m a cop, not a politician. But I’m thinking we had better make a quick decision on what we’re going to do here.

Make some noise.

Contact your lawmakers.

Contact victim advocate groups.

Work towards a positive change.

Someone screwed up the system allowing this mockery of the justice system to take place. Someone turned down the burner on the stove. All of us can unscrew the mess we have by all working together for positive change. It’s so simple. Would somebody please turn up the burner on the stove?

Hey, let’s talk about Jails:

Laugh at me if you must, but this is my theory. The person who is going to become financially secure beyond one’s wildest dreams after the year 2000, is the person who buys a whole lot of land and opens privately run correction facilities.

Professionally trained staff.

Adequate food and housing.

Educational opportunities made available for diploma’s not time credits.

And proper medical and dental care administered.

You’ll make a bundle! You think I’m kidding? Civilian and privately owned prisons are going to be the thing of the future!

Look at the demise that state prisons are in across America.

Overcrowding

Over budget

Over violent

Under staffed

And inefficient

Someone got the bright idea to start a “new generation jail”. One that was less “threatening” and “harsh” to the inmates. One that was painted with colorful “Dorms” not “Cells”. One that put one or two deputies inside a dorm like setting with 125 inmates free to roam around. We want our deputies to “interact” with the incarcerated. One that provided color TV’s with 50 different cable channels. Contact visits with relatives so that drugs could be smuggled in. Juice makers, Coffee Makers, Microwave ovens, Wall to wall carpeting, Free computers to use, Free stationary supplies, Free Library privileges.

Give the inmates keys to their own rooms. That will give them a sense of responsibility!

We need to be more “touchy feely” with these poor souls.

I have two words to say and the first one starts with Bull —-!

What we’ve given the violent criminal offender with these new generation jails is nothing more than “Time Out”!

When I was a new Deputy, this older inmate approached me at the deputy station. Keep in mind that the “deputy station” was a little wooden podium near the center of a 2-story housing unit for 120 inmates. The inmates were out in the open free to roam where they wanted. The deputy or two on duty wasn’t in a control station. They had to walk around amongst all the bad guys!

“Perry” walked up to me, shook his head, and asked me “if I was new.”

I said yes and asked him why he had asked.

Perry asked me “if I had ever worked the old jail.” I told him that I had not.

(The old jail had cement floors, iron bars, and rather basic accommodations.)

“Deputy” Perry stated, “I’ve been in and out of prison all my life, all on my own accord.”

“But this place” he said as he looked around “This brand new place will be a disaster before you know it”.

Perry told me that jail should be a place that you never want to go back to.

Perry told me that jail should be unpleasant.

Perry told me that jail should be a reminder to do good on the street or else you’d return to jail.

Perry shook his head and said, “All you guys are doing, is giving these people a whole lot of reasons to want to come back for. They got way more here than they ever got at home. You’re rewarding them for being inmates!

I’ll never forget Perry’s word’s as he walked away from the deputy station with his 63-year old shuffle,

“Deputy, with all due respect to your profession, I hope you didn’t pay the guy that thought this up too much because you could have built 10 of the old jails for the cost of this one…If that ain’t embezzlement I don’t know what is…”

Perry was right. I heard it from older inmates. I heard it from older deputies that had worked in the old jail.

In this county jail that was supposed to house somewhere near 500 inmates, we soon had counts as high as 900. Double bunks in rooms that were supposed to be single rooms. Mattresses on the open floors where there were no rooms.

The concept was to make jail a more relaxed place for inmates so that violence would be discouraged & deputies would have an easier work environment.

Perry was right!

We had escapes.

We had fights.

We had suicides.

We had riots.

We had assaults against staff.

We had weapons smuggled in.

We had drugs smuggled in.

We even had a murder where an inmate was strangled by other inmates for “being a snitch” just overhead of where the deputy was at the desk on the lower floor. (So much for the direct supervision idea)

We had all this, even with all the luxurious “touchy feely” benefits that we gave to the inmates.

A place where violence is discouraged?

I’m thinking someone needs to tell that to the dead inmate.

These new generation jails cost MILLIONS to build. They cost hundreds of thousands to staff.

When people who feel sorry for these guys come to their defense and say that I’m out of line, go work a shift in the jail. One deputy. One hundred and Twenty inmates. Work there for a year and watch the same inmate faces coming in over and over again.

There’s a reason why inmates fear going to prison, because the conditions there are “harsh”. Really harsh!

There are county jails run just like prisons, and there are county jails run like a hotel or college campus.

Think about what old “Perry” said, and then think about everything I stated previously about the system.

What we built was a multi million dollar “warm stove”. And we wonder why we suffer from over crowding? In my 5 years of working behind bars, hundreds of inmates told me this infamous saying that old cons passed down to the young ones.

“If you’re gonna do the crime, be prepared to do the time”.

STOP right there!

I am not some cold-hearted badge wearing insensitive member of the establishment. I’m a good cop and have to prove that to no one. I have been your best and only friend in your time of need, and I have also been your worst enemy when you have brought tragedy and havoc to the innocent.

Many of the inmates I met I felt sorry for. We all make mistakes but we are supposed to learn by those mistakes. Life is full of choice and we each choose our own path in life. I am all for giving someone a second chance. But God help you if you blow that first shot at probation or parole and end up back inside.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am not an expert. I have just been in the trenches for 14 years and have seen what really goes on in the real world.

Can probation and parole work? Yes! Is it working? No! MAKE SOME CHANGES!

Are “touchy feely” new generation jails a good idea? No! Do they work? No! MAKE SOME CHANGES!

Is sentencing a travesty of justice? Yes! Is sentencing proportionate to the crime rate? No!

“Make some Changes”

Perry, you’ll probably never read this but I thank you. You taught me a lot when I was a new deputy and you never even knew you were doing it! Even though you were an inmate and bragged about being behind bars long before I ever got out of high school, I admired you for taking responsibility for your actions.

You were sincere, you were level headed, and you had integrity. (I can’t call you honest because of your past track record) but I will say this. Out of all the inmates I ever dealt with, you demonstrated an inner strength and a sense of “class” that not many others had.

I don’t know what ever happened to you, but I sincerely wish you the best. You never physically hurt anyone; you just had a bad habit of stealing their stuff to support your dope habit. It’s like you taught many of the younger inmates, “You do the crime, be prepared to do the time”.

Most of all, I remember you teaching the young inmates who looked up to the “old timer” that you should “Always Deserve Attention, not Demand it”. Kids on the street and behind bars can learn a lot just from that one phrase.

Thanks again Perry. I will always wish you the best regardless of where you are. I know that wherever it is that you ended up, it was because you chose to be there and that you play the cards that are dealt to you. I wish that others had that trait. Maybe they wouldn’t end up as an inmate talking to a deputy at the deputy station!

From the Deputy that you called “Rambo”.

Lets talk about Inmates:

Let’s not and say we did!

For the first time offender, show your true colors, show some remorse, take advantage of probation or parole, and get your act together. I don’t judge someone by what they did, I judge someone by if they do it again after they pay their dues. The choice is yours. Blow it again and you “got nothing coming!”

For the repeat offender,

Read the story about the snake in the grass at the end of civil matters!

JL

So the email you might get that looks like spam first – then the backup…

D U S T I N G

First, I’m going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were #2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn’t allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.

I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won’t.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air used to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.

On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn’t have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off.  I went home and set it down beside my computer. On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn’t move. He would sometimes tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands.  Kyle was dead.

I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM. I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15.  They even have a name for it. It’s called dusting. A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn’t hurt you. It’s just compressed air. It can’t hurt you. His best friend said no. Kyle was wrong. It’s not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. It’s a refrigerant used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas, heavier than air. When you inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out that’s why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain and to your heart. Kyle was right. It can’t hurt you. IT KILLS YOU!

The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It’s not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. IT’S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It’s Russian Roulette. You don’t die later. Or not feel good and say I’ve had too much. You usually die as you’re breathing it in, if not you die within 2 seconds of finishing “the hit.” That’s why the straw was still in Kyle’s mouth when he died. Why his eyes were still open.

The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don’t believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn’t fit here.  And that’s why it’s more accepted. There is no chemical reaction, no strong odor. It doesn’t follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known. It’s easy to say hey, it’s my life and I’ll do what I want. But it isn’t. Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family’s life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is so immense I can’t describe it. There’s nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don’t ever cry. I do what I’m supposed to do but I don’t really care. My kids are messed up. One won’t talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can’t even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.

After Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don’t have a drug problem there. They don’t even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this “new” way of getting high they found, they hid it.

The probation officer told the media after Kyle’s death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn’t have been in my house. We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn’t new and some “professionals” do know about. It just isn’t talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it.

April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15^th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I can’t help but wonder if I died and went to Hell.

This Officer is asking for EVERYONE who receives this email to forward it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers. Even if you do not have children, you can still forward this to friends & family who do.

Now here is the backup:

Snopes.com has an entire back story to this to validate the information here is the link:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp

_____________________________________________________

My exposure to drunk drivers started when I was driving an ambulance. The death and destruction that I saw was over whelming. Aside from the mess on the roadway, I had and still have the misfortune to see what the aftermath does to a family. In a split second your life can change dramatically. Either by being a victim yourself or by becoming a victim when we knock on your door and deliver the news to you that your loved one is either dead, or critically injured at the hospital.

There are 2 perspectives to cover here. One is towards the drunk driver. The other is towards the victims of drunk drivers. We’ll start with the drunk driver.

Who is the drunk driver? I’m not going to categorize in general who the drunk driver is. I’m not going to tell you it’s a car salesman, an insurance broker, the banker, a cop, a fireman, a doctor, the 17-year-old kid down the street, a housewife, or a school teacher. It’s broad, but it’s simple. The drunk driver is ANYONE who is legally intoxicated by the effects of alcohol, who is operating a motor vehicle upon a highway. (Yes, that includes roadways and in most cases parking lots.) In California you are considered legally intoxicated with a B.A.C. of .08%. In some states the level is .10%. In other states it may be less.

What’s this “point oh-eight” stuff. Look at it this way. On a scale from 1 to 25, you are considered legally intoxicated at 8. In other states 10 is the number where you get popped. In California if you are under 21 years of age and you are at a “1”, you AUTOMATICALLY lose your drivers license for 1 YEAR!
(Some teens think whoopee dooh, no license for a year. It gets worse, because you have to pay a hefty reissue fee to get your license back. Worse yet, your insurance rates WILL triple.

Do you need to know the technical aspects of Blood Alcohol Content? Do you need to know the formula of how many drinks you can safely drink per hour to be able to drive? Do you need to know how fast alcohol burns off in your body? No, No, and No!

I have to laugh at some of those charts that came out a few years ago. If your body weight is so and so, and you consume a) 2-12 ounce beers, or b) 3 ounces of 80 proof liquor, or c) 8 ounces of wine, in a 2-hour period, you may be D.U.I. Of course that’s if you weigh 90 to 110 pounds. If you weigh 200 or more pounds, you’re probably safe for a few more. You don’t need a chart. Everybody’s metabolism is different. Alcohol effects everybody differently! I’ve had disgruntled drunk drivers in custody tell me that “drunk driving laws are a joke, because it doesn’t take hardly anything at all to get up to a .08 level.” And you know what? They’re right!

I’ve “heard it all” over the years. “Officer I only had one drink”. “I haven’t had a drink in hours.” “It’s not me, you don’t smell alcohol on me, my friend spilled a beer on me”, “I’m on pain medication”, “I’m not drunk I’m just tired.” When Cops go to calls, they like 2 and 2 to add up to 4. On a car stop it’s the same thing. 2 and 2 should add up to 4. As soon as you start lying to the Cop the warning signals go off because 2 plus 2 is coming up 8. (As in point-oh-eight!)

Let me tell you what we look for:

Weaving! This is the big one because it’s so obvious to us. Whether it’s gradual weaving within the lane with a gradual drift onto or over the painted lines, or jerky erratic swerving. Weaving is weaving. I usually give a person 3 attempts to straighten out. The 3rd time on or over the line is when my red and blue lights come on. You may have a mechanical problem with your car like play in the steering wheel. You may have been changing a tape or CD, lighting a cigarette, dialing a cell phone, whatever the reason – YOU GIVE US PROBABLE CAUSE TO STOP YOU. And may god help you if you’ve been drinking.

Moving Violations we look for:
Running a stop sign or red signal light.
Stopping on or over the limit line or crosswalk at a stop sign or signal light.
Stopping before you get to the limit line.
Abrupt braking for no reason.
Abrupt acceleration or skidding your tires from loss of traction. (Exhibition of speed)
Wide turns.
Striking a curb.
Speeding. Excessive or minimum speeding, either one can get you stopped.
(Doing 25mph in a posted 45 will get you stopped just as if you were going 65!)
Unsafe passing.
Unsafe turns.
Turning without signaling.
Unsafe lane changes.
NOT WEARING YOUR SEATBELT.
Throwing litter or cigarettes out your window.

Alot more info follows – Plus this is a two part post this week – So look for part two next month:

Mechanical Violations that will do you in after midnight…

Driving with no lights on at night Head lamp out
Tail lamp out Brake lamp out
License plate lamp out Cracked windshield
Expired registration No plates displayed at all
No front plate Excessive smoking
Tinted side windows Loud muffler
Playing loud music

You get the picture? All cops have hundreds of reasons to stop you at night, but in essence, YOU are the one giving us the reason to stop you! Excuse me for being blunt, but if you’ve been drinking and we stop you, YOU’RE SCREWED!

No doubt about it, if you’ve had enough alcohol to drink to warrant a car stop, you’re going to exhibit Physical Symptoms of Alcohol Intoxication. The most common we look for include:

Red, watery, or glassy eyes
Thick or slurred speech
An odor of an alcoholic beverage upon your person
Overall fatigued appearance
Droopy eyelids
Confused mental state

If you display any of the above symptoms when I stop you and explain the reason for the stop, I will ask you the following questions:

Where are you driving from right now? Where are you driving to?
Have you had any alcohol to drink tonight? What did you have to eat?
When did you start drinking? Where were you drinking?
When was your last drink? When did you last sleep and for how long?
Are you Epileptic or Diabetic? Do you take prescription medication?
When did you last eat? Are there any mechanical problems with your car?

*For you lawyer types out there, these are Investigative Field Questions that can be asked without “Advising you of your rights!” This is an investigative status, not a Custody status.

Read back on the text regarding Car Stops. Your honesty goes a long way here.

Based on driving that I observed, physical symptoms of intoxication exhibited and statements made during investigative questioning, I will more than likely have you step out of the car to perform a series of F.S.T.’s.
(Field Sobriety Test.)

Test vary from City to City, State to State, but the most common are:

Walking the line heel to toe.
Touching the tip of your nose with your index fingers while your eyes are closed.
Standing at attention, looking up at the sky with your eyes closed.
Standing on one leg while counting predetermined numbers. (1 to 25 or 25 to 1 backward etc.)
Finger dexterity.
Reciting the English alphabet. (No we don’t make you say it backwards!)

These tests measure your ability to carry out a simple test of balance and coordination, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, your ability to FOLLOW simple instructions! Your Physical AND Mental impairment is being evaluated here folks!

Keep in mind that the officer is noting every response that you make. In most cases you are being taped on either a tape recorder, or your worst bet, a video camera. What do you think the Judge or Jury will think when you say you had only one drink, hours ago and that the officer lied about your impairment? They hear you slurring your words and see you stumbling and falling down while attempting to perform the test!

Let’s use my own name in a very common scenario.

Cop> “Ok Jim, I’m going to ask you to perform a series of tests. Part of these tests, are you understanding what I am asking you to do. If you do not understand the instructions for a test, stop me and I’ll re-explain it for you, ok?”

Jim> OK.

Cop> “Jim, this is important, DO NOT attempt to perform any tests until I am done explaining and demonstrating the test to you and I ask you to begin. Do you understand that?”

Jim> Yes I do.

Cop> “Ok Jim, the first thing I’m going to have you do, is stand in a position of attention, arms at your sides, heels and toes together. Once in that position I want you to tilt your head back towards the sky and close your eyes. Jim, don’t start yet, I haven’t finished explaining the test and I haven’t told you to begin”.
Jim,,,,,, JIM!!!! Put your head back down, open your eyes, and let me finish the instructions. OK, Once you have your head tilted back,,,,, Jim, take your hands out of your pockets and keep them at your sides. Ok good, now once you are in position with your head back and eyes closed, I want you to,,, Jim,,,,,JIM!!!!
Don’t start yet! I haven’t asked you to begin yet. Jim, open your eyes so you can watch me first. And Jim, Take your hands out of your pockets,,,,, Good. Now put your heels and toes together in a position of attention. Jim, JIM!!!! Not heel to toe, Put your feet together just like mine are. Jim, If you open your eyes you can see me better!

Jim> C’mon Officer, I’m only a block from home, can’t you follow me home?

You are being evaluated more so on your ability to follow SIMPLE instructions while performing this simple test of coordination, rather than the actual physical test themselves. We often hear, “Did I Pass, Did I Fail?”
Theses are not Pass / Fail tests. You either performed the test as EXPLAINED and DEMONSTRATED or you didn’t. And our concern is why you didn’t!

After the F.S.T.’s the officer has to do one thing before placing you under arrest. He or she has to FORM A REASONABLE OPINION that the driver was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

This reasonable opinion is based on:
Driving observed
Physical symptoms of intoxication exhibited
Statements made during Investigative Field Questioning, and
Both, the Mental or Physical Impairment demonstrated during the field sobriety tests.

If I’ve formed this reasonable opinion, the handcuffs go on. I advise you that I am placing you under arrest for the “Investigation of D.U.I.”. (It’s not a D.U.I. ARREST until we find out what your blood alcohol level is.) We go to the station where you have your choice of 3 chemical test. Keep in mind that if you’re from outside California your D.U.I. laws may be different. Here you have the choice of Blood, Breath, or Urine.

People often ask me what tests they should take. I cannot advise you, influence you, intimidate you, or tell you what test to take. After taking a test the arrested person will often ask me off the record, what test I would personally choose if I were in their position. This is what I tell them. If I was sitting in the “hot seat” I can honestly tell you that I would choose the breath test.

Some of you that have been arrested for D.U.I. may think that I’m full of it, but here’s why. Blood and Urine test notoriously come out .01 to .02 points higher than the breath test, because they are a deeper concentrated test. If you blow a .07 on the breath machine (Intoxilyzer) you will probably come out as a .09 or .10 with a Urine or Blood test.

In California we have to give an advisement following the breath test. It goes something like this.

“The breath testing equipment does not retain a physical sample for later analysis by you or anyone else. If you choose, we will provide an additional blood or urine test for you at no charge. The results of this test can be used by both parties in a criminal prosecution.”

In English this means that if you blow on the machine and you think the machine is faulty, you can have a “referee sample” by providing an additional blood or urine test. The breath machine does not retain a physical sample to place into evidence. It spits out a card that tells what your Blood Alcohol content was on the time and date of the test. There is no physical sample placed into an evidence refrigerator to be analyzed like with blood or urine.

If you want a sample retained, we’ll provide that test for you BUT, more often than not, your referee sample will come back 1 to 2 points higher than the Intoxilyzer test. It’s your call but what I see is a referee sample only adding to our case against you. We flat out tell you in the advisement; the results of any additional test CAN BE USED BY BOTH PARTIES IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

In court the test that is most commonly contested by defense attorneys is the Intoxilyzer test. There are many opportunities for human error. The machine has to be calibrated on a regular basis. The machine takes 2 samples that must be within 2 points of each other. If not, it’s considered an invalid test. The Officer MUST observe you for a minimum of 15 minutes prior to the test to make sure that you don’t ingest anything, smoke anything, or drink anything 15 minutes prior to the test.

I’ve seen cases thrown out because the officer left the Intoxilyzer room just for a second to go answer the station phone and then came back to do the test. A good attorney will notice that the 15-minute observation period was not maintained, and wham, the case is out the window.

The Officer has to have had formal training on the Intoxilyzer used. If not, the test is invalid.

There is a check off list that the Officer must use when operating the Intoxilyzer. If this was not done correctly, wham, it’s an invalid test.

Like I said, aside from the breath test being lower in results than the blood or urine test, there is much more chance for human error to occur with the Intoxilyzer than with the other 2 test. Because of that, I would personally choose the breath test.

Ok, you get to the station and the Officer tells you that you have a choice of blood breath or urine. What if you don’t choose any test and REFUSE? I know Officers’ that like refusals because they make the report quite a bit shorter than documenting all the testing procedures. If you do refuse, you are screwing yourself.

You are required to submit to a chemical test to determine your blood alcohol content.
You sign acknowledgment of that requirement when you get your driver’s license.
If you refuse a chemical test you automatically lose your license for one year.
Your refusal is taken as an admission of guilt in Court.
Your refusal will get you Booked at County Jail as compared to being Cite Released from the station.
In some states and in all Felony cases, blood will be taken from you forcefully.

Is there any advantage to a refusal? Sure. There’s no evidence from a test, to show a judge or jury what your B.A.C. level was. But remember, a refusal is taken as an admission of guilt in court and if the officer is credible and experienced, and your actions and statements were captured on video or audio tape you’re screwed.

OK, the test is done and you are found to be legally intoxicated. What happens next? In California, the Department of motor vehicles takes independent action against your license status, as well as the courts taking criminal action. The ADMINISTRATIVE PER SE ORDER or “Admin per se” for short.

Your driver’s license is confiscated by the officer, at the time of arrest and you are issued a temporary license endorsement allowing you to drive for 30 days. After the 30th day, your license is suspended, regardless of whether your case goes to court in the next year or not. Realistically, most D.U.I. cases that make it to court, do so in a time frame of 6 to 9 months down the road or longer. Keep in mind that the action taken by D.M.V. is independent of the action taken by the court. Your license is gone for 4, 6, 9, or 12 months, depending on your previous history. Under 21 years of age and you can kiss it goodbye for an automatic year!

You have 10 days to file an appeal hearing with D.M.V. What you are appealing is the probable cause for the arrest and the legal actions taken by the officer. What you are not appealing is “ YOUR NEED FOR A LICENSE”. Meaning if you go in there to appeal the suspension because you need your license to go to work, or to pick up your kids from school, it isn’t going to happen.

OK, that’s the D.M.V. action. Now we get down to the end of the arrest process. I have a choice. I can book you at County jail where you will sit amongst real criminals for anywhere from 6 to 18 hours depending on how high your B.A.C. level was. Or I can cite (citation) release you to a friend or relative that is over 18, that has a valid license and who will sign a waiver accepting responsibility for your care during your period of intoxication. 90 percent of the people I’ve arrested for D.U.I. prefer to sleep in their own bed that night, as compared to sitting around in a jail intake area with 50 to 100 really nasty people who are in there for serious crimes.

(Please don’t misunderstand me here. D.U.I. is a serious crime that can cause serious death and destruction. But what I see is the average citizen who has never been arrested before, thrown into the criminal justice system with others who have chosen a life of crime. You made a mistake, you drove after drinking and now you’re in the slammer and YOU WILL be sitting next to the person arrested for murder, assault, robbery, burglary, or what have you.) Not something I’d like to do on a Friday night.

The other 10 percent that I’ve arrested and who get booked at the jail usually have an extremely high B.A.C. level and are uncooperative and unmanageable. They couldn’t reach anyone to accept responsibility for them, had warrants out for their arrest, had prior D.U.I. arrest, refused to provide a chemical test, or had other crimes involved with the arrest.
If you are cite released, I will issue you a citation listing the charge of D.U.I. and a court date about 4 to 5 weeks later. You are signing just like you would a traffic ticket. Not an admission of guilt, but a promise to appear at court. I take your photo, get your fingerprints, and we wait for your ride to get there to pick you up.

When your ride does get there, I give the admonishment stating why you were arrested, that YOU ARE NOT TO DRIVE A VEHICLE AGAIN and that your friend or relative accepts responsibility for your care while you are intoxicated.

What we don’t want is your friend coming down to get you, driving you to your car, and saying “See Ya!”
When your friend signs on the line and accepts responsibility for you, they accept all CIVIL LIABILITY for your actions, so don’t put them in a tough spot. They are putting their necks out for you.

Example; I arrested a 24 year old guy one night who blew a .14 on the machine. He had a clean record, had never been arrested before, and was somewhat up and down with his attitude but I can understand that to a point. No one likes to be arrested. He called his roommate to come down and get him and we got through the whole process. 20 minutes later we got a 911 call for a disturbance at the local Tow Company that had towed the guy’s vehicle at the time of arrest. The guy I had just released was at the tow yard threatening the tow truck driver with a tire iron to get his car back.

I ended up arresting the man with no brains for “Drunk in public” and for “Assault with a Deadly Weapon”. I asked the roommate what he was thinking by bringing his drunk friend to get his car after I had just instructed that he was not to drive a vehicle for the next 8 hours. The roommate told me he was just trying to do him a favor because he would need his car in the morning to get to work.

Remember your responsibility if you sign for a friend to be released from a D.U.I. on a Cite Release. You are liable for the actions of the person you sign for. (GOD HELP YOU if you take them back to their car and let them drive! I will BOOK you in jail for any legitimate reason I can find.)

Point being we are trying to make a D.U.I. arrest a little less traumatic. It is much better for you to go to your own home and sleep in your own bed. Then wake up and deal with the aftermath the next morning. Don’t abuse the privilege.

After court you will probably be looking at the following for a first offense:
A fine in the area of $1000.00,
D.U.I. school that YOU pay for, and it’s expensive,
A suspended license for anywhere up to a year,
Probation usually around 3 years,
An incredible and painful increase in your insurance rates,
And finally any Court and Attorney fee’s you’ve accumulated.
People that I’ve arrested for D.U.I. have later told me that the first offense cost them about $7,000.00 or more depending on attorney fee’s. If there are no attorney fee’s it’s substantially less. Let’s put it in this perspective.

I’ve arrested over 450 persons for D.U.I. in the past 6 years. I’ve been to Court on maybe 10 of those. 10 out of 450 D.U.I. arrests. And those 10 were found guilty in Jury trials. If the Officer had legal reason to stop you, and if the Officer formed a reasonable opinion that you were intoxicated and finally if the officer has in hand the results of your test showing that you were over the legal limit in your state, you’re screwed.

It’s safe to say that most the first offenders that I’ve arrested for D.U.I. plead guilty to a lesser charge of D.U.I. under the advice of a lawyer. A lesser charge is usually “Wet Reckless Driving” meaning your history will show that you were arrested for reckless driving with alcohol involved. The fines and penalties are much lower than a D.U.I. charge. You’ll still get probation and if you get popped for another D.U.I. while on probation you’re looking at an additional charge of Violation of Probation. Not a very good position to be in. Trust me!

I’m not going to go through all the reasons and excuses that I’ve heard over the years as to why people drank and then drove a vehicle. I’ve gone through enough reasons above in regards to why you should “NOT” drink and drive.

You know what we look for. You know the process. So the big question is?

HOW DO YOU AVOID A D.U.I.?

Don’t drink and drive a vehicle, period!

At a bar, at a ballgame, at a bachelor or bachelorette party, wedding, birthday party, anniversary, job promotion, marriage, divorce, money problems, feeling sorry for yourself, feeling happy for yourself, the company christmas party. There are hundreds of reasons to drink alcohol when you go out to celebrate.

There’s one very good reason why you shouldn’t drive afterwards and it’s called the Drunk Driving Arrest.

Drinking and driving is like rolling the dice, and sooner or later, You WILL Lose!

If you’re lucky you will just get arrested for D.U.I.
If you’re uncooperative of if you’re stopped in a hazardous place, your car will be towed at your expense.
If you’re really unlucky, you’ll be involved in a collision.
If you’re even unluckier than that, you’ll injure or kill another party, your passenger, or yourself.

The charge gets more and more severe depending on the severity of the incident.

Do yourself a big favor. Do us an even bigger favor. Follow these steps when you go into a bar or drink at a friend’s house.

• Drink as much as you want. And then call a cab or a friend for a ride home. You should never go out drinking unless you have enough Cab money in your purse or wallet for a ride home. If you don’t set that money aside you’ll be tempted to drive. My dad used to always tell me to put a $100.00 bill under my license in my wallet for emergencies. I do it to this day. You can modify that practice to avoid a D.U.I. arrest. Put a $20.00 bill under your license and keep it there for emergency cab fare. That 5 or 10 dollar cab fare WILL save you thousands of dollars. I’m not going to beg you to believe me. If you’re smart, you’ll put a 20.00 bill in there right now. If not, and you should decide to take a chance on driving, YOU WILL GET STOPPED AND ARRESTED. It’s just a matter of time.

(Just so you know, drinking coffee before you drive is nothing more than a myth. It does nothing to sober you up. You don’t see me sticking my neck out by saying it’s OK to have only one drink and then drive.) That’s because everyone’s metabolism is different. Amount of sleep, food intake, medications, medical history, and tolerance to alcohol, all play a part in how much one can safely drink in a time frame. The truth is, in an era where there is zero tolerance to drunk driving, it does not take much alcohol at all, to get up to California’s limit of .08. Zero tolerance means zero options if you never want to get arrested for D.U.I. The only safe option is to not drink and drive. Period!

Here are some safe options to LIVE BY: (Nothing that you haven’t already heard.)

• Use a designated driver! (One that totally refrains from drinking. It’s embarrassing when the designated driver gets arrested and blows a .10 on the machine!) I knew a group of guys that had just gotten out of college that loved to live it up on the weekends. 5 of them. They rotated designated driving responsibilities EVERY friday night when they went out. They always had a blast, and they often offered rides to others that were intoxicated and planning to drive. They were ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE and I respect that.

• Drink non-alcoholic beverages. You can still go to a bar, socialize, throw darts, dance, meet people, and have fun. If you’re driving home afterwards, you’d best heed this advice or your fun is going to be very short lived. There is nothing wrong with drinking non-alcoholic beer, 7-up, ginger ale, juice, ice water, or whatever.

• I see numerous people walking home at 2:00am from our downtown area, and I worry about them being able to walk in a straight line but, I’d rather see that, over them getting behind the wheel of a car!
If I don’t have anything going on I try to reward these people with a quick ride home. If you have no other alternative and you live reasonably close by, then WALK instead of Drive!

• I’LL often cruise through the parking lot of some of the bars after they close and I’ll see a car or 2 with the windows fogged up. Sometimes with the engine running for heating purposes. The driver is sound asleep inside. The intent is good but is it a recommendation. No.

All to often the sleeping intoxicated driver will wake up in discomfort and decide to drive home. Still Intoxicated! Plus you never know who is going to be knocking on your car window at 3am. What if it was someone other than a cop checking on your welfare? What if it was someone who saw you as being an easy target? Sleeping it off in your car? We don’t recommend it.

One of my favorite sayings is that “Every Action causes a Reaction.” This holds true for everything in life. In regards to drunk driving your actions decide on how your night will go.

Use discretion, common sense, and follow some of the simple suggestions listed above and you’ll never, I repeat never have any problems getting home in one piece. (Unless a drunk driver runs into you.)

Disregard the law, use poor judgment, utilize poor common sense, and present a hazard to innocent motorist and pedestrians? The answer comes in the form of a very accurate bumper sticker.

“You Drink and Drive – We’ll provide the CHASER!”

What can you do to prevent being victimized by the drunk driver? You can help yourself by helping us in getting drunk drivers off the road.

• Don’t let your friends or relatives drive drunk. Take the keys, drive them home, call them a cab, or as a last resort call us. You’re not snitching your friend off, and we’re not looking to make an arrest unless your friend makes it onto a roadway.

I got a call from our dispatch center a couple months back, on a Saturday morning at about 1:00am for a “service to a citizen” call. A woman caller was reporting that her fiancé was too intoxicated to drive and that he refused to give her the car keys and wouldn’t consider taking a cab home. (Pride is a funny thing and often gets in the way here.) The woman gave us a perfect description of what they were wearing and told us where they were sitting at the bar. The woman insisted that her fiancé not know that she called. Hey, we’re flexible!

I did a “walk through” the bar which we do frequently just to let people know that we’re out and about. I saw the couple sitting at the bar and it was obvious there was tension between the two. I walked up and said hello and asked them how the night was going. I told the fiancé that I couldn’t help but notice that he was having a “great time” and tactfully told him that I hoped he wasn’t driving home. The fiancé told me that he felt fine and that they were just leaving. I asked “Shawn” if I could be blunt, to which he looked surprised and said “sure.” I told him that as much as I hated to see people get hurt from driving drunk, I also hated to see nice folks get arrested for making a mistake. I told him that from the physical symptoms that I saw, and with the number of young aggressive cops on the street looking to stop a car for any reason, I thought it would be better if he let me call him a cab.
Shawn looked a little surprised as if looking for a trick somewhere along the line, but agreed to let me call him a cab if I really thought that was best. Our dispatcher requested that a cab respond to my location, and Shawn kept telling me that he really didn’t feel that bad and asked if this was really necessary.

We have a test we use called “Gaze Nystagmus”. It’s a test where the Officer has a subject follow an object back and forth with their eyes only while keeping their head straight. The Officer is looking for jerky movements of the eye while following the object. The onset of where the jerking starts can pretty much tell an Officer what the subjects Blood Alcohol Content is. While waiting outside, Shawn let me test his eyes and I estimated his B.A.C. level to be just over .10. Shawn disagreed and said there was no way he was over .08. I don’t do this too often but I let Shawn blow into my portable field intoxilyzer. I wasn’t surprised but he was shocked, when the results came up .12 B.A.C.

Shawn shook my hand and couldn’t thank me enough for looking out for their welfare. As Shawn got into the cab the woman shook my hand and said, “Thank you so much”. I told her that the thanks really goes to her, and that Shawn was a lucky guy to have someone watching out for him, despite his pride.

The next night there was a message in my voice mail from Shawn. Shawn thanked me again and told me that he learned a valuable lesson from the night before. He even invited me to their wedding! I still wonder if Shawn’s bride ever told him about her anonymous phone call!

The Moral of that story is just like the commercial on TV. Friends don’t let friends drive drunk!

Could I have sat in the parking lot and waited for them to drive off? Yes.
Do I feel that Shawn learned just as much a lesson from this than if he had gotten arrested? Yes.
The key element in Shawn’s not getting arrested was that Shawn had someone watching out for him.
Do you need to know the drunk driver to look out for him or her? No.

You can do just what Shawn’s fiancée did, and look out for the safety of other motorist, as well as for the drunk driver. You can remain anonymous. Most people prefer that.

We get calls like this all the time:

“Anonymous male caller reporting an intoxicated subject getting ready to drive away from the ABC bar” along with a description of the subject and the vehicle they were getting into, or drove away in.

Or:

“Anonymous mobile 911 caller reporting an erratic driver, northbound on the ABC freeway, now passing the “D” avenue exit. The vehicle is a green newer model so and so, weaving badly in the #3 lane and onto the shoulder.”

That kind of phone call right there, or the kind of phone call from Shawn’s fiancée,

IS WHAT SAVES LIVES!

I say again, please help us help you!

• When you see someone getting into a car, and they look intoxicated, give us a call.

• When you observe erratic driving on a roadway, jot down a license plate and give us a call.

• When you hear reckless driving in your neighborhood, try and get a description and give us a call!

It goes without saying that the Cops cannot be everywhere at once. In most cases we depend on you to report suspicious activity otherwise we’d never know about it.

Think about something. Think about my partners own fiancée who was driving home late one night on her way home from work. She was one mile away from their house where they lived together when a drunk woman crossed over the center divider and smashed head on into her car at 60 mph. I’m told that the impact speed was over 100 mph. I pray that she never felt anything. She died instantly.

The drunk woman certainly didn’t feel anything because she was 3 times over the legal limit and was feeling no pain. She had several prior arrests for D.U.I., and only got a couple years jail time for killing another human being. All due to nothing short of Criminal Reckless Negligence! Would the girl that my partner cherished still be alive if someone had made a call to us?

Put someone you love in place of my partner’s fiancée and tell me if that anonymous phone call is important. You make the call. We’ll do the dirty work. If we can handle it without an arrest we will. If we have to make an arrest, a life is still being saved somewhere down the road.

As I end this subject on drunk driving, please remember Shawn. His situation is all too common. He felt OK to drive but his blood alcohol level was .12! Don’t take the chance on killing or injuring yourself, your passengers, or an innocent victim. Don’t take the chance on screwing up your life with avoidable expensive fines, suspended licenses, sky-high insurance rates, and a criminal history.

If you don’t drink and drive, you’ll never have to worry about it!

JL

We all do it. Several times a week. Some do it once or more a day. We all make that convenient trip to the ATM machine to withdraw our hard-earned money. We transfer funds from checking accounts to savings accounts, we make deposits, we check balances, and we even make credit card and loan payments by way of the mechanical teller.

We get out of our car and walk up to our mechanical friend. Or we don’t even bother to benefit from the exercise of getting out of your car to walk. We drive right up to the window and lean out that window to take care of business, right from the comfort of our car.

What thousands of ATM users have discovered, is that when you walk up that path or drive into that ATM lane, you are entering a danger zone that can change your life. For many it’s a danger zone that has taken a life.

The problem presented to you is that while you are going to take care of financial business belonging to you, a strong possibility exists that someone else wants to make your finances, their financial business.
It’s called the ATM Robbery.

An ATM Robbery is a crime of opportunity. IT IS RARE that a suspect will come up behind you and stick a gun in your back while other people are around. Although they can and do occur during hours of daylight, the most common ATM robberies take place at night. They most ALWAYS take place when you’re alone.

For many Gang-Bangers this crime is nothing more than a sport. It’s so easy, not only to terrorize innocent people, but to also have a chance at a quick $300.00 bucks, a wallet or purse, jewelry, and even a car at the same time! Yes in a matter of 30 seconds you could be standing in front of your mechanical friend with NOTHING! If you resist, you could be laying there beaten, stabbed, shot, or dead.

It can happen at a little country ATM outlet in a rural area, or at a mainstream bank in a spotlight city like Beverly Hills or Hollywood. You can be a victim ANYWHERE!

What is a Crook thinking when they come up behind you? He or she thinks you’re a fool. Male or female, it doesn’t matter who the victim is. You walked up to this ATM all alone at night, plus you left your car running. There’s no one around including the cops and this will be an easy score. $300.00 bucks, maybe a couple credit cards, and this new Ford Explorer with the dynamite sound system. The Crooks is thinking that now, is as good a time as any to head out of town. After all, the Crook has a warrant for his arrest from a robbery last month, and it would be good to blow out of town for awhile until the heat is off. And here it is all in one package, the vehicle and the travel money! Who are you to the Crook?

Nothing more than an Opportunity

Or the Crook is high on crank and only wants more money for more dope. Trouble is this person is extremely dangerous and unpredictable because of the drug inducement. I’d say that brains on crank are dangerous but there’s no brains involved. Only DANGER. Who are you to the Crook?

Nothing more than an Opportunity

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If you resist an ATM Robbery there is a remote chance that the crook will be surprised and run off. If you resist an ATM Robbery there is a remote chance that you may overtake the crook and see him or her arrested. If you resist an ATM Robbery there is a GREATER CHANCE that you will be Beaten, Stabbed, Shot, or KILLED. This is terror for sport, and you are NOTHING to the crook except OPPORTUNITY.

Figured it out yet? Take away the OPPORTUNITY and you take away the chances of being Victimized during an ATM Robbery. It doesn’t get anymore simple than that.

Suggestions:

• Refrain from using an ATM at night. You’re much safer using an ATM during daylight hours when other people are around. Even on weekends.

• Don’t use an ATM alone. Never! If you have someone waiting with you, don’t leave them to wait in the car while you are gone. Have them go with you. A Crook is less likely to attack more than one person. Especially at those ATM’s that are out of sight from where you park.

• Don’t drive right up to the curb, park, and get out of the car. Look over the entire parking lot as you enter. Look to see if there’s occupied vehicles in the lot that may look suspicious. A car occupied
By 3 guys parked a short distance away isn’t right. Why didn’t they drive right up to the curb? Is there a 4th guy waiting around the corner out of sight waiting for a victim? If it’s a night and there’s no one around, this would not be the ATM to use.

• Eliminate the above scenario completely by planning ahead. Don’t put yourself in a position of having to use an ATM machine “after hours”. I explained in the topic of drunk driving about keeping extra money in your wallet or purse for emergencies. My Dad taught me at an early age to always have a $50 or $100 dollar bill hidden underneath my driver’s license for emergencies. I practice that to this day. Do this and you won’t need to use the machine for that quick forty withdrawal. That late night deposit can wait until the next morning.

• Many banks offer telephonic banking enabling you to do account transfers over the phone. This is much safer than using an ATM for this purpose.

• Persons loitering around an ATM machine? Not a good sign. Maybe they’re waiting for a ride, Maybe they’re not!

• Don’t count your money at the ATM. Chances are someone is watching you do it. As my brother Mark says, there’s probably 2 or 3 of you counting YOUR money! Put it away and wait until you are safely in your car. Once in your car, continue to pay attention as to who is around you.

• DON’T leave your car running or have the keys in the ignition while you are preoccupied at the ATM.
Get into a routine of precaution and you won’t have to call us and explain how you gave your car away. Take your keys with you.

• When possible, take only your ATM card and papers that you need to carry out the transaction. (Example; your ATM card, deposit slip, and paycheck. If you take your wallet or purse with you, you take a chance on losing credit cards, money, and personal identification.)

• Take advantage of merchants and businesses that use ATM or debit machines for purchases at the sales counter or at the gas pumps. It is safer, just as convenient and there are usually more people around than at an isolated ATM machine. At many mini marts and grocery stores you can usually get money back.

• Speaking of grocery stores, many have installed ATM machines inside the store lobby in addition to having debit machines at the check out stand. A well lit environment, employee’s present, and usually many other customers around. MUCH SAFER than being alone outside the front of a bank!

Please don’t get me wrong. I LOVE ATM machines. I haven’t been inside the lobby of a bank while being off duty in over 5 years. I do everything at the ATM. But I’m a cop. I have peace officer powers 24 hours a day. Because I have cop powers 24 hours a day, I always have the tools of the trade with me, so to say.
I can protect myself. I know what to look for. I’ve been trained to deal with confrontations and threats.
Because I’m no fool, and because I don’t want to go through the unnecessary hassle of writing mountains of paperwork explaining why I shot someone who pulled a gun on me at an ATM machine, I follow the suggestions listed above. DAILY!

Take away the OPPORTUNITY, and you’ll take away their CHANCE.

My favorite saying, “Every action causes a reaction”. What action do you want to take? At least think about it. Your life can be uprooted and turned upside down in 30 seconds, If you let it.

JL

I can not work one full shift without being dispatched to a PC242. Often I get dispatched to several. That’s the Penal Code for Assault. In legal terms, it is the unlawful touching of another person. In police terms, a majority of these calls are wasted time. An incident that could have easily been avoided.

Battery can be anything from shoving, hitting, touching, or even spitting on someone. The most common type I respond to is when several teens or kids confront each other, and a shoving match or fight breaks out. Suddenly, everyone wants everyone else arrested. It takes a lot of time to sort out what happened, who the aggressor is, and who if anybody goes to jail.

Battery is a misdemeanor offense, which means that unless I viewed the incident personally, the suspect has to be placed under citizen’s arrest by you. (We make the actual physical arrest, but you sign a form stating that you requested the arrest be made, and that you’ll go to court to testify against the suspect).

I stated that a lot of battery calls are a waste of time. Why? Because most always when we arrive, tempers are hot, and people are demanding that someone be arrested. After obtaining the facts, we place the alleged responsible party under a citizen arrest. Sometimes the person arrested wants the other person arrested as well. (It takes two to fight, and sometimes we have to take both parties to jail if we can’t figure out who did what!). Usually when both parties realize that they each could go to jail, they change their minds and state they want to forget the whole thing.

Or after we make an arrest, get all the information, and the victim cools down a bit, the victim states that they do not want to go to court to testify, and that it wasn’t so bad after all. They just want to forget it now. That’s a waste of my time.

On the other hand, some battery calls are legitimate. A lot of arrests are Valid.

More info – Follow the link below:

Some examples:

You are out front watering your lawn, washing your car, etc. Your child gets into a dispute with your Neighbors child, and the other kid goes home crying. A few moments later, your neighbor, (who you never really got along with) comes over with a BIG attitude, cussing you out for making his kid cry. You try to explain what really happened but he doesn’t want to listen.

He walks up to you and a verbal argument takes place. Suddenly, your neighbor shoves you backward with both arms, knocking you back over your planter. It could stop there, (still a battery occurred) but you jump up and approach
The neighbor who now swings out at you and punches you in the face. The neighbor then walks away. What do you do? The best thing to do is to call the police. If you chase down the neighbor, attack him to get even, or go to his property, YOU now become the aggressor. If you call the police, and explain that the neighbor came onto your property, and assaulted you, then he will be the only one arrested.

If you are provoked into becoming the aggressor while trying to get even, then chances are that your neighbor might be able to have you arrested too.

There is a difference between defending yourself verses getting even. Everyone has the right to defend himself or herself, but some take it too far. A lot of disputes involving assault or battery can be resolved at the time the incident took place.

Many disputes are caused by misunderstandings or “heat of the moment” differences. These can be resolved with an apology or handshake.

Some are resolved by both parties being in agreement to leave each other alone and police action is not summoned.

Some are resolved with an arrest. Usually, if a person is arrested for battery, they will be cite-released out of the police station in an hour or two, with a court date scheduled a few weeks later where a Judge will hear the case.

If we think the incident will happen again by the suspects release, or if there is alcohol or drugs involved, then the suspect may go to county jail for an extended Stay.

Some assaults are unprovoked, and if property is taken, it might be a robbery. Most disputes start with a verbal argument, which then escalates into a physical fight. If you find yourself in a heated argument, back off and call the police. We would rather respond out to help defuse the situation rather than have to Arrest one, or both of you, for battery on each other. Like I tell my kids, It takes two to fight.

Another type of battery is sexual battery, the unlawful touching of specific parts of another’s body. This can be through the clothing or direct skin contact underneath outer clothing.

An accidental bumping into someone does not justify a claim of sexual battery, but a deliberate touching or grabbing of certain body parts (such as buttocks, breast, crotch, etc.) is sexual battery, and should be reported to police. This type of behavior can lead to more serious crimes if not reported and it is allowed to occur.

Battery or assault incidents are usually minor in nature, with little to no injuries sustained. What gets hurt the most is your pride. A few battery incidents are classified as felonies. This is when someone is severely injured during a beating or assault (no weapons used) if serious injury does occur, a felony charge may be filed.

Just remember that most assaults result from a heated argument or confrontation. If these can be avoided then everyone comes out ahead.

ML

Or,

You are trying to parallel park in a parking lot and OOOOOPS, you bump the car in front of you.

Or,

A minor collision where both parties agree what has happened.

Any minor traffic accident can be handled without a police officer. Most police departments handle accidents basically the same way but check with the local police department where the accident occurred for detailed information.

Where I work, the accidents that occur in a incorporated city are handled by that cities police department. Unincorporated areas are usually handled by the CHP. (California Highway Patrol).

A minor traffic accident with no injuries can usually be handled just by exchanging driver and vehicle information. You call your insurance carrier with the information and no police are usually needed. If police are called, a PDO (property damage only) report is the only documentation taken of the incident.

A traffic accident with injuries should be reported to a law enforcement agency. Usually there are insurance claims, lawsuits, etc. so documentation by a law enforcement agency is recommended.

A traffic accident with serious injuries or death should always be a full investigative report by a law enforcement agency. Every detail needs to be fully documented and investigated in a serious injury or fatal accident.

Like I said, every jurisdiction has different reporting requirements for accident reporting, so be aware of your states or local law enforcement’s policies for accident investigation.

Be aware that there are factors that change reporting requirements though.
Drivers with no drivers license, no insurance, alcohol related accidents, drug related accidents, no proof of identification, violent parties involved in accidents, all should require a police response.

A normal non-injury collision where both parties have proper identification, proof of insurance, and somewhat agree on what happened, usually don’t need police assistance. In fact, a lot of people work it out themselves without police or insurance needing to be notified.

A hit and run accident needs to be investigated. In California, drivers involved in an accident must stop and exchange information. If a driver flees the scene of an accident, it becomes a crime. With injury, it can become a FELONY!

Some NetCops accidents tips:

• Keep current vehicle registration and insurance information in your car at all times. At an accident scene, I often get handed registration or insurance cards 3-4 years old. Take out the old and put in the new every year. It makes my job easier and less stress on you finding the necessary information
• Accidents are just that. ACCIDENTS. Don’t get hostile, belligerent, or violent over an accident. If you become violent because your car is damaged in an accident, you can be arrested for battery, assault, or worse. Insurance companies will usually fix your car, don’t do something out of anger that you will regret later.
• Notify your insurance company of the incident. There is no need to contact the other party. That’s why we pay such big bucks for insurance. Let the insurance companies handle it.
• If you are in an accident, some insurance companies recommend carrying a inexpensive camera in your car for photos. A slightly dented bumper on the other car may turn into a totaled out car by the time the insurance company is notified. If a camera is not available, take notes.
• If there is injury or death, call 911 and report it immediately. These accidents CAN NOT be handled without a full and proper investigation.
• If alcohol or drugs are suspected, request police assistance.
• If you are the victim of a hit and run, report the accident to police.

Some people don’t want higher insurance rates and would rather handle accidents themselves. That’s fine. But there’s usually a dispute over fault so police assistance is usually needed. Remember to check with your local law enforcement agency or state laws for reporting requirements in your area.

In regards to hit and run accidents, you can help us identify a responsible vehicle by giving us an accurate
Color,
Description,
Number of occupants,
Last seen direction of travel,
and if possible, THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER!

Most people flee because

They have been drinking alcohol
They are on probation
They have a previous DUI
They have a suspended license
They are wanted for another crime and have warrants out for their arrest
Or they simply panic and exercise terrible judgement.

Do not get into a confrontation, but DO notify us immediately with as much factual information you can give us. IT makes all the difference in the world whether or not the driver ever gets identified and held accountable.

D.U.I., short for Driving Under the Influence. This is a category that can make you a victim or a perpetrator. One side is the very tragic side. Where you or a loved one is killed by a drunk driver. Or when you’re drunk and kill somebody else’s loved family member or friend.

Imagine this:

You are watching television, comfortable after a nice dinner. All relaxed in the lazy-boy recliner. Your wife and daughter (or son) have been gone around 2 hours, shopping for clothes and school supplies. The doorbell rings. You figure it’s the newsboy collecting, or a salesman. You answer the door, and you see a policeman. The policeman says, “are you Mr.? You answer yes, and your heart starts to beat a little faster. The officer says ” I’m sorry, I have some bad news for you” ” Your wife and daughter (or son) were killed in a vehicle accident an hour ago.” “Is there anyone I can call for you”

I don’t know about you, but my life would shatter at the thought of my wife or one of my daughters suddenly vanishing from my life. My wife and both of my daughters vanishing would be more than I could handle. I would be at a total loss. Then the real pain. Taken from me by a drunk driver. My wife and children killed, but the drunk driver is at the local hospital being treated for injuries. My first thought? Why me, why my family, why did I lose my family when the person who caused this is alive and being treated. No matter what this person is charged with, or what punishment they receive, my life as I know it is gone. I would wish that I was in the car with my wife of 18 years and my children when their lives were taken, because life wouldn’t be the same without them.

I am sure most of you with close family would feel the same way. Maybe some of you have lost family members this way. An avoidable tragedy. Avoidable for only those who choose to drink and drive. Usually an unavoidable tragedy for the victims.

I have to admit, ashamed to do so, but when I was younger I drove drunk. I have never been falling down drunk, or to the point that my driving was severely impaired. But enough to by standards nowadays, to be D.U.I. I was lucky enough to never be involved in an accident or to be pulled over while D.U.I.

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But since becoming a cop, and seeing the results of a D.U.I. crash, having to inform Mr.??? that his family was taken out by a drunk driver, it all becomes too real. Almost every drunk driver I pull over says, ” I’ve only had a beer or two” “I’m fine to drive”

But they can’t stand up on their own two feet without swaying or stumbling, or slurring their words. I mentioned being the victim of BOTH sides of D.U.I. The first side is the real tragic side, the loss of a loved one. The other side, is the loss of privileges and $$$$$ due to a D.U.I. If you are lucky, and just get pulled over drunk without an accident, you automatically lose your drivers license and get a hefty $$$$$$ fine, along with a cancellation or increase in insurance rates. No license or insurance? Your gonna drive anyway? O.K., now add getting your car impounded for 30 days (or sold for multiple offenses) and warrants for your arrest for driving without a license. BIG $$$$$$ now. But now, you become a suspect.

But now add an accident while intoxicated. Someone’s hurt? A FELONY. Wow, serious now. Don’t try to go home and report the car stolen, old trick that wont work. Do you really want the deaths of innocent people or children on your conscious? Everyone has someone who they care for or love in their lives. A friend, child, parent, whoever. Try to imagine them taken away by a drunk driver.

Like I said, I had a past I was lucky with, but alot of people aren’t lucky. If one person imagines their loved ones killed by a drunk driver, the late night visit by the local police, informing them that their life will never be the same, maybe they will change their habits. Before they incur the $$$$$ loss of being arrested on a D.U.I., or being the cause of someone’s loss of a family member due to D.U.I. If just one person, out of the thousands who will read this, change their habits and refrain from driving after drinking, it is worth our time and effort to write this. Most will say “that wont happen to me”, but it will, The California law of .08 is not much more than a couple of beers or a shot or two.

Lets say you go to a bar with a couple of friends, have a few beers, and on your way home. A few beers, no problem. You have been doing this for years. Suddenly, traffic stops in front of you. You slam on the brakes but you hit the car in front of you. Whoops, you hit. You pull over with the other driver. Suddenly, a cop or C.H.P. arrives and smells the beer on your breath. You’re fine you say, but a field sobriety test (FST) or breathalyzer test shows you’re over the limit of 0.08%. Bet you wish you didn’t have those beers now. What would have been a normal accident report becomes an arrestable D.U.I. arrest of you. Bet you didn’t plan on being arrested, your car towed, and going to county jail for the night. Or the big $$$$ involved in the process.

WORSE:

You’re on your way home, after a few brews with the guys. Done this a hundred times. Suddenly, a block from home, a small kid on a bike darts out in front of you. Maybe a neighbor kid you know. You hit and kill, or injure the child. What would have been a possible accident, turns into a FELONY D.U.I. Can you live with yourself, let alone your neighbors? Chances are, you’ll be in jail for awhile. How are your wife and children going to survive with you in jail?

EVEN WORSE:

You make it home, after a couple of beers, no problem. 45 minutes later, you get the visit of a police officer that a drunk driver killed your daughter, son, wife, or a loved one. Suddenly, you become the “other victim” But it’s too late to realize then.

Like I said, If just one life can be saved by someone reading this, and changing their habits, avoiding being a cause of someone becoming a victim, or becoming a victim themselves, is worth the time it took to type this.

I still enjoy my beer, but at home. If I’m out, I make sure I have a sober ride home. Don’t take a chance. The one time when you think it will be O.K., will be the time you injure or kill yourself or worse, an innocent person. It’s just not worth it nowadays.

Think about your close ones before you choose to drink and drive. I do now…….You should too.

There are several hundred reasons listed in the Vehicle Code for an Officer to stop your car. Many of the primary reasons we have for stopping a vehicle don’t have anything to do with enforcing the Vehicle Code.

Example: I see a suspicious looking van cruising several times through a closed shopping center at 2:am. (A shopping center that was recently burglarized I might add.) I see that the van doesn’t have a light over the rear license plate as required by the State Vehicle Code.

I turn on the Red and Blue lights and stop the van. I could really care less about the van having a license plate lamp out, but that’s the “Technical” and “Legal” reasons I use for making the stop. This gives me legal cause to check for License status, Vehicle registration, and proof of Insurance. You would be amazed at how many arrests the Cops in your Town or City make, originating from simple little mechanical infractions like this. Warrant arrest, Dope arrest, Weapons arrest, Stolen Property arrest, Locating Runaway
Juveniles.

Most the good Cops I know use the Vehicle Code as a tool. Of course if we see something unsafe we’re going to let you know about it. You might even get a “Fix it Ticket”. Just be aware that there are literally hundreds of reasons to stop a vehicle for poor driving or equipment violations. If you want to browse through it yourself, go down to your local Department of Motor Vehicles and get a copy of the Vehicle Code. You’ll get the same book they give us to use!

There are primarily 3 types of Car stops that an Officer deals with:

1) The Traffic enforcement stop. (Moving violations, Mechanical violations, Parking violations etc.)

2) The Investigative stop. (Vehicle weaving, Officer investigates for D.U.I., or Vehicle/ Occupants are involved in suspicious activity similar to the van in the example listed above.)

3) The criminal arrest stop. (Officer has knowledge vehicle or occupants are wanted for a crime.)

More often than not, the only time that you will ever have contact with an Officer on the roadways, will be when you are stopped for traffic enforcement. It is important however, that you understand the mind set of the Officer during each category of stop.

Whether you are stopped by a Patrol cop looking to find “bad guys” who just happened to see you do something wrong with your car, or when you’re stopped by a Traffic officer who is a “Ticket writing machine”, you have certain courses of action that you can take that can GREATLY affect the course of action that the Officer will carry out. Our 2 actions are simple. A TICKET. Or a WARNING.

Here are the things you need to know that can greatly REDUCE your chance of being cited.

• When the Red and Blue lights come on behind you, Pull over to the RIGHT shoulder of the roadway SAFELY! Even if you’re in the fast lane of the freeway. PULL TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER OF THE ROADWAY. If the Officer is sharp, he already has his rear lights on letting traffic behind know to keep clear. I give credit for the driver who pulls over to the right.

• Keep your hands on the wheel until the Officer makes contact with you. Remember that the Officer is watching EVERY move you make. If you reach into the glove box, or for a purse on the floorboard, or into your back pocket for your wallet, that Simple movement becomes an immediate THREAT to us because we have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE REACHING FOR! Any good Cop that wants to live to retirement is going to perceive that it’s possible for a Weapon to be in ANY vehicle. That unexpected movement that you make inside your car before we contact you supports that suspicion. SAFELY pull to the RIGHT and keep your hands on the wheel. I give credit for that.

• Normally the Officer will greet you and explain why you were stopped. You don’t have to like us, but now isn’t the time for you to “cop” an attitude. The Officer will ask you for your Drivers License, Vehicle Registration, and written Proof of Insurance. Tell the Officer where your License is, and even ask permission to reach into a purse or a rear pocket for a wallet. The person who makes an EFFORT to make my job SAFER gets credit for that.

• Have your Vehicle Registration and Proof of Insurance readily available either in the glove box, center console, or on your visor. I give credit for that. I recommend having the Registration and the Proof of Insurance for the CAR YOU ARE DRIVING, paper clipped or stapled together. The person who takes the time to be organized gets credit for that in my book.
The person, who is unorganized and has to sift through a ton of papers and junk falling out of the glove box for 5 minutes, gets NO CREDIT.

• The Officer will normally ask you 2 to 3 CRUCIAL questions once he or she knows whom they are talking to (meaning you’ve already identified yourself with your License.) Let’s say I stop you for doing 40 miles per hour on a residential street with a speed limit of 25mph.

I will ask you:
DO YOU KNOW WHY I STOPPED YOU? If not I’ll explain why but this is your chance to be honest.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE SPEED LIMIT IS? If not I’ll tell you.
DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING?
And I might add, IS THERE A REASON YOU WERE DRIVING SO FAST?

These are CRUCIAL questions because the Officer’s Questions and YOUR Answers will be noted on the Officer’s copy of the citation. When a Cop has you sign the ticket and says, “Press hard, 4 copies” they aren’t kidding. One copy goes to you, One goes to the station, One goes to the Court, and guess what. We get one so that we can testify in traffic Court months or even sometimes a couple years down the road.
The Officer’s copy is the only one that has your comments and statements on it. HONESTY gets points. A bad attitude, rudeness, and obvious lying doesn’t.

Another thing for you to be aware of. MANY Officers if they are smart, TAPE RECORD the contact they have with you. There is no expectation of privacy when being stopped by an Officer and we do not have to inform you that the contact is being taped. Why do we do this? Here’s an example.

I stop a woman for not stopping completely at a stop sign and because her vehicle registration expired 4 months ago. The first line out of her mouth is “ This is Bull S—T! She then proceeds to call me every name in the book and reminds me that I should be out harassing Real Criminals. I ask my 3 questions above and keep a cool head because I know my recorder is going. After signing the ticket, I give the woman her copy and she crumples it up in front of me and says, “I’ll see you in Court A—hole”. She speeds away as I ask her to Drive Safe and she yells, “Kiss my A—“.

I get called into the sergeants office an hour later and the sergeant informs me that the woman was filing a citizens complaint, accusing me of being rude, belligerent, using profanity, and threatening to take her to jail if she didn’t sign the ticket. The sergeant asks me what I have to say for myself. I smile and take out my recorder and play the tape back. The sergeant stares in disbelief as he hears the woman screaming at me while using a few words that even he hasn’t heard before.

A false complaint gets stopped in it’s tracks but more importantly, what do you think the Traffic Court Judge is going to think when he hears that tape in open Court? And it’s perfectly admissible. Moral of the story? Be honest and Keep a cool head. You get credit for that. I’ll discuss your options for running into a rude or unprofessional cop later under Citizen Complaints.

Just a review:

• Pull to the right shoulder safely and as soon as possible.
• Keep your hands on the wheel.
• Wait for the Officer to contact you before you reach for ID.
• Have your paperwork in order, and readily available.
• Pay attention to what the Officer asks or tells you, and BE HONEST.
• Remember that your comments will be recorded whether it’s on the cite, or on tape.

DON’T

• DON’T stop abruptly in the lane. AUTOMATIC TICKET in my book because I probably almost rear-ended you.

• DON’T pull over to the left or in the center divider. AUTOMATIC TICKET in my book.

• DON’T make unexpected movements towards the glove box, or for a wallet, or under the seat, until the Officer asks you to. I’ll have reason to escalate my level of Precaution and You’ll PROBABLY GET A TICKET.

• DON’T get out of the car! I’m not going to say every time, but I will say that 90 % of the time, when someone exits their car without being told to do so, it’s usually because there’s something in that car that the driver doesn’t want the Officer to see. AUTOMATIC TICKET in my book for making me figure out what you’re up to even if it’s nothing. STAY IN THE CAR.

• DON’T LIE! If I stop you for doing 90mph on the freeway where the posted speed limit is 65 and you tell me “No Officer, what did I do? AUTOMATIC TICKET for insulting my intelligence.

• I have to throw in this example:

One night at about 2am, I paced a car on the freeway at over 100mph, weaving in and out of traffic. I stopped the car and the driver PLEADED with me that his wife had just been in a car accident and that he HAD to get to the hospital emergency room immediately. Keep in mind this guy wasn’t a doctor who got called in to do surgery. Little did the guy know that we had just been issued cellular telephones. I called the Hospital ER and guess what? They were sitting around playing cards because it was so slow. They hadn’t had a patient come in for over 4 hours. It got even worse when I called the guy’s house and his wife answered the phone. No she hadn’t been in an accident. No she hadn’t been driving. She’d been home all night taking care of their son wondering why her husband wasn’t home 5 hours earlier like he said he’d be. I don’t know which look on his face I liked better. The one when I told him that his wife was at home wondering where he’d been for 5 hours, or the one when I gave him the ticket for doing 100 mph! You LIE, You SIGN! Simple!

• DON’T CRY! Women and girls are really bad when it comes to this. You got stopped for doing something wrong in your car. It’s not the end of the world. There’s a lot more serious stuff in this world to cry about. Driving is a privilege for mature people. Most the Officers I work with have the feeling that if you’re going to make a big show out of being stopped, and then we’ll give you something to cry about. AUTOMATIC TICKET! The person who is rational and honest with the Officer has a chance at getting a break. The person crying hysterically trying to play off the emotions of a Cop will more than likely end up with something to cry about.

• DON’T ARGUE! Don’t argue with the Cop. AUTOMATIC TICKET! The Cop stopped you for a reason. If I see you roll past a stop sign and you tell me “It wasn’t me, that I’m crazy, that I need to get my eyes checked, that you’ve never had a ticket, that it must have been someone else, and that I must be mistaken”, guess what. AUTOMATIC TICKET.

To read the rest of this article – Please click below:

In the past, drivers have tactfully explained how it is that they think I may have stopped the wrong car. And guess what folks. Every now and then it happens. If the driver brings up information that leads me to believe that maybe, just maybe I didn’t see things the way I thought I did, I’ll swallow some pride and tell the driver these very words. “Hey, you know what? I could be wrong. I’m not sure that I am, but then again you’ve brought up information that makes me think I could be wrong. If you were the violator, I hope you’ll take this as your lucky day because if you keep driving in that manner, it’s just a matter of time before you get in a collision or get a ticket. If I’m wrong I apologize for taking up your time.”

Guess what folks. We work double shifts because of overtime, we may be tired, we may have spent most the day in court and then had to come to work, we may have the flu, we may have had a bad sleep day at home. WE MAKE MISTAKES. Maybe not often, but it happens. If the officer is sharp, he or she will swallow some pride and consider what you have to say. IF YOU SAY IT WITH SINCERITY AND HONESTY. If you are sarcastic, rude and confrontational, SIGN ON THE LINE! You can present your innocence in traffic court.

• Best way to avoid a problem. DON’T ARGUE WITH THE COP!

• DON’T PLEAD or BEG. I don’t know of anyone I work with that will put up with whining. Whether you are a juvenile or adult, whining gets you NOWHERE! If you conduct yourself in a Mature and Rational manner you have a chance of getting a break. We respect that. Beg, Plead or Cry, Kiss your Break GOODBYE!

• DON’T EXHIBIT A RUDE, SARCASTIC or THREATENING DEMEANOR.
“What’s wrong, donut shop closed?”
“What are you harassing me for?”
“Just have to get your Quota huh?”
“Bet this makes your day, you must feel important now?”
“Why aren’t you out arresting REAL CRIMINALS?”
“I’LL see you in Court!”
“My Lawyer will have fun with you!”
“I know Chief so and so, he’s not going to be happy about you doing this.”
“I pay your Salary!”
“I’LL have your job for this!”

I’ve actually had people say these things to me. And I’m one of the even-tempered guys!

Any of the above responses. AUTOMATIC TICKET!
Act annoyed like we’re wasting your time? AUTOMATIC TICKET.
Talk to us in a threatening manner? AUTOMATIC TICKET.
Throw your license or registration at us? AUTOMATIC ticket for as many things as we can find!
Throw the ticket on the ground after you sign it? That doesn’t make me mad, BUT I will cite you for littering just as a reminder for you to act like an adult.

I usually don’t get this from women, and I don’t know why men do it, but the “I’m tougher than you” thing doesn’t get any credit either. I ask to see your Drivers License and you Instantly ask me “Why, I didn’t do anything wrong”. “What did I do, I demand to know!” That kind of unwarranted confrontation is an AUTOMATIC TICKET. That’s the contact that leads up to “I’m not signing nothing! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

First of all, we’re not out to impress anyone. We have nothing to gain from getting into a “I’m tougher than you” contest on the street. The Cop that stops you better have legal cause to do so. I’ll be more than happy to explain the reason for the stop, AFTER I find out whom I’m talking to. You have a legal obligation to present me with your Drivers License, Vehicle Registration, and if asked for it, Proof of Insurance.

The driver that wants to challenge the Cop in a confrontational manner WILL ALWAYS get a ticket. Just for trying to put me in a bad mood! And guess what folks. Per the vehicle code, the person who refuses to sign a ticket (your promise to appear in Court) goes to jail. In essence you are requesting to be taken immediately before a Magistrate by not signing the citation. And usually in this type of case, it is our pleasure to give the driver what they want! I especially enjoy this on a Friday night when the person is held until court Monday morning!

No matter how much you are offended by being pulled over, no matter how right you think you are, No matter how much you may DISLIKE COPS, Don’t show it on the street OR YOU WILL LOSE. Period.

Remember, when you sign the ticket you are not admitting GUILT, but only your promise to appear in Court.

• DON’T BLAME THE COP!

You can’t imagine how many people tell me “This is your fault. Because of you I’m gonna lose my License!” And guess who tells me this. The kid who has had his license for a year and already has 3 moving violations. The adult who has 10 prior violations for driving like a maniac. “C’mon Officer, one more ticket and I lose my license, how can you do that to me?

IF you are a poor driver and have the gall to blame the Cop. AUTOMATIC TICKET!

DON’T:

• DON’T Stop Abruptly
• DON’T Pull to the left
• DON’T move inside your vehicle unexpectedly
• DON’T get out of your car
• DON’T LIE
• DON’T CRY
• DON’T ARGUE
• DON’T PLEAD OR BEG
• DON’T BE RUDE or THREATENING
• DON’T BE SARCASTIC
• DON’T THROW NAMES AROUND. We won’t be impressed.
• DON’T BLAME THE COP for YOUR Mistake.

It’s like this folks. We don’t have to write you a ticket. If we stop you, it’s because of something that YOU did. If you do everything RIGHT, you have an excellent chance of getting off with a warning. We’re used to getting a lot of flak from drivers when we stop them. That makes it much easier to write tickets.

It is difficult to write someone a ticket that is Honest, Polite and makes an effort to make our job safer and easier. You’re pleasant, you’re organized, all your paperwork is ready to show me and you admit you made a mistake. We can live with that. We don’t like to see your Insurance rates go up. They’re high enough as it is already.

A traffic stop is an education. We stop you and tell you what we saw you do something wrong. If we think you’re receptive to our contact with you and you did everything right as stated above, You could very well GET A BREAK.

There are a few exceptions to the rule. If the driving we see is extremely UNSAFE and RECKLESS, you’re going to get a ticket regardless of what you do RIGHT during the stop.

Example:

Speeding tickets. You’re usually safe up to 15 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. If I get you on radar doing 40 miles per hour on a residential street and you do everything listed above and I see you haven’t had a citation on your record in quite some time, I’ll give you a break.

Same scenario above and you have 4 or 5 speeding tickets in the past couple years, I get the idea you haven’t learned very much from past experience. Sign on the line.

I get you on radar doing 55mph in a posted 25mph zone, YOU’RE BUSTED no matter how polite you are. You have no right to jeopardize other people’s safety by driving that fast, and basically, that’s inexcusable.

Stop signs. You pull a California stop coasting about 7-10 mph past the sign without stopping. You do everything right listed above and I see you haven’t had a citation in awhile, I’ll give you a quick lecture and let you off with a warning.

You blow past that same stop sign at 25-30mph without even slowing down, AUTOMATIC TICKET. That kind of driving is what kills people. The most common response I hear to that is “ I didn’t see the sign officer.” My response to that is “You need to PAY MORE ATTENTION!”

Remember what we consider:

The severity of the offense.
Your past driving record.
Your actions during the stop.

The Cop Rule of thumb is this. If you’re going to WRITE a CITE, don’t lecture the driver.
If you’re not going to write the cite, LECTURE the driver.

Would you rather have a Citation, a Fine and a HUGE increase in insurance rates, Or a LECTURE? A lot of the choice is UP TO YOU!

JL

So it’s no news to street cops that crime rates are up. Especially violent crime, which is up everywhere. What do we expect when society lets our kids play violent video games everyday and parents have no idea of the content of the games their children are playing? Some of the video games teach kids nothing more than shooting, beating and killing other human beings. Some games let the player take on a police SWAT team to try and hunt down and kill police officers. Other games let kids beat victims with fists and weapons, stab and shoot people, and even rape women. One game even had hidden sex scenes in it that kids figured how to get into. And parents don’t have a clue, they just buy the video game that little Johnnie wants to keep him occupied while they are at work or away.

I’ve asked parents to watch the games their children are playing and they are shocked. They can not believe how violent and realistic the video games are. They have no idea the games are so violent when they buy them for their kids. WAKE UP PARENTS! Video games aren’t like the old Pac-man and Atari games you used to play! Parents have no idea that their kids are getting more and more desensitized to violence. So it should be no wonder when kids beat, stab and shoot each other when their anger flashes on the street or in schools. We are teaching our kids to kill.

Muscle memory. That’s when you do something so many times that it almost becomes natural instinct. Cops practice drawing their weapon or self defense moves regularly so it becomes natural, or muscle memory. After doing something so many times it becomes instinct instead of having to think of what to do. It becomes automatic. I believe it’s around 2500 times that you have to do something for it to become muscle memory.

So back to the violent video games; how many times do you think a kid pulls a trigger and shoots a realistic looking human being? Hour after hour, day after day, thousands of trigger pulls over time, more than 2500 times? That’s the object of most video games isn’t it? Shoot and kill the other guy before he gets you. So if kids shoot, kill or beat other human beings hundreds or thousands of times on their video game, it becomes muscle memory or automatic to do the same thing if their anger flashes in real life. Kids get so desensitized pointing a gun at other people and pulling the trigger in their video games that it means nothing to them to do it in real life. What they do not realize is that in real life, there is no reset or do over button. We are teaching our kids to kill.

Gang numbers are growing and along with that, juvenile violence. Kids turn to gangs for several reasons including television glamour, wanting to be a status symbol, protection, the feeling of power, and mainly to get the attention they are deprived of at home. We can go into gangs more in depth another time but the bottom line is that kids are getting recruited into gangs even in elementary school. By Junior high, gangs are already well established and newcomers are easy targets for recruitment. Gangs solve their differences one way; violence. They don’t play a football game or a chess game to win. They fight rival gang members the only way they know how; physical fights which usually escalate to a bad beating, stabbing or a shooting. Then there is revenge. Drive-by shootings, beatings, and more stabbings. If a kid stabs or shoots hundreds of people on his video game, do you think he will hesitate to stab or shoot a real person in a real fight? Kids are killing each other at an alarming rate. Parents are not supposed to bury their children, children are supposed to bury their parents. We are teaching our kids to kill.

And the internet. I’m sure every kid out there (and a lot of adults) has a myspace account on their computer. Parents, go on myspace.com and look for your kid. Look at some of the photos that kids post of themselves. Kids drinking, partying, flashing gang signs with their homies, even holding guns. Kids communicate with each other on myspace, telling each other where the parties are, what they did over the weekend, who won the gang fight, you’d be SHOCKED to see what your child post on myspace no matter how good a kid you think you have. And if they know you are watching their postings, they can make it private so only their friends can access their page. And now on youtube.com, kids are posting videos of themselves shooting guns, partying until they are pass-out drunk and themselves or friends involved in violent fights. Your kids aren’t doing just homework on the family computer, trust me. And if they have a personal computer in their room or a laptop, you better watch them closely.

It’s a shame when you can’t say God in our schools but all the violent rap music, videos and violent video games are protected by freedom of speech. What has society come to when our kids are killing each other and pulling real triggers in real life without even blinking? It’s our own fault we let it get this far. We have to put a stop to the violence that our kids are becoming desensitized to before the violence in society will decrease. It all starts at home.

Not all kids are bad and I don’t mean to show kids of today in a bad light, but as a cop and as a parent of two kids myself, I see what kids share, the problems they face and what peer pressure can do. I see parents that are clueless about what their kids are doing on the streets or on the computer. Kids are getting desensitized to violence. A lot of kids have no respect for other people or property; a lot don’t even have respect for themselves.

Stop teaching our kids to kill!

I read the headlines and shook my head out of frustration. The photo revealed a heaping smoldering pile of what was once a compact vehicle on the shoulder of the freeway. The smoldering heap contained the ashes and remains of 2 adult women, a small child and an infant. One of the adults was believed to be the mother of the children.

4 lives were taken in a fiery second, because of a mistake. A fatal mistake that could have been avoided.

The scene was a 5-lane freeway interchange that many have described as being confusing. The driver apparently had become confused and saw that she was in the wrong lane of the interchange. She did what we have all done at one time or another.

She gripped the wheel and thought in a split second, “I can make it”. And in that split second, the need to rush and take a chance overrode common sense and patience. The driver turned out of her lane “thinking she could make it”, but she pulled directly in the path of a big rig truck. The compact started from a dead stop. The truck was doing about 40mph. This is the aftermath.

Family members who will discover sometime that day, that they lost their loved ones unexpectedly. School children who will have one less friend to play with. No watching 2 young children growing up into the world.

The truck driver. His life will be changed forever. He tried to put the fire out with a little hand held fire extinguisher. That’s the same as trying to put the Oakland Hills fire out with a bucket of water. The bystanders who stopped to help. They will all remember this tragedy for the rest of their lives. I have seen it before and I tell you now, there is nothing more tragic or shocking as seeing people trapped in a burning car and knowing you can’t get them out.

I worked with a partner years ago that had responded to a vehicle crash where the driver was pinned in the car and the car had turned into a fireball. Nothing could be done to save the driver. Nothing! But my partner will never forget the man’s screams, begging my partner to shoot him.

A tragic loss indeed. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. My heart goes out to the truck driver who will carry guilt around for many years, even though he was not at fault and made a heroic rescue attempt.

My hope is that everyone, who reads this, will discuss this at home with his or her family. Every Action has a Reaction.

If you are unfamiliar with a roadway, Don’t take chances! Even if it means taking the wrong turn off. You can always turn off the next exit down the road and get back to the way you wanted to go.

This last second lane change is a roll of the dice. You’ll either make it, or you won’t. Why even take that chance? This is the very thing that prompts road rage. At this very interchange a few years back, one car cut off another while making a last second lane change. The second car pursued the first car, and when they both pulled off onto the shoulder and the drivers exited their vehicles to fight. Only one of the drivers had a gun. One of the drivers fled. The other one went to the hospital with the Paramedics. Over what I ask?

Play it straight, don’t be late, and you’ll never have to rush to get somewhere. Look around the table right now if you read this with your family. If those beautiful kids you have mean something to you, you HAVE TO lay down the law regarding driving rules. If they are of driving age they have to know that any reckless driving will be dealt with parentally, by the police, or in a worst case scenerio, well the picture says it all.

If they are not of driving age, who do you think is supposed to set the example for them? Do you know how many tickets I write in a week to mothers and fathers who are caught on radar doing 45mph in a 25 mph residential zone? With their kids in the car or infants in restraint seats.

“I’m late taking the kids to soccer practice”.
“I’m late taking the kids to school”.
“I’m late taking the kids for pre-school”.

Now I have a car load of kids thinking I’m the bad guy cause I’m writing Mommy or Daddy a ticket. I’d love to know how many of those parents took the time to tell their kids that the Officer was making sure that they would all be safe, because Mommy or Daddy was driving way too fast and could have caused an accident.

Play it straight, and don’t be late. Don’t take unnecessary chances. Don’t roll the dice and you won’t become a headline. JL

Nearby where I work, a 15-year old girl is missing for several days and then is found dead along a roadside.

An unfamiliar adult in broad daylight grabs another young girl in broad daylight at a mini mall, but she manages to free herself and escape abduction.

A young girl in the same neighborhood reports being followed by a subject in a car who followed her and pulled alongside her several times until she began to run and summoned help from a gardener who was working nearby.

A suspect is arrested down in southern California after stabbing a woman, and then confesses to killing a young boy who had been reported missing in Northern California.

A man enters a woman’s car, hides in the rear seat, and upon her return he forces her to drive to a rural area where he brutally rapes her.

I turned off the news and switched to watching reruns of Seinfeld after becoming discouraged. I don’t know why, but every year about this time we are shocked by hearing about some really hideous crimes that take place. It seems the pre-holiday season can really bring out the worst in some people.

It reminds me of the reason why we wrote “CopTalk” in the first place, and why we started this webpage. People have to be made aware of two things.

The first being, knowing what they can do to help themselves in regards to personal safety.
The second being, understanding what does and doesn’t happen to the predators in society who thrive on innocent victims, both adult and children alike.

I commend the young lady at the mini mall who recognized that she was in potentially “serious trouble” and ran for help. The young lady who was walking along the street also recognized a “potentially serious situation” and ran to an adult working near-by for assistance.

Very accurate descriptions of the vehicles used in these incidents were given to police, and with a little luck and help from observant neighbors we might get lucky. All it takes is one neighbor to view a vehicle that looks out of place in the neighborhood, who in turn calls the police.

The information most helpful to us is the following:

Approximate year of the vehicle. (Even just saying older verses newer is a help.)
Make. (Compact; Full size, 2-door, 4-door, Station wagon, Mustang, Honda civic)
Color. (Some vehicles are 2-tone. Try to list both colors, like “blue over white”)
Number of occupants. (One, Two, Four? Sex, Race? Hat’s Hair styles)
And most importantly… A license plate number!
Even a partial plate is better than nothing.

ANYTHING that you can remember is a help!

What was the color of the license plate? The color of the numbers or letters?

A passenger car plate usually has a number, three letters, and three numbers.

A commercial plate on a van or pickup truck has a number, one letter, and the rest numbers.

When I was a new cop I used to get confused when trying to read off all these numbers and letters to the dispatchers, but you’d be surprised with how fast you can rattle these off with a little practice!

When you’re driving down the road, or if you’re out for a jog, or walking the dog, practice reading off vehicle license plates to yourself from either parked cars or vehicles passing by. Maybe it sounds dumb to you, maybe it doesn’t, but this is definitely a case of proving “practice makes perfect!”

They say that cops are “trained observers”. We don’t have special powers; we’re just trained in many different things to look for in a variety of situations. You can be a trained observer the same as any cop, But It Takes PRACTICE!

You could be following a drunk driver down the freeway when you pick up your cell phone to call us. The dispatcher will LOVE you for the detailed description you give of the vehicle and you’ll be much less nervous if you are PREPARED!

With predators cruising through a neighborhood looking for young women or girls, You Could Be Saving A Life!

In watching the stories above, I remembered a story a couple years back where a man and a woman with long criminal histories cruised through a neighborhood in the early evening hours and abducted a young woman who was jogging in her neighborhood. A neighborhood not used to crime or such horrid incidents.

The young woman’s body was found several days later in another part of the state. She had been brutally sexually molested and murdered in a van that had been equipped as a rolling “kidnap chamber” complete with handcuffs and restraints.

Women and young children have to be made aware that there are sick people out there who can uproot your life in a matter of seconds.

What can you do?

· DON’T jog, walk, or bicycle alone.
(In this day and age this applies to daylight hours as well as in the evening.)
· Jog with a friend or in a group.
· Carry a cell phone if you have one. If not, think about getting one.
(I remember a call one night where a couple was jogging and the woman’s husband collapsed from a heart attack.) Because she carried a cell phone, not only were we notified immediately, but the dispatcher was able to provide valuable life-saving instructions to the wife while we were enroute. Because of this, the man survived!)
· Stay in populated areas.
· Be constantly aware of your surroundings.
· Don’t let young children walk home to or from school alone.
(I’m still amazed at the number of small kids that I see on the street in the mornings and afternoons with nobody around watching them!)
· Remind your kids the importance of not talking to strangers!
I live across the street from a park. I take my dog “Gilligan” over there several times a day. I constantly have very small children come up to me and ask to pet the dog. I look around for parents and I see NONE! I almost get an uncomfortable feeling because in this day and age, we’re forced to feel like it’s wrong to be talking to small children alone.
What if I wasn’t a cop?
What if I looked around and saw nobody watching, and scooped up your child in a second and drove away?
It’s OK for a kid to come up and ask to “pet the dog” but ONLY if Mom or Dad is right there watching!
Make sure your kids have a “Plan” to follow if they find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.
More importantly, don’t let your kids get into an uncomfortable situation. Be there for them!
· Women, you want a good work out? Enroll in Karate or some other form of
self- defense. Most bad guys aren’t expecting you to be well prepared in self-defense
and many times that “element of surprise” is the deciding factor in a situation ending with favorable results.
· Soccer and Tee ball may be good for the kids, but consider self-defense classes for them as well. It’s fun for them, as well as being great exercise and INFORMATIVE!
· Get certified to carry Mace or Pepper spray.

The list goes on and on. Many of these things we cover in our book. Many victims don’t have to be victims, if they just prepare!

Put yourself in the position of the woman who was “surprised” by a male subject who had “hid” inside her car while she was away from it. I don’t have the factual particulars on this incident, but I’m thinking along the lines of her leaving the car unlocked “just for a minute” to pop into the store or to go pay for gas at the pumps. (Keyword here is unlocked)

She gets back into her car “without looking in the rear seat” and drives off to have the most horrifying experience of her life begin. A knife at her throat and a sinister low voice ordering her to drive into the country where she is raped.

The scars of that incident will be with this woman the rest of her life, but if any good comes from it, it will be that YOU learned from it and took steps to prevent this from happening to you!

Don’t leave your car unlocked for any reason. Anywhere, anytime!
Always look into your vehicle before you enter it. Always!
Watch and see who is parked or standing near your vehicle. I’m not telling you that you have to be paranoid, but I am telling you that “Expecting the Unexpected” can keep you from becoming a victim! When a knife or gun is at your throat, it’s a little late to start thinking about being prepared.

Be observant to suspicious activity.
Call us when you see someone or something out of place.
Look out for each other. Help stop those horrible stories on the news by
Getting Involved!

If you don’t, who will? We can’t be everywhere at once as much as we’d like to be.
We need your help, and we’re not afraid to ask for it… How bout it?

If you need some more help in learning what to look for, I’m thinking there’s a pretty good book out there called “CopTalk” that just might be able to help you out in a few areas…hint hint.

See you in a week. With the holidays approaching we’re going to try and post new updates every week instead of every other week. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and as always,
Stay safe!

Netcops P.S.I.

When people think about warrants, they think of Cop shows on television, with cops yelling out to open the door, then kicking or ramming the door down to make the arrests. In reality, if you got a ticket in the past, and didn’t take care of it, or you didn’t finish a work alternative program (W.A.P.), you very well could have a warrant out for your arrest.

How would this look:

It’s Friday night; your going out for pizza with the wife and kids, maybe some friends too. You got a ticket a few months back, and agreed to do 2 days of community service in place of a fine. You did one day, but something came up on the second day. No biggie, right? It was only a little ticket anyway. It slipped your mind, you were to going to call the courts and explain but you forgot. Besides, they will send you something to notify you anyway, right?

As your driving to the pizza parlor with the family, you see red and blue lights behind you. You pull over, and the officer asks for your license and registration, along with proof of insurance. You ask what the problem is, and the officer says you have a taillight out. You breathe a little sigh of relief. You’ll get a warning, maybe a fix-it ticket at the worst, no problem. The officer asks you to step out of your car, and walk back to the front of the patrol car. He asks you to sign the ticket, and you do. As the officer hands you the ticket, his partner steps to the other side of you. The officer then says ” sir, turn around and interlace your hands behind your head” You say, “what’s going on?” and the officer says he’ll explain in a moment. The officer searches you, and then you feel handcuffs being put on your wrist. The officer explains that there is a warrant out for your arrest.

That little traffic ticket, you promised to do work alternative for, but failed to complete, turned into a W.A.P. warrant. (Work Alternative Program). That means go to jail, do not pass go, and no get out of jail free cards. On a serious note, you are put in the back of a police car, your kids are crying, thinking cops are monsters who just took daddy away, and the officer has to try to explain to your shocked wife why your not joining them for pizza.

A very real reality. Something as simple as a traffic ticket not taken of can get you arrested. The most common types of warrants are F.T.A. (Failure To Appear) warrants, W.A.P. (work alternative program) warrants, and warrants issued for a crime you’re suspected of committing. We will discuss these one at a time.

First, the F.T.A. warrants:

If you get a traffic ticket, or get caught shoplifting, or get a citation for any type of infraction or misdemeanor crime, where you sign a “Promise To Appear” form, that is a hint. It’s a PROMISE TO APPEAR. For YOU to appear. When you get a ticket, the cop usually says something like “this is not an admission of guilt, it’s a promise to appear at such and such court at such and such time or to take care of the problem before the court date” If you don’t appear, the judge issues a F.T.A. (Failure To Appear) warrant. On some of these, you can be brought into the station and booked (fingerprints, mug photo, booking form) and given a NEW court date. Usually a 1-2 hour process. You are then released on your new promise to appear. (If you miss that court date, you’ll have a no-cite or no-bail warrant issued, see below)

A W.A.P. warrant (Work Alternative Program) was briefly described above. If you get a ticket, and go to court, you are usually offered the option to go to traffic school or perform work alternative to avoid a fine or the offense going on your record. Usually work alternative is picking up trash on the roadsides on a work crew. If you fail to complete any or all of the assigned hours of work, the judge issues a W.A.P. warrant. You go to jail, and wait to see a judge. It’s usually a no-cite warrant, meaning you can not be released on a new Promise To Appear. Another words, the judge just doesn’t trust you anymore. If it’s a Friday, like the poor guy going to pizza with his family above, he’s going to sit in the county jail until Monday or Tuesday to see a judge. Then the judge will decide how much more time (if necessary) to spend behind bars. All for a missed ticket or work day for the courts. You really don’t want to piss off a judge by not showing up in court. I’ve had to arrest people with 4-5 year old warrants that they were not even aware of. I say Had To arrest people, because a warrant is a order signed by a judge to arrest that person, and I’m not going to piss off a judge by letting someone go with a warrant.

If you committed a serious crime, usually a Felony crime, you were probably already arrested for the crime, but you may have been released pending laboratory results of evidence, District Attorney review, whatever the case, if the D.A.’a (District Attorneys) office files charges against you, a warrant will be issued for your arrest. If it is a Felony warrant, it usually is a no-cite warrant, with a high bail amount. Bail is usually 10% of the set bail amount. For example, it you got arrested for Domestic Violence, and it carried a $50,000 bail amount, you would have to post 10% of that (or $5,000) to go free on bail. Some warrants are no-bail warrants. That means nothing will get you out of jail until you see a judge. No-cite, no-bail.

If you get arrested, your car will probably be towed to a tow yard. (Unless you have a real understanding cop and a licensed family member) For a crime, or D.U.I., (driving under the influence), forget it. It’s towed. Besides being arrested, add a tow and storage fee to the total. If your in a accident with no insurance, or get arrested for D.U.I., you can lose your license. The D.M.V. (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) will suspend your license. If you get pulled over while driving on a suspended license, you can be arrested. Your car will be towed and impounded (in California for a 30-day minimum). That is about a $700-$800 bill. Then, a warrant will be issued for your arrest for the offense of driving without a license. Once this cycle starts, it is hard to stop. You have to get around, go to work, but you’ll lose a car and get a ticket every time you drive without a license. The fines add up fast.

What can you do to avoid Warrants / License Suspension?

• If you feel that you may have forgotten to pay a fine, taken care of a ticket, or finish a Work Program in exchange for a fine, contact the Court District where you got the ticket, and have them look up the status of the case. If a warrant has been issued, you can go to any local Police Department and get booked and released with a new court date to appear. An inconvenience, but minor compared to getting arrested while going out for pizza with your family.

• If by chance, your license is suspended for one reason or another, you may be able to get a exemption to drive to or from work, or be able to drive “in the course of employment” This is a privilege you don’t want to abuse. I have arrested people trying to buy drugs at 2 in the morning saying they are working. All exemptions to allow driving while employed will be verified. If they are not valid, no exemptions will be allowed.

• Arrest warrants stay in the system for long periods of time, they don’t disappear in a year or two. If you feel you might have a warrant, or unpaid fine, call the courts and inquire. You might be able to make arrangements to make payments, or perform work alternative to pay off the fine. If it’s a warrant for a serious crime, you probably knew you had it coming.

While NetCops tries to keep you from becoming a victim, you might have had an incident years ago that could cause you inconvenience or embarrassment now. This NetCops tip can help you take care of a problem before it becomes major.

One of our customers who is patiently awaiting his arrival of “CopTalk” by mail, recently emailed us with specific questions in regards to vehicle alarm systems verses other anti-theft devices. I got so carried away in answering his question that I thought, “Boy, there’s enough information here to be the tip of the every other week topic!”

And so, here it is.

If any of you that read our page have any questions pertaining to any information discussed in the site, please email us and we will be happy to either answer or research the answer for you to the best of our ability.

The Netcops Staff sincerely wishes you a SAFE and HAPPY Thanksgiving Day Holiday. Use good old common sense, DON’T drink and drive, and you’ll be headed in the right direction.

Stay Safe everybody!

Here’s this week’s Tip of the week in response to our customer’s question:

I just got home from an 18 hour shift and have to double back for graveyard again, but I wanted to give you a quick reply… (Yes we are real cops working those dreaded “real hours” in the middle of the night…”) If this doesn’t make sense it’s because I’m doing it with one eye open.

First of all, our entire staff is enthused that there are people out there like you with such a strong interest in personal crime prevention. We really do commend you, and we are here to be of any assistance you may need even if it’s just answering questions.

I live in a county which isn’t all that far from you and I often listen to the news and radio stations in the Sacramento area. I just heard on one of your local news station’s, that “they” (whoever that is supposed to be), announced that “crime rates are down and that people are feeling safer against being victimized.

Of course the citizens on the street that they interviewed, questioned the press release that came out because they don’t see a drastic change in the crime rate and in turn, they don’t feel any safer!

I admire the people that take the extra step in taking their own preventative safety measures and that’s exactly the reason we wrote CopTalk! So that people could be more informed as to what they can do on there own.

When you read the last chapter of the book, “What you should know about the system”, I’m anticipating that you’ll be shocked to learn why the crime rate never seems to reduce itself.

In response to your email you asked if it was worth having an alarm system installed on your truck or if just having “The Club” was sufficient.

Crime prevention is a check and balance. The more steps you take, you greatly enhance your chances of not being victimized.

We are strong advocates of alarm systems! You can’t go wrong with an alarm system on each vehicle and that goes for vehicles that are in your garage as well.

I went to a call at 4am a couple nights back for a woman that wanted her ex-boyfriend removed from her residence. He had shown up unannounced and had gotten into her garage through an unlocked side garage door. We arrived before he could gain access into the house and he was promptly arrested for trespass.

As we escorted the guy out, I looked into the woman’s vehicle parked INSIDE the garage and saw the driver’s window down. Her keys were dangling from the ignition! After we secured the guy in my patrol car I politely suggested to the woman that she keep her vehicle LOCKED and to never keep the keys in the ignition.

Her response was, “It’s in the garage, what’s the big deal?” The big deal is,

· What if this guy had quietly opened the garage door and split in her car in his drunken stupor?
· What if we had seen him and a vehicle pursuit took place and he ended up crashing the car?
· What if he smashed into an innocent motorist?
· What if he had hit and killed an innocent pedestrian?
· What if he crashed into the bedroom wall of someone’s house?
· What if a cop got injured or killed in the pursuit?

There’s a lot of “What Ifs” with drastic consequences, for something that could be EASILY avoided by simply locking the car and keeping the keys secured in the house. (No I didn’t try to sell her a book!)

At the agency I previously worked for, I got into a vehicle chase of a brand new BMW late one night. Right before I was going to terminate the pursuit because of this idiot driving like a mad man, he drove onto a dead end street and we boxed him in.

A 14-year old kid with his 14-year old friend, and two 13-year old girls, had taken his Dad’s brand new BMW that had been UNLOCKED in the garage, and had disconnected the garage door so that they could quietly open it manually. After rolling the car out to the street away from the house, the kid started the car with the keys that had been LEFT IN THE IGNITION and off they went. They blew a stop sign at 65 mph, which was the original reason I had attempted to stop it in the first place!

A whole lot more “What ifs!” This could have easily ended in tragedy. This kid could barely see over the dashboard!

I can’t forget that first woman’s frame of mind. “What’s the big deal?”

It’s that mentality that a crook is banking on in the middle of the night. Thefts of vehicles with the keys left in the vehicle ignition, under the floor mat, or over the visor, FAR OUTWEIGH the thefts of somebody doing the old “Hot-wire trick”. Why go to all that trouble when people make it so easy for the bad guy?

We often have a chance to converse (off the record) with the people we arrest following the booking procedure.

This is what’s been told to Mark and I in the past few years by auto burglars we have taken into custody.

It’s not worth making noise and waking people up by breaking a window. If the car isn’t unlocked they move on to one that is. And according to them, they always find one.

The club is an awesome device that strongly detours the guy that wants to steal the whole car. It does NOTHING to the guy who wants your cell phone, stereo, CD’s, or speakers that are in plain view.

Most the decks these guys steal have detachable heads or faces. If it doesn’t have the head attached, they pass it by. Too much hassle selling it on the street. But guess what? Most the decks they steal have the heads in place! People are too lazy to lock them in the glove box, in the trunk, or to take them inside with them. And thus you give the guy the incentive to get into your car.

If a vehicle has an alarm system, 90 percent of the time the bad guy will pass it up because he doesn’t want to make NOISE. On the other hand, if the vehicle is in a remote area where there are not a lot of neighbors around close-by, he might take a chance.

If a vehicle is locked and has no signs of having an alarm system, the bad guy will take a chance on getting in by:

· using a slimjim
· using a screw driver to damage the tumbler at the key hole,
· and the most popular that is on the rise by gang members and car thieves,
· A spark plug in a sock! They press the electrode end of the plug against the
· Door glass until the safety glass pops.

Firefighters and cops use “Window punches” for rescues where people are trapped in a vehicle. This is a make shift version of this and it makes VERY LITTLE NOISE! You can tell this was the method used the next morning when you find small pieces of the porcelain casing from the spark plug amongst the broken glass.

Factors that encourage them:

1. The vehicle is parked on the street.
2. No house lights are on in the area.
3. The victim residence has no motion lights that flood the area with light,
4. No dogs bark announcing their presence.
5. And most importantly, they SEE something of value in the car that motivates them to make entry.

Our motto’s,

Every action has a reaction, and
Take away the opportunity and you’ll take away the crime!

I hope this has helped you out just a little bit. This comes straight from the crime scenes we’ve responded to, but more accurately, from the mouths of the bad guys who got caught!

Take care and as always, Stay SAFE!

The Staff at Netcops P.S.I.

When you need help, you want it to get there as quickly as possible. Whether it’s a police emergency, a medical emergency or a fire, you want emergency personnel to get there fast. Minutes can seem like hours as you wait for help. Help usually arrives within minutes but there can be some delays. One delay that happens a lot is emergency personnel not being able to find the correct house. Police, fire and medical personnel often rush to a call for help but when they arrive, the houses are not clearly marked with an address. Police often respond to 911 calls only to find several houses with no address or house numbers painted over or obscured by shrubbery. This causes delays in figuring out which house the call came from. Precious time is wasted knocking on doors or trying to figure out the address number sequence to find which house the call for help came from.

If it’s only 1-2 unmarked homes and the address sequence is fairly regular, it’s not a real big problem. But if several homes are unmarked or it’s a rural area with homes spaced far apart, it takes time to find the right house. If it’s a real emergency, seconds could mean the difference between life and death. If someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night, you don’t want the police several doors down knocking on the wrong door trying to figure out which house you live in. Or if you have a medical emergency, you don’t want the paramedics passing by your house because they couldn’t find your address.

Help Us Help You. Whether you rent or own, or live in a home or an apartment, you can do something that can save time, or maybe a life. Go outside and look to see if your house is clearly marked with an address. Trim shrubbery or put up new numbers if you have to. Your local hardware or home improvement store carries everything from inexpensive stick-on numbers to fancy wood numbers. Plastic numbers with small nail holes are inexpensive and a quick way to mark your home. Just remember to have contrast; white numbers on a white house will not be visible. Some house numbers may have been painted over in years so put up new numbers, or paint the ones you have so they stand out. Some charities go door-to-door offering to paint address numbers on the curbside in front of residences. This is an inexpensive and highly visible means of identifying the residence address. Or you can do it yourself with paint and number stencils.

Placement and size is critical too. Small numbers high on a roof peak or hidden behind shrubbery won’t be seen. Place the numbers on the front of your residence, on a garage pillar, or the wall closest to your front door. Mounted underneath or next to a porch light or driveway light is great because it will be illuminated at night. You can even buy an illuminated address light that stays lit all the time. It simply wires into your doorbell wiring so it’s inexpensive to light (12 volt) and it becomes illuminated at night. If you already have one of these, please check the two light bulbs to make sure they are not burned out.

If you live in an apartment, put-stick on numbers next to your front door or on a wall so it’s visible from the street or parking lot. Some apartment numbers are difficult to see and time is wasted as emergency personnel walk around looking for the correct residence.

Fancy or plain, inexpensive or decorative, the choice is yours. Whichever choice you make of making your address clearly visible will help save time. Don’t put it off. Check today. Don’t wait for an emergency to occur and wonder why it seems like help is not coming. When the call for help comes from your house, make sure the emergency personnel responding is able to clearly see your address and stops right at your house without wasted time. Help Us Help You…….

Trying to help keep you safe with another safety tip from NetCopsPSI

Mark, Brent, and I, recently attended a book signing at Barnes and Noble.
(Thank you Barnes and Noble for your invitation and hospitality)
The persons in attendance asked us some very important questions regarding crime prevention, which we were more then happy to answer.

Actually – the questions they asked us were excellent.

This question and answer session was a reminder to me, that the hours and hours we put into this book, was worth the labor of love. You, the law abiding citizens of this world, who do everything right in life, deserve to know what to do better, in which to be safer from an evil element that surrounds us daily.

Mark and I usually elbow each other in the ribs, or grab the microphone out of each other’s hands if we hear a question we really want to answer, but in this case, when I heard this question, the answer just blurted out of my mouth without even thinking about it.

A man asked us, “Why is it, that today’s criminals are so violent and dangerous?”
As the man said the last word in the sentence, I answered “Video Games”….
(without any hesitation.)

Mark looked at me, and backed away from the podium, kind of like saying “you’re on your own with this one dude”. I looked at Brent for support but he was kind of like looking up at the ceiling with a “this ought to be good” look on his face.

My explanation was this…
Last week, a 17-year old boy was brutally murdered in Sacramento.
The news stations flocked to the school like they always do like sharks after blood, to film the friends and family of the boy, who were distraught and in tears.
(I think they call it RRWAC, or – “Reality Reporting without a Conscious.”)

One teenager was interviewed, and his words are too important not to repeat.

“Yeah it’s shocking, but that’s the society we live in today. My age group is the Video Game Era. There’s no reality. Everyone looks at life like it’s a video game, and if you mess up you can just hit “start over”… Only this time, there’s no starting over. This is the real thing”.

I dig flying.
Planes and Helicopters.
So much, that I can’t get enough of it.
I fly at work. I fly for fun.
I even fly in my dreams at night, unless it is raining.

Mark asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year. I told him it might be cool to have a play station2 so I could get some flight simulator games, for when the weather is bad and I can’t fly for real. Mark (I mean Santa) delivered!

But,
Have you seen some of the games for play station2?
Hey, I’m not knocking the company, I think they have a cool product, but somewhere, someone has to draw the line on the game content.
I was just looking for a couple helicopter or flight simulator games…

I was standing at the display case surrounded by 10, 12, and 14-year olds also looking for games. You know what’s funny? Hearing kid’s talk when their parents are there and hearing those same kids talk when their parents are not there.

I’m sorry, but there is something wrong listening to a 14-year old tell his buddy,
“Dude, this is the shit, let’s get this mother _ ucker”.
I guess I was staring because one kid looked at me and asked his friend
“What’s his _ ucking problem, you know him? I was forced to do my silent hardcore Sipowitz stare which they couldn’t take for more than 5 seconds, and they left, but walking with a strut portraying to be much older.

Man oh man, Mark and I would have never talked like that around an adult, let alone, one we didn’t know! But worse than that, kids are being programmed that pointing a gun at another human being is no big deal,
Shooting another human being is no big deal.
The grunts and groans of the guy who gets blown away are way too real.
Wait, I’m out of ammo. Hit a button and reload.
Hit another button and carry a grenade in your other hand.
Hell, if I kill enough of these bastards I’ll win……I’ll win…..
What will I win?

Kids my niece’s ages, know more about “guns and blowing people away” than I do.
And I’m a cop…..,
I am prepared to take someone’s life by lethal force, but only if
My life is in danger,
My partner’s life is in danger,
Or a Citizen’s life is in danger.
That’s the real world rules, and I know the consequences of my actions.

But these “kids” doing real drive by shootings – killing innocent people…
These “kids” who walk through the very school they attend and kill their fellow students…These “kids” who will kill another kid in cold blooded murder……..feel nothing. No guilt. No pain. No regret. No remorse. No emotion.
They don’t have any idea what those consequences are.

I’ll never forget the 3 teens riding around in a stolen car one night.
They crashed into a ditch and one of the kids broke his back but was still alive.
Do you think the other 2 friends called 911 to save their buddy?
No, one of them called his father who responded to the scene.
Dad’s decision was to “dump the kid’s body into an irrigation canal” and get the hell out of there. Just like taking out the trash huh dad? Out of sight, out of mind.

That’s parent of the year material!

Game over.

Why was it so easy for me to respond “Video Games” when asked why today’s youth is so violent?

What else explains it?
Hollywood glorifies killing with movies directed at the younger age group.
Some producer / director sits back in his mansion counting his millions while in the real world, some young kid blows away another kid at school, along with a teacher, because he saw it in the director’s movie.

You think that movie producer feels the pain felt by the victim’s families and friends?
I think that’s right up there with drug dealing! The drug lord sitting at the top of the triangle couldn’t care less what his drugs do to those at the bottom of the pile.
All that matters to him is getting that almighty dollar.

Movies.
Video games.
Music.

Man, I would love to drive by one of our active high crime areas where shootings, murders, fights, and drug dealing take place on a regular basis, and just once hear the “fellas’ listening to some classical music. Some Mozart. Even elevator music would be a nice change of pace.

Maybe classic rock and roll.
Jazz maybe?
Some old school would be cool.
But no, what do I hear when I get out of my patrol car? Rap.
Listen to the words in some of those Rap songs, and you tell me there’s not a connection with violence there.

The artist sitting at the top of that triangle doesn’t care about the gun slinging, crotch grabbing losers trying to emulate him. The artist doesn’t care about the carload of losers doing a drive by shooting, listening to the killer music while killing innocent victims who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The artist only cares about the 17.95 each loser paid for the CD.

Hey Rap Star, if you’re so miserable about your life, why don’t you sing about ways to change it or make it better, rather than drag hundreds of kids you influence down into the gutter you’re so angry with.

I’ll never forget the words of a wise friend….
“So many people are angry at a world, that isn’t the least bit angry at them…”

Movies,
Video Games,
Music,
And let us not forget the almighty substitute parent of the era….
Television.

How many hours a day do your kids watch TV?
Gotta love the trend of “Reality TV”
My word for it is pollution.

Joe Millionaire – How do you win a woman’s heart…. Lie to her!
My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé – No comment needed
The Mole – Win at all cost using lies and deceit.
Survivor – How did we become so enchanted with deceit and back stabbing?
The Intern – Such joy to hear Trump say those cold hearted words with such glee..”You’re fired”.

The Simple Life – Paris and Nicole, thank you for showing millions of kids everywhere,
“How cool it is to not to take anything serious in life.”
No work ethic, no class, no responsibility, nothing except me, me, me, me, me…

The bachelor.
The bachelorette.
Average Joe.
Meet the parents.

Television has made a mockery out of marriage, honesty, compassion, morals, respect, pride, teamwork, and ethics; – man the list goes on forever.
And what is the trade off for this?
Money, ratings, and a whole lot of bad headlines in the paper.

You don’t think that has an effect on our kids and how they view life?

Jenny Jones.
Ricky Lake.
Jerry Springer.

“Our show today, “husbands who left their wives for the 14-year old baby sitter, and then left the baby sitter for their younger step sister……”

Can television get anymore bizarre?
“My 8-year old smokes, steals, and has sex with older men…..What do I do?”

They ought to change the name of that episode to,
“My 8-year old is out of control – because I’m a bad parent and I let her smoke, steal, and yada yada yada…… Who’s the damn parent here?
Answer – the 8-year old!

What is really sad is we hold the power to all of that and we don’t do anything about it.

Just once, I would love to see a Jerry Springer episode where a freak of nature starts yelling smack to the audience, and the entire audience does the right thing by simply getting up and leaving the room without saying a word.

What would old Jerry say?
What would the panel of screaming illiterate loser guests say?
What would the producers say?
What would the advertisers say?

What we would be telling “Jerry” is, put on a good show and we’ll be there.
Dip so low as to market cheating, deceit, and violence, and we’re out of there.

But golly gee…… for some reason we are compelled to watch loser-1, pick up a chair and try to hit loser-2, for saying the wrong thing to loser-3.

I just watched an awesome flick called Seabiscut.

An underdog horse with an underdog jockey both do pretty well for themselves.
But then the underdog jockey gets hurt right before the biggest race of the team’s career.
The horse owner wants to scratch the race, but the underdog “Johnny” swallows his pride and tells the owner to have his long time rival jockey “George” ride the horse in the race.
George wins the race and becomes the new star of the show.
A few races later, Seabiscut gets hurt and goes lame.
Now Seabiscut and Johnny both have a leg in a cast and everyone says their racing days are over.

Johnny helps Seabiscut get better and the horse is once again race ready.
Johnny is not race ready but wants to ride anyways despite the risk of never walking again.

The owner wants George to ride because he looks at Johnny as being a son, and wants to protect him from being crippled.

The owner asks the doctor for his advice, who tells him Johnny could never walk again if something went wrong.
The owner asks the horse trainer, who tells him Johnny could never walk again if something went wrong.

The owner goes to rival George who tells him…… (Get ready for this)
Rival George, who could have been greedy and kept a winning ride, simply said,
“Better to break a man’s leg than his heart”
This guy knew how much it meant for “Johnny” to ride “his horse” in this race and he did the honorable thing by stepping aside.

Could you see George doing that in a reality TV show called “The Jockey”?
Of course not!

First of all George would have been the one to put a hit on Johnny, to have his leg broken, and then a rival horse owner would have paid George off to throw the race and purposely injure Seabiscut, followed by an offer to switch teams.

In the real flick, Johnny gets his wish and gets a chance at a comeback.
George gets another mount in the race, and Johnny and George are once again rivals.
The gates open, and the horses are off, leaving the viewer sitting on the edge of the seat for what looks like a heart breaking loss. Johnny isn’t holding up to well with his bad leg.

Johnny and Seabiscut fall way back.

George is holding his own in the middle of the pack, but knows he doesn’t have a chance of winning.

George also knows every little thing about Seabiscut, and that all the horse needs to win, is to go eye to eye with another horse producing an unexplained drive of determination and magic.

George falls back, gives Johnny some encouragement, and Seabiscut gets an eyeful of what he needs to go on and “dust” the rest of the field. Yup, almost a tear-jerker.
Just from somebody having some heart and “doing the right thing.”

Now, in the reality show “The Jockey”, George would have so much hate for Johnny, that he would have held back until Seabiscut was right alongside, he’d pull out a 9mm, put a cap through Johnny’s head, and then shoot Seabiscut for spite.

George would ride over to Seabiscut’s owner, kill him for letting Johnny ride, and then carjack someone in the parking lot for their ride. George would lead police on a high speed chase, get into a shootout wounding several officers, and then gets arrested.

George’s lawyer would feed on the sympathy of the jury by reminding them George had ADD and a poor upbringing as a child, and that he was truly sorry for what he did.
George would get off with credit for time served, and probation, which he violates by doing a string of bank robberies and …………

“Better to break a man’s leg than break his heart.” (Aka, “Do the right thing”)

To the producers, writers, and cast of Seabiscut…….. I take off my hat and salute you.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a quality high caliber movie such as this one.
If we had more Seabiscuts in this world,
If we had more Johnny’s and Georges in this world,
If we had more quality Television, Videos, and Movies for entertainment,
This world would be a much better place.

What about you? Seen any good movies lately?

Don’t “horse around” in life……
Do the right thing the first time around.
Sometimes, there are just no second chances….

Stay Safe America,

Jim Lambert
NetCops PSI

On December 23rd, 2003, at 7:29pm, 3 “Angels of the Skies” were taken from us when their rescue helicopter crashed in bad weather while responding to a call.

The experienced crew of three lost their lives in the crash.

Pilot Arthur Gotisar
Flight Nurse Diane Coddington
Flight Nurse Kelly Bates

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, loved ones, friends, and co-workers of these Heroes.

This loss will be felt far outside the realm of the “Reach” family.
(Redwood Empire Air Care Helicopter) of California.

Your brothers and sisters who fly the skies daily in police, fire, medical, rescue, and military aviation share the painful loss as if they were our own flesh and blood…

The common bond in this unique family is the inherited risk of the job. But we all freely choose to do this job, mission after mission, despite the risk – because the rewards are so fulfilling.

Every now and then, we are reminded just how real that risk is, like we were Tuesday night, two nights before Christmas.

To the Wife and Husband’s left behind.
To the son’s and daughter’s,
The Mother’s and Father’s
The Nieces and Nephews,
The Aunts and Uncles,
The friends,
The co-workers,

We know your pain.
We know your loss.
We know your sorrow.

But please know this…

Arthur, Diane, and Kelly, gave their lives while doing something they truly loved to do.

They responded to hundreds of calls where even the most experienced Firefighter or Cop looks up in amazement saying
“Oh my God, How do they do that?

Middle of the night at the scene of a tragedy
Dark skies, High winds, Wires close by,
That Red Helicopter touches down and you almost can feel it inside you,
That everything will be OK.

The nurses work their magic,
They load the patient up,
And as quickly as they arrived – They leave for the hospital with the patient onboard… And what was sure to be a tragedy – Isn’t a tragedy any longer.

I think all of us in the helicopter business feel the same way.
When the call is over, and its time to fly back to the station,
That’s the time we are reminded why we do this.

You lift off the ground, and the city lights beneath you are almost hypnotic. Flying over the traffic congestion, the crowds, the noise, you take a deep breath and look out the window.

You see the moon and the stars right next to you.
A few clouds in the sky,
Maybe the sun rising in the east,
You get a calm feeling because you know
You’re flying the skies right up there next to God himself.
You think about the call you just went to, and you know that you made the difference between someone living or dying.

Flying,
It’s an incredible gift.
Flying in rescue work,
Probably nothing is more rewarding…

Arthur, Diane, and Kelly were doing what they loved to do.
They were professionals.
They were skilled.
And to many in a list way too long to name,
They were “Angels”.

To all of us in the business, they are Hero’s.
They made the ultimate sacrifice,
But they did that,
Doing what they loved most.

Please try and always remember this, because I have a feeling they would tell you themselves…

“They wouldn’t have had it any other way”

God Bless you Arthur, Diane, and Kelly.
Thank you for all the good you gave to so many.
Before, when I would look up at you guys,
I always whispered to myself that you were the Angels of the Skies.
Now when I look up – I’ll still be calling you
“The Angels of the Skies.”

If you have ever had the need to be transported in an air ambulance,
Or know someone who has,
Or just realize just how gifted these professionals truly are…..

I am sure your kind words would be greatly appreciated at the Reach office.
Redwood Empire Air Care Helicopters is located in Santa Rosa California. Or visit http://www.flightweb.com/condolences/index.php?cid=3 and post your feelings there.

To the rest of America – and to our troops over seas,

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Safe and Happy New Year!

NetCops PSI

Jim – Mark – Brent

Its summertime, a time to relax and enjoy the heat and sun. But unfortunately, not everyone enjoys the heat and sun. Summertime causes more pain than simple sunburn to some families. It makes tragic headlines that affect families for the rest of their lives. Whether it’s a bad decision or just being absentminded, people are leaving children and pets in a car on a hot day which has deadly consequences.

Even on a mild sunny day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach well over 100 degrees, deadly temperatures for a child or a pet unable to get out or tend to themselves. Some people leave a window cracked open thinking that it is enough to keep the vehicle cool, but it often ends in tragedy. Headlines often show someone leaving a child in a car on a hot day, absentmindedly forgetting the child, or believing that “it was not that hot outside”. How someone can take a child with them in a car but then “forget” about them when they reach their destination is beyond my imagination.

If you believe that leaving a child or a pet in a car on a sunny day with a window partly open isn’t dangerous, try leaving a thermometer in the car first. You’ll see that the temperature quickly rises much higher than the outside temperature. Leaving children alone in a car is not only dangerous, but it is against the law too. The temperature can rise in a very short time, and can quickly cause severe medical conditions or death to children or pets. Numerous children have died recently due to being left in vehicles with rising temperatures. This is not only a tragedy for the family due to the loss of a child, but then the family has to go through the grief of a family member being charged with the death of the child. If the death involves a pet, the owner can be charged with animal cruelty. Even a dog left in the bed of an open pick-up on a hot day can cause the animals death.

It’s not worth taking the chance. If you take a child with you in a car, take them out with you every time you leave the car. Even if it’s not very hot outside, remember that children get abducted daily from vehicles. Locked doors or rolled up windows will not stop someone that is intent on abducting a child. If you plan on taking a pet with you, make sure there is someone to leave in the car with them so the windows can be left down. If you plan on leaving your pets in a locked vehicle while you shop, think twice about it and maybe leave them at home where they will be safe. Pets get abducted out of cars too.

I’ve seen cars left running with the air conditioner on with a 5-year-old and a
2-month-old baby in a car seat left in a vehicle while mom went into a store. How can a 5-year-old keep a criminal from stealing a running car with both children inside? People just don’t think of the consequences. A bad decision can haunt you for the rest of your life. News stories often have horror stories of a running vehicle being stolen with children in the back seat; often the car thief is unaware of the children in the car until they are blocks away. The thief then abandons the car since they don’t want to be a kidnapper too. If the car is not found shortly, the child can suffocate in a hot car. Or even worse, the thief may be a child molester, well aware of the children in the car. The nightmares go on and on…….

Keep your children and pets safe. Take them out of the car with you or better yet, leave them with someone if you can to prevent needless tragedy. Don’t take chances; it could be the difference between life and death.

NetCops PSI

Welcome to a new link on NetcopsPSI.com – “In the News….”
Each week I will try and “highlight” some of the crime headlines of the week – to try and show you one thing. The news headlines aren’t going to change unless you do!

I had dinner with Brent the other night.
We just went through a major overhaul of our book “CopTalk”
Re-edited, a little updated information, and a brand new shiny cover.
It’s going to the printer next week and could be at book stores near you soon.

When I told Brent about what I wanted to do with “In the news” we both agreed on one thing. Nothing has changed. The headlines are always the same. Mark and I wrote CopTalk in 1998, and the information is as current as if we had written it yesterday.

Gang Crimes, Identity theft, Domestic violence, Murders, Rapes, Robbery, Car-Jacking, and the all too often “Child Abduction”. Amber Alerts are getting as common as getting the newspaper in the morning…… It just keeps getting worse.

Anyways, here it is……. “In the news” with a little twist.

What’s the twist?

My commentary! (I can almost see Mark and Brent cringing and rolling their eyes back…..)

Oh well, free country right?
Freedom of speech, right?
Here’s mine!

By the way, have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Jim Lambert

In the news….7/1/03

(note – Most of the incidents discussed in this column occur in Central California, however I won’t be naming specific Police Department’s or Suspect names…It doesn’t matter who they are, it only matters that when it comes to the victims, the next one could be you!)

Police arrest Two Identity Theft Suspects……
Seems one of the two female brain surgeons in this case used a stolen credit card to buy a variety of items including a plane ticket to Hawaii. The plane ticket was purchased on the internet.
The “victim” found out about the scam when she received the itinerary for the trip to Hawaii. She notified police and they arrested one of the suspect’s at the airport right before boarding the plane!

A search of the suspect’s homes revealed numerous items of personal information belonging to dozens of people. The items of information were suspected to be from “dumpster diving” at night, or by stealing mail from mailboxes.

Police say much of the stolen information was found in dumpsters behind businesses within the city. Those businesses were supposed to shred documents before throwing them away. Looks like someone forgot to shred now doesn’t it? The victim’s credit card information for the plane ticket was on a car rental agreement found in the garbage.

The two dumpster diving suspect were charged with credit card fraud and identity theft…. Oh no, anything but that, please don’t hurt me…….ha ha ha. It’s a joke!
They might do a day or two in jail and then they will go to court and get the root of all evil………probation, which only means they have to be more careful when they go out and do it again.

In this case, if the idiot hadn’t gone to the airport to go to Hawaii, the cops and the victim would never know who the suspects were.

Who cares about this?
Not a lot of people.

The retailers don’t care.

Hey, it was your card that made the purchase….we want our money. You don’t give us our money, we’ll screw up your credit report for the next 7 years!

The DA’s don’t seem to care…….
Low priority property crime…..We have assaults and murders to worry about……
Ok, file the case so the victim will vote me in office next year, but make a deal with the public defender to trade probation for a guilty plea….

A lot of times the street cops don’t care. Too much going on. Too many reports to write.
Just shoo these low lives out of one city into the next – I don’t have time to deal with this petty stuff.

Yup, it’s all petty until you get your credit screwed up for the next 7 years because of everybody not caring…

I used to see those dumpster divers while working graveyard. Beat up people driving beat up cars. Sneaking around like street lizards in the middle of the night.

I’d sneak up on them and catch them in the act.
Search them, and sit them in the back of the patrol car in handcuffs.
Search their vehicles and their property.

Hey Carla, hate to tell you this, you have a $25,000 arrest warrant. And your boyfriend here is driving a car with false license plate tabs, the registration expired 2 years ago!

Carla goes to jail, Billy gets a ticket for 2 years expired registration, and the car gets towed and won’t be released till Billy comes up with $800 in registration fees to DMV,

And

Wait, there’s a no trespassing sign for this shopping complex. I think you both are trespassing. And wait, who is Amanda Wilson and why is her Visa Statement on the dashboard of your car?

A quick call to Mrs. Wilson confirms that Billy and Carla have no permission to have Mrs. Wilson’s mail………….and mail belonging to about 10 other people….

So,

Trespass,
Mail theft,
The arrest warrant,
The vehicle tow,

Now the best charge to nail these people with is – “PROWLING” – Prowling means being out in the middle of the night where you shouldn’t be, and being up to no good. Could be a guy casing cars in your neighborhood, could be dumpster divers behind Wal-Mart at 1am.

Oh but wait, California doesn’t enforce the misdemeanor of prowling anymore…… it’s not recognized as a crime….. Aw, too bad. Maybe the justices who decided that are related to the ones on the Supreme Court who did away with the statute of limitations for sex molesters….

OK, we’ll go with what we have.

In the court of Jim Lambert,

Carla,
On the count of trespass I am sentencing you to 6 months in the county jail.
If I see you in my court again for trespass the next time it will be a year.

On the count of mail theft I am sentencing you to 6 months in the county jail.
Only because you did not have the opportunity to use the identity information you stole.

On the arrest warrant which was imposed for a failure to appear stemming from Grand Theft charges, I am sentencing you to one year in the county jail to instill in your thought process that when the Courts tell you to be someplace on a certain date and time, we are not “asking you” we are “telling you”.

See you in 2 years Carla……no credit for good time, no credit for school classes, no concurrent sentence……. 2 years to the day. Bah Bye, sucks to be you, don’t be a hater…..

But in reality……

The count of trespass would be dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to mail theft.
The warrant would be eliminated and she would now appear on the grand theft charge from 2 years ago which she has been dodging ever since. The mail theft charge would be dropped in exchange for a guilty plea on the grand theft charge which is the greater charge……

She might get sentenced to 6 months in county jail (even though grand theft is a felony) and with credit for good time, working in the jail kitchen, and taking a computer class…..
She’ll probably do a month or two.

In my Court, Carla would think twice about going out for a repeat performance after thinking about it for TWO YEARS.

But in reality…… why not go out and do it again knowing all she’ll get is another,
“slap on the wrist”.

Low Blows

A congressman who made contributions to the campaign to unseat the governor of California, found himself facing scrutiny over brushes with the law….from over 30 years ago. Now that’s great reporting on the Chronicle’s part…… If ya can’t come up with any recent dirt…… just spread some around from 30 years ago!

The headlines read – Court records indicate so and so was arrested on weapons violations…Big Bold Print leading you to believe it just happened yesterday!
But of course – I mean like who would have any interest in reading the real headlines…
“So and so arrested over 30 years ago on a petty weapons charge which resulted in a $100 fine – story circulating now, 30 years later, to smear credibility of the recall efforts against the governor…

In the small print you read, both arrest took place in the early 70’s after so and so was discharged from the army. In one of the cases he received a $100 fine and 3 months probation. This was when so and so was a 19-year old kid!
The chronicle also cites a case of so and so being arrested for vehicle theft in 1980, but wait, the case was dropped for lack of evidence……..SO WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT IT!

A friend of the governor calls a friend at the paper and says in a whisper…….Psssst…..I need a favor, I need you to run this story to shut so and so down…….he’s putting to much pressure on the governor.

Man I would love to see a newspaper editor who had the guts to laugh and say “Is this all you got? You want us to print this crap from 30 years ago just to smear so and so’s name? If I remember right you got arrested for domestic violence and 3 DUI’s 5 years ago……. Why don’t we print that story instead? After all, it’s a little more current than this crap from 30 years ago…Hey I have a favor to ask you instead, Could you please GET THE HELL OUT OF MY OFFICE YOU SNIVELING LITTLE WHIMP!

But of course, there’s a shortage of editors with guts to do the right thing because –
THAT CRAP MADE THE HEADLINES!

Murder, no it wasn’t, yes it was, no it wasn’t, yes it was…

A teenager changed his plea for being an accessory to MURDER from guilty, to not guilty…. Apparently the misguided teen was charged with being an accessory to the murder of an 18-year old pregnant woman and then helped dump the body in a parking lot at a park.

As part of a “Plea Deal” the misguided teen entered a “guilty plea” with an understanding he would do a year in County Jail and never see State Prison. But wait, a Judge decided to go with the recommendation of a probation officer who recommended the misguided teen go to prison for 2 whole years.

Ouch…. 2 whole years. That hurts…… but only THE VICTIM’S FAMILY.

In my court I would jump up from the bench and yell………. The only reason why you’re lucky today, is that you didn’t pull the trigger, because if you had, I’d be sentencing you to stop breathing our air, but because you watched this murder like you were watching television at home, and because you assisted in dumping the body, oh wait, there were 2 bodies I do believe, wasn’t the victim pregnant?

I am hereby sentencing you to 5 years state prison for the murder of the victim, and 5 years state prison for the death of the victim’s fetus. We will see you in 10 years to the date Mr. Teenager only you won’t be a teenager when you get out. You will have lost 10 years of your life for being the cold hearted accessory to murder that you are.

Hopefully in 10 years you will have a conscious, some ethics, some morals, some humanity. But if you don’t, I will make damn sure you won’t see daylight until you’re 50!

But in reality……

He’ll get sentenced to state prison but get credit for time served while playing the game of waiting for a new trial and when it’s all said and done, he might get 6 months in county jail…..for participating in the cold blooded shooting of a pregnant woman, and then dumping her body in a parking lot like she was a bag of trash….

And then he’ll go out and kill again……..and again……..

Attorney escapes serious injury in courtroom attack

A deputy district attorney had a close call when a defendant attempted to stab him with a plastic coat hanger….. seems the coat hanger had been altered into a shank type stabbing instrument with a handle attached….

The man was on trial for stalking…and became enraged after being found guilty on the 3rd strike offense……meaning, he was no stranger to a courtroom and had been previously charged on a first and second strike. (Translated – SERIOUS CRIMES)

The man was facing a 100 – year to life sentence… (Now what the hell does that mean?
He’s friggin 40 years old and you’re going to sentence him to 100 years in prison?)

Why not keep it simple.

Hey moron, you’re a misfit loser who has terrorized your family and other innocent people for way to long. LIFE IN PRISON – NO PAROLE, NO NOTHING!
Now get the hell out of my courtroom!

And for your little show of stabbing the district attorney?
What do you think I’m going to do, waste paper and sentence you to more time on top of a life sentence? How bout this instead……
NO PRIVLEDGES your first 3 years in prison…..
No TV, No exercise yard, No visitations, No books, No NOTHING except thinking about one thing. What goes around comes around.
Bah Bye loser – sucks to be you, hey, don’t be a hater!

And for the Sheriff’s Deputy who obviously failed to properly search the defendant before allowing him to enter my courtroom…… I am sentencing you to a $1,000 fine and a month suspension from duty without pay. Anyone else want some???

The Peterson Case

I am way too tired to start capping on the ploys and games of the fame seeking attorney in this case. I’m going to bed to get ready for 3 – 15 hour shifts because of the 4th of July weekend…And a whole bunch of new headlines.

Have a safe and happy 4th!
JL

Hey!
Memorial Day weekend is coming up.
Just for a change of pace, why don’t you see what you can do about not becoming a “memory” on Memorial Day.

Go to the store,
Pick up some Ribs, Steaks, Chicken, whatever….
And have a nice little BBQ with the Family.

Invite some friends over,
Go to the park,
Have a Block Party with the neighbors.

Whatever you do –
Why don’t you try staying close to home?

But for many, that is going to be too much to ask for.
Many people will go out and drink themselves into oblivion and then get behind the wheel of their car.

They will kill themselves….. or someone you know.
An innocent person who got in the way of a drunk.

Young adults will use this weekend as an extra opportunity to party and drink…..
Then they will get drunk and stupid flashing their stupid little attitudes upon all those around them.

They are easy to spot…. The loud mouth belligerent idiots screaming profanities right next to you and your family’s BBQ.

Attitudes will lead to fights.
Fights will lead to the use of fist, knives, and guns….

Domestic violence calls will soar – it happens every summer when the weather gets nice. Start drinking beers, get a little bold, and by George, you’re gonna teach that little woman of yours who the real boss is in the family…..Smack her right upside the head!

Yes, you may think I am a little sour here but,
Read the headlines next Tuesday if you think I am wrong.

Mark will be busy with drunks on the highway trying to keep you and yours from getting plastered all over the road by a drunk.
I will be busy patrolling the river trying to keep drunk boaters from driving 60 MPH sleds into innocent families of boaters – pulling drunk drowning victims out of the river who got wasted and thought they could jump from a railroad bridge into the dark water below – right onto a submerged tree stump they couldn’t see.

Hey!

If you’re going to party – how about doing it close to home.
There is enough violence going on in the world.
How about shedding that for a day – and having a Memorial Day weekend,

With only good memories….

Follow these 10 commandments and you’ll have no problem….

Don’t drink and drive
Don’t drink and fight
Don’t beat on the person you said you once loved up on some church alter.
Don’t talk to anyone else other than in the way you want to be talked to
Don’t lay your hands on anyone else unless you want the Cops hands all over you.

If you see trouble coming – go the other way. It’s not worth it.
If someone cuts you off on the freeway, give a wave and forget about it
If you see a juvenile drinking party in your neighborhood don’t be afraid to call the cops.

Don’t drink and drive
How bout just for once – don’t drink at all and see what happens….

To all the normal law abiding citizens we serve who “do it right…..”
We wish you a safe and happy Memorial Day. And while we are at it, let’s not forget the meaning of the Holiday.

Jim

This week’s story of the week is not a story.
It is an announcement.

Sometimes I have the bad habit of saying what’s on my mind, even if it offends certain people involved. My brother has expressed a bit of concern over my telling it like it is, and because I can see his point, I think it appropriate that he delivers our message of crime prevention by way of the stories and tips of the week. From here on out, Mark will remind you to lock your cars at night and to shut your garage door after you take the trash cans outside at night.

But speaking of trash, I’m going to ask Brent to add a new link called “Jim’s Trash Pit”.
It will be a forum where basically I can trash people who need trashing. Like for instance,
This week all the headlines center around 14-year old Lindsey Ryan abducted by a convicted murderer….56-year old Terry Drake.

Amber alerts are on all the freeway signs,
Text messages show up on cell phones, headlines plaster the newspapers, and now even the California Lotto is helping advertise Amber Alerts. My question is………
What the hell is a convicted murderer doing out in the community – with firearms and a police scanner? What Judge or Parole Board allowed this to happen?

OK, I’m calm….deep breath….. I won’t get all worked up. Not in this column anyways.
But if you want down to earth, tell it like it is, no holds barred, straight up talk….
Look for the upcoming link I will have to beg Brent to put up…..
”Jim’s Trash Pit”
Enter at your own risk. It may not be pretty – but it will be real.

Until then, Stay safe.

JL

That’s the phrase we sometimes say to people we know – when they screw up big time…
In looking at the headlines in the newspapers in the first month of this year, and it is reassuring to know that my partners and I will probably be in business for a long time to come – because all I can think of to say after reading each article in the paper is – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

The Oakland Raiders win the trip to the Super Bowl in one of the most exciting championship games I can remember watching…..
Only there was one little flaw to take the sweetness away from such a sweet victory.
A small but substantial number of Raider Fans who felt the need to go out and celebrate by…
Rioting in their own streets, burning their own businesses, burning cars on the street…
They weren’t even Titan fans – upset over a loss…. They were Raider fans, upset with….
What were they upset about? What did this flaming pack of idiots think they were doing?
What were they proving? What were they doing?
Yes you group of brainless morons, thank you for casting a dark cloud over an incredible event.

Thank you for casting a shadow over the thousands of good fans who proudly wear the silver and black representing the “Raider Nation”.

I have one question. WHAT WERE YOU LOSERS THINKING?

Chevy’s Restaurants agree to pay a settlement to a family of a youth who died after consuming too much alcohol at their establishment. Yes, that is an unfortunate loss. The kid was what, 19 – 20 years old?

I’m thinking that wasn’t the first alcohol outing he’s been on. That death could have easily taken place at a Frat house on College grounds, or at a friend’s house hosting a Friday night keg party.
Let’s sue the people we know can pay…The restaurant chain!

I mean come on, you can’t sue his buddies for not keeping him from drinking.
You can’t sue his parents for not teaching him well enough about the dangers of drinking…
You can’t sue the kid for causing his own demise – he’s dead…..
So – Let’s go after the people we KNOW will pay.
So what if 16 year olds look like they are 20 in this day and age.
So what if fake ID’s look just as real as a real ID card.

Hey, I’m thinking, maybe if I jump off the Golden Gate Bridge – and survive, maybe my family can sue the State for millions for not having a proper fence up to prevent me from jumping. And we can sue the CHP for not having an officer on the bridge to keep me off, and hey, maybe we can sue the toll takers for not seeing me walk past the booths – don’t stop here, keep going baby……
sue the makers of the bridge, the makers of the toll booths,
Let’s sue the California department of Education for not educating me in grade school that jumping off the friggin bridge could be hazardous to my health!

Chevy’s – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Two teens out throwing eggs at cars late at night. (Hey Mom and Dad, what are they doing out on the streets late at night in an era of violence and people who hate each other???)

Only as bad luck would have it, two of the guys driving by didn’t like the fact that their cars got egged…

So they hunt the teens down, beat one to a pulp, and stab the other to death….

How many lives are affected by this?

One kid is dead, another probably traumatized for life if he doesn’t end up dying from his injuries,
And two morons who will be arrested and probably get life sentences in prison,
All over a god damn egg? What planet are we on? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

And then there is the case of the missing pregnant woman from Modesto – and her all of a sudden caring husband Scott… Only problem was, old Scotty didn’t show too much concern right from the get go.

Scotty goes “fishing in Berkeley the day before Christmas and leaves his ready to deliver wife at home alone….And oh my God – he returned home and she “vanished into thin air”….

Geez, I wonder how that happened Scott.

People disappear from the face of the earth just like that!

God I hate it when that happens..

The only thing I can’t figure out – is why go fishing in San Francisco Bay all the way from Modesto, the day before Christmas, with a wife who is 8 ½ months pregnant? And why go out in a small aluminum boat in 30 mile an hour winds and rough seas, when even commercial fishing boats weren’t going out…And going fishing for sturgeon with only a trout pole and no bait????
You go dude, you made a believer out of me! I mean, just because that’s the equivalent of going hunting for wild bear armed only with a pellet gun, that doesn’t mean we don’t believe you…….

You lying sack of crap!

You know what bothers me? What bothers me is when many of my friends and family WHO AREN’T COPS, see right through the crap and they call me and say:

“Something’s not right here…”

Ya think?

Hey nice job on getting the insurance policy on your wife last summer by the way…..
And lying about the girlfriend? Class Act Scotty……
And now, after a month has past and he’s avoided the cops, the press, and refused to take a polygraph test, Now all of a sudden, Scott is off to Los Angeles to open a search center for his wife…. Why down there Scotty? Well, you explain, nothing has turned up here and I feel it’s time to broaden the search and branch out…

I’m sorry, excuse me while I puke my brains out….
I think what you meant to say, is it’s time to get out of the heat and get as far away as possible from where they are bound to find her body…Let’s broaden the search area. Hey, lets try Mexico…..I hear Mazatlan is nice this time of year. Ya, lets search down there. And if no one is watching – you might be able to take your girlfriend along!

Ain’t got the guts to just call it quits in a bad marriage? Ain’t got the guts to just get a divorce
Gee Golly Gosh, one would almost get the idea that maybe Laci got tired of being married to a snake, found out about the girlfriend, and threatened divorce… Hey when in doubt – kill the wife…. No one will ever believe it, not even the family! Let’s make it look like a couple low life burglars did it….yeah, that’s the ticket. Burglars always kill witnesses to keep from getting caught…..not in the real world mind you, But in the brain of a murdering liar – yup, that sounds entirely possible! Hey I want to know one thing Scott…. When you did what everybody knows you did…. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!

Road Rage – 1 shot to death……
Estranged husband kills ex-wife, kids, then himself……
4 teens in critical condition after running a red light and crashing into a fire truck….

How about this one? A real live call on the police radio that made me spit my coffee up….

Woman requesting an Officer respond – for her 8-year old son who is refusing to get out of bed to go to school….

Lady, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!

I can’t believe we have to actually go to calls like that. If I pulled that crap with my Mom or Dad when I was 8-years old, I would have gotten a bucket of ice cold water thrown on me……There ya go Jimmy, if you want to stay in bed, don’t be thirsty!”

Do you know how many 8-year olds there are who “wear the pants” in the family and call the shots?

Yeah, there’s thousands of them….. and they grow up to be the kids out late at night egging cars and getting themselves killed, or going to a Bars with fake ID’s and drinking themselves to death….. (Hey, didn’t I write a long story a couple years ago called WHERE HAVE ALL THE PARENTS GONE?)

Remember when I went to Arizona a few months ago to a seminar, and I met a girl on the plane on the way home, who told me this quote….

“So many people are angry at a world – which isn’t the least bit angry at them”…

Now that’s thinking!

The only real question here is…

What are you thinking?

Stay safe
JL

Here’s an important tip. If your brother is being chased by the police, and he calls you on his cell phone during the police chase to come and pick him up because his car is becoming disabled, don’t arrive with ounces of methamphetamine in your vehicle.

You’d think this was a no-brainer and this wasn’t on America’s Dumbest Criminals (although it meets the criteria), it actually happened recently. A parolee was being chased by the police and the pursuit went through several cities. The suspect’s car was rapidly becoming disabled so he did what every other pursued criminal would do. (No, not give up…) He called for help.

He called his brother on his cell phone. I could just imagine the conversation……….

Ring Ring Ring……
“Yo?”
“Hey bro, what’s up?”
“Ah nothing much, just being chased by the police, what’s up with you?”
“Ah nothing, just cutting some meth to sell. Bet my last police chase was better than yours.”
“Maybe not, mines still going. By the way, can you help me out?”
“Sure, as soon as I weigh this ounce”
“Where you at Bro, I’ll pick you up”
“My cars dying so I’ll meet you at ………………………………

So when the police see pursued suspect number one jump out of his disabled vehicle and jump into another vehicle, they think it’s a carjacking in progress and do what they need to do. Stop the threat.

Turns out suspect number one was only jumping into his brother’s vehicle that arrived to rescue him. Too bad, suspect Dodge Durango vs. Police Ford Explorer. And suspects find out what a police tazer feels like………..

So remember this tip. If you come to a police chase to rescue your brother, DON’T BRING OUNCES OF METHAMPHETAMINE WITH YOU…… DUH………………Just a humorous holiday tip that actually recently happened.

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year from NetCops PSI.

And KEEP IN MIND, have a designated driver handy for those holiday parties because law enforcement will be out in force for the Holidays to ensure a safe Holiday for all. If you try to drive intoxicated, law enforcement will provide a free ride for you if you drink too much, but it will be in handcuffs, costly, and embarrassing……

I was going to talk quite a bit about the new “Amber Alert” system which has proven successful in locating abducted children… Yeah, the system works great, and the person who thought of it should get a pat on the back. But why aren’t we getting to the heart of the problem?

All we are doing is putting a band-aid on the problem. How does a parent let a child get abducted in the first place? Keyword PARENT! And many of these righteous criminal losers responsible for these abductions are repeat offenders.
Keyword REPEAT OFFENDERS!

I heard one of these recent “claim to fame losers” was out of jail on several million dollars bail for committing ……..basically, you don’t want to know what he previously committed. Because if you knew, you would ask WHO WAS THE IDIOT JUDGE WHO LET THAT GUY ON THE STREET!

I would love to see the Amber Alert system modified to flash the Judge’s name whenever one of these threats to society is released on this funny thing called bail……

No, I’m not gonna cap on Parents who lose their children.
I’m not gonna cap on the parole system or probation programs.
I’m not gonna cap on Judges.

Not this week…….

This week something else deserves honorable mention.

The past few months I have found myself becoming extremely impatient with my car stereo while listening to the radio. That stinks – change the channel, People pay money for that? – Change the channel – Geeeez that’s horrible – change the channel – Man, where does all that hostility and anger come from? – change the channel…..

That’s about the time I start having an intelligent conversation with my dog.

I think back to when I was younger, when words to a song actually meant something. You remembered certain songs when you had special moments in life, and those songs always bring back those memories. But now all you hear is

LOUD.
BLARING.
HATE.
ANGER.
RAP
CRAP

Not music, but annoying NOISE
Nothing with any HEART
Very few songs these days strike any interest in me because they have NOTHING.

No originality.
No emotion.
And worse yet – the people singing them have
NO TALENT.

But wait; there is hope, because every now and then someone comes up with an idea that affects many of us. I have to take my hat off to FOX broadcasting. When I was almost coming to a point of finding nothing stimulating to watch on television except for WWF, I stumbled across this show named “Search for an American Idol”.

My first thought was this looks dumb, but as many of you did, I watched in amazement as thousands went through auditions in front of 3 judges who are now household names. (You have to hand it to Simon for being honest! I would love to see him as a Judge in a courtroom!)

How some of these people even thought they could sing was beyond me but…..,
Out of all those over several weeks, there became a group of finalist who went to Hollywood.

Guys, Girls, some better than others……. I actually started looking forward each week to hearing them sing again and again. These kids were good. Each week the voting public would decide who would get eliminated and 10 became 8, 8 became 6 and so on all the way down to ……… Kelly and Justin. (How the heck did Tamyra get voted off???)

Ya know what I look for in people? Heart. Sincerity. Being genuine and Being real. The judges described Kelly Clarkson as “singing her heart out” every week.
Judge Paula Abdul described Kelly as “Having a voice that makes grown men cry and makes young boys wish they were grown men…..” Wow!

Paula, you were right.

So we’ve all seen the outcome. Kelly is the new American Idol. Idol might be a strong word to use but what I saw in many of the faces of the finalist, and what I heard in their voices is ….. Talent.

When this girl Kelly sings you know it’s coming straight from the heart. No attitude, no struttin, no over confidence, and no bull.

They showed background clips of the finalist, and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen such humbleness in young people. All of them. Their love for their families, their friends, and even towards each other when they were competing against each other. Very impressive. And no attitude! Hmmmmm, why does it work for them?

I watch the NFL and see home-boy do his little dance in the end zone, “yeah that’s right, I’m bad, and you better know it”……… I don’t know why, but the dude who makes the great catch and humbly goes back to the team without the big show has got….. class.

Kelly – you won the super bowl of new talent last night, and you have nothing but…..class. We saw that in your style, we saw that in the pride your parents have for you, we saw that in your humbleness in winning, and girl, we felt that in every word you sang.

How did I get on this tangent?

I was just getting ready to vent on how the Amber Alert system may be helping the problem but isn’t fixing the problem, when all of a sudden…. A local radio station played this new single, sung by a girl named…. Kelly Clarkson. I jumped up and cranked up the volume on the stereo, and the girl still gave me chills just from her voice. Yup, there’s a new kid on the block and I think it’s safe to say you’re going to enjoy listening to her for a long time. And what’s cool about it? We all got to see the start of this brand new career!

As the Judges said,
There is Celine Dion,
Mariah Carey,
Whitney Houston,
And now there is Kelly Clarkson.

Congrats Kelly.
You got to where you did by doing one simple thing and that was “singing your heart out” I hope that many people, young and old alike, learn from your style. Whatever it is you do in life, do it with passion from the heart and you’ll always be happy. You’re a class act, and I know I will be looking forward to listening to your CD’s for many years to come. (And Tamyra, if it had been you against Kelly, it would have been a tie!)

In case you are reading this and missed the main focus,
KEYWORD – HEART….

Stay safe,
JL

I’m not a Trouble Maker but…

I was recently assigned to my department’s marine patrol unit, and for those who are crazy enough to want to fly – there is the option of also working the helicopter unit as a tactical flight officer. Because I love to fly they didn’t have to twist my arm too far back.

They just sent me to a week-long seminar and conference in Arizona for the Airborne Law Enforcement Association. (ALEA) It was my first time to Arizona and I have to tell you, I fell in love with it. I was in Tucson, and in every direction I looked all I could see was blue skies and mountains.

The people were great, and I started to wonder if maybe there is something in the drinking water in California that sets us aside from other States? I didn’t see attitude dripping off young people, I didn’t see rudeness from merchants. I didn’t see anger, hunger, or obvious homeless. I didn’t see filthy streets and freeways, and even most the cops on the street seemed to be in good moods. Hmmmm, What’s Arizona got that we don’t?

Some kid on the street in a slammed (lowered) racey looking Honda cut me off and at a red signal light he got out of the car and walked back to my rental car. I thought to myself, “here we go, junior wants to puff up and show the yard how big he is and start some crap…..”

This kid with the sagging pants and the pierced eye lid came up to me and said,
“Hey I’m real sorry about that dude, I had my head up my ass and I didn’t see you…”
I smiled and told him “No problem, it’s a rental”
He laughed and said “Cool” and away the Arizona kid went.

While waiting for the light to change I thought about how long it’s been since I’ve seen any “coolness” on the streets where I live. I thought about the news I watched the night before in my hotel room, about the 5-year old girl who was kidnapped and killed. I thought about the cops who forgot the “fight is over when the cuffs go on” who just had to get a second lick in while unknowingly being videotaped….. HELLO! What were you thinking? Oh that’s right, the “kid” had a hold of your crotch and you were in great pain….Paleeeeeze!
Sorry, most the guys I work with realize your crotch is rather close to your waist which is where most of us wear a belt with a G U N on it, and we don’t let someone’s hands get that close….

Man kills his wife,
Wife kills her husband,
Son kills his mother,
And that ain’t even getting robbed at the ATM – that’s at home!

Wow, I’m thinking there’s a whole lot of anger going on in California!
The light changed and I guess I was day dreaming too long. The car behind me hit the horn, and I turned around to say sorry and the driver actually waved to me…..with his whole hand not just one finger! Wow, I’m liking Arizona!

The kid at the rental car office in Southern California acted like I was wrecking his day when he actually had to get up off his butt to help a customer. The kid in Arizona jumped through hoops to put me in a Chevy Camaro convertible and made it more than obvious Alamo car rentals appreciates your business….. Ok, Brian, you sold me, Alamo rules!!!!!
I met many new friends, saw many cool things, went to many way too cool places, but most of all, I learned so much about the “Hero’s in the sky”.

On the day before the conference started they flew in 12 police helicopters to the Tucson convention center. Landed them right on the street outside and rolled them in. Of course I had to get up at 4:30am to get there in time to get some killer photos.

I fell in love with this Eurocopter because of the paint scheme…..Check out the tail rotor!
(People really remember September 11th here – the patriotism is amazing)

I went to a place called the Pima Air Museum. They have miles and miles and then even more miles of historic aircraft on display. I spent an entire day there drooling over helicopters, jets, bombers, and things you wouldn’t imagine could fly.

One of the coolest things there was the plane that started it all…..

I toured 4 big hangars that stored historic bombers from WW1 and WWII. I got to look inside these planes and see the cramped conditions the crews had to work in.

One of the coolest I saw was this plane named “I’m not a trouble maker but…”

Check out the size of this gun turrant and the position in which the airman had to sit for hours and hours.

They have an entire hangar dedicated to the crews involved in the Air Strikes against Germany. Most of those crews never made it past 19 missions before being shot down and killed. Some of the really old guys working at the museum were actually on board those planes. I got to talking to a few of them and man…… the stories they tell. And they tell them like it was just yesterday.

I got to actually sit in the cockpit of Air Force One that served for president Kennedy.
I tried to imagine what it must have been like to fly that plane back in those days.

If you love to fly – if you share the curiosity of flight and aviation – if you want to turn your kids onto some incredible history, plan a vacation to the Pima Air Museum in Tucson. You’ll dig the sights, and you’ll love the State!
Thanks Arizona, I had a great time…

So where am I going with all this?

I am 46 years old.
3 years ago I conquered my extreme fear of flying and somehow got into the sport of flying ultra light sport planes. What the heck is an ultra light sport plane you ask?

There is nothing like accelerating down the runway to the point the nose wheel starts to lift off the ground…… In a second, you leave the ground and you see the world open up beneath you. The views are spectacular and for me? There is nothing else like it on Earth.
It is an incredible feeling of freedom.
I fell in love with it to the point I started a part time business with these float planes, turning perspective students onto the incredible thrill of low and slow flight over the river.

And now, my department has given me the proverbial once in a lifetime opportunity to be a flight officer aboard our beautiful Bell 407.

The 6 years I worked as a K-9 Officer, we pursued some pretty serious bad guys. Most all the serious and dangerous calls we went to, it seemed there was always a police helicopter overhead. It was always reassuring to me and the other ground units to know the “eye in the sky” was there, watching our backs.

Flying in a helicopter is a trip….They describe it as being a machine with a million moving parts all working against each other trying to pull apart! But when you look at the maintenance that goes into them, and the hours and hours of training for pilot certification, the accident rate is almost non-existent compared with that of cars and vehicles.

Over the past 16 years, I have seen some pretty incredible helicopter flying during emergency calls

The police pilots are “like Gods to me”.

While working marine patrol I remember holding the limp body of a kid riding an inner tube who got catapulted into a drainage pipe during a “whip turn” when the ski line broke. While holding this kid who had almost every bone broken in his body, I remember this blue and white helicopter hovering overhead, and then getting lower, and lower, and lower.

I remember thinking where the hell is that guy going to land? And the next thing I know, this medical helo pilot is setting down on a 5-foot wide levee road.
2 Paramedics got out, they scooped up the kid and away they went.
Wind, minimal landing area, wires all around – Wow….

I remember looking at the pilot as he lifted off the ground and because both hands and both feet are busy doing six things at once he couldn’t return my salute, but the nod he gave me said it all….It will all be good….the kid will be OK.
8 minutes later they were at the hospital.
In an ambulance it would have been 45 minutes from where we were at.

We were doing training with the Coast Guard out in San Francisco Bay on a really crappy day. They simulated our patrol boat having rescued someone from the water. It was windy, raining, and the boat was rocking from the waves. The Coast Guard Helo crew
Hovered right over our boat and lowered a cable right at the feet of my partners.
We hooked up the cable to the rescue basket and they raised the “victim” to safety.
They put that helo over a moving boat, in rough seas, in high winds, like they were grabbing a coke out of the fridge!

I’m telling you this right here and now.
There is NOTHING more exciting than flying into a crime scene where the ground units are looking for a guy who just did something really bad. Shot a cop, shot a person, robbed a bank… That helo circles around with that 100 million candle power spotlight – or finds the bad guy with the infrared camera, and directs the Calvary right to where the guy is hiding.

It is an incredible tool in the fight against crime.
It is an incredible tool to be used in medical emergencies.
It’s one thing to be a cop, a firefighter, or a paramedic.
It’s a whole different arena to be one who flies.

I met pilot after pilot at this conference who did nothing but amaze me with the stories of some of the missions they have flown in the interest of public safety.

To those of you who fly for the public as a “job”
To those in the past who have perished in that effort,
To those who have the fever as I do and are just starting out,
To those who proudly wear those wings on their uniforms I say with all my heart…

“You are like Gods to me!”

And in closing……
Every now and then I meet someone out of the blue who makes a lasting impact on me in one way or another…Wise people, wise words, big hearts, you know the type,
the type there’s a serious shortage of in this world.

In this case it was at the Tucson airport waiting to fly home.
Met a way too cool woman who shared the flight to San Diego with me.

We talked about the difference between Arizona and California, attitudes, this and that, society in general. Talking bout something, talking bout nothing… Eating Southwest
P E A N U T S < private joke

She was a smart girl. And she made an impression on me enough to the point where even If our paths never cross again, I’ll always remember her.
We traded a couple of quotes.
I gave her one of mine used on this website quite a bit, and she gave me one that is now hanging over my desk. It explains why there are so many “attitudes” in this world, and why there is so much evil and hatred. And sums up a lot of the difference I saw between the people in California and Arizona.

I won’t ever forget the power in this statement.

“So many people are angry with this world,
Which isn’t the least bit angry with them…”

Think about it. Read between the lines.

Are you like the kid at the rental car desk in San Diego, or the one in Tucson?

Are you like the kid In Arizona who cut me off and ,
choke, choke, cough, cough… Apologized? (Say what?)

Or are you the road rage moron we will read about in the paper tonight who shot a guy in front of his family because he accidentally cut you off….?

“So many people are angry with this world,
Which isn’t the least bit angry with them…”

Wanna do yourself a favor?
Wanna do your kids a favor?
Wanna do California a favor?
Wanna do the world a favor?
Wanna do me a favor?

Lose the anger,
Lose the attitude,
Lose all that wasted energy….

And I promise you,

The skies get much more Clear,
The water will turn much more Blue,
The sunrise and sunsets will look like Fire in the Sky,
The air will become much easier to Breathe,
The stars will become much Brighter,

Lose the anger, Life is too short,

And to that special little girl from Tucson who shared those wise words….
“Thanks Melissa” – I’ll always remember you. You rule!
JL

A few weeks ago the weather got very warm here (at least here in Northern California) for a week. We were so used to cool temperatures for so long that when the thermometer got in the high 80’s to low 90’s, we got spring fever. A little teaser of the coming summer. Sleeping with the windows open is great, and it saves on the air conditioning bill. But the consequences can be frightening.

When the weather gets warm, the prowlers and burglars come out. I don’t want to scare anyone but this is a reality. Prowlers, burglars and rapists often work the warm nighttime hours because they know windows and doors will be left open and unlocked. If a victim is lucky, they wake up to find only property missing and an open door. If a victim is unlucky, they wake up to find a stranger standing next to their bed.

Prowlers and burglars go door to door and yard to yard looking for easy access. When the weather gets in the 80’s, 90’s or even 100’s, its easy pickings for them. The reports of burglaries while the occupants are home drastically increase. Most burglars prefer breaking into a house when no one is home. No confrontations, time to ransack and look for goods, no rush.

But the burglar who enters an occupied house is more dangerous. They are more likely to be violent if confronted or be tempted to commit other crimes (such as rape) if they confront a desirable victim. Someone who enters an occupied home is very bold and very dangerous. The thing is most of these incidents can be avoided.

If someone breaks a door or a window to get into an occupied house at night, most likely someone will hear it and wake up. Most burglars know this and don’t want a confrontation and won’t force entry if someone is home. But if a burglar can simply open a screen door or take a screen off a window, they are inside your house undetected while you are asleep. I don’t know about you, but the thought of someone walking around my house or standing next to my bed while I’m asleep is pretty frightening. Unless you have a big bad dog to alert you of an intruder, there are other steps you can take to prevent a theft (or worse, a sexual assault).

Put stops in the sliding door frames and window frames. You can purchase several types of locks or stops at a local home improvement or hardware stores. These will prevent someone from lifting the sliding glass door or windows off the track while it is locked, or from opening it while it is secured ajar. These types of locks enable you to leave your sliding glass door or windows in a slightly open locked position. ** (you never want to keep a window or door open wide enough to allow access by a person).

Don’t ignore upstairs windows. If there is a roof, overhang, or any other type of access to a window, make sure you have a lock to secure the window shut or partially open. Thieves can “case” a neighborhood to see who leaves windows open or shut.

While it’s nice to sleep with windows or doors open, never feel that you are not vulnerable. Even the most remote home can become a nightmare if a burglar or prowler finds an open door or window.

If you would like to leave your sliding door or windows open 4”-6”, install a window or door lock on the frame. Or another simple solution is to cut a piece of wooden dowel to fit in the window frame. If the door or window is open 6” and you lay a piece of wooden dowel in the remaining window or door track, nobody can slide the windows or doors open the rest of the way. Just make sure the wooden dowel is a sufficient thickness to withstand pressure if someone tries to force the door or window open.

Hardware stores even sell window locks with thumbscrews for portable use. There is no drilling of holes and no installation. These come in handy for motel or hotel rooms, boats, RV’s, etc. You simply lay the lock on the window track at the desired position and tighten the thumbscrew. The window won’t open past that point.

If you have an alarm system, don’t disable the whole system just to keep a window open. Most alarms enable you to bypass a door or window keeping the rest of the system armed. Just make sure you have the bypassed door or window secured with a lock or wooden dowel to prevent entry. If you have a motion sensor, keep it armed.

With summer just around the corner, it’s time to take precautions. The thieves and burglars get bolder because opportunity exists. Take precautions and avoid becoming a victim.

Everybody should have a scanner to hear some of the calls that come out.

A man frantically calls to report his vehicle was stolen. Turns out the keys were left in the unlocked vehicle and it was left running while he was inside a convenience store.

A woman reports that her purse, wallet and cell phone were stolen while she was shopping. She had left them in plain view on the front seat of her car.

A woman reports that someone had opened up several credit cards in her name and charged several thousand dollars just weeks after she gave out personal information to a stranger on the phone. Someone who represented themselves as a credit card company representative. She failed to recognize warning signs that the caller was not legitimate.

Several bicycles and tools are stolen from an open garage. One that was open for several hours while the owner was sleeping inside the house.

The list goes on and on but thefts are the majority of preventable calls that we respond to over and over again, so that will be our tip section this month.

After responding to a theft from a car, I constantly hear people say “I was only in the store for a minute”. Well, it only takes about 5 seconds or less to smash a window and grab a briefcase, purse, etc. Or the lucky thief finds the window open and simply reaches in to grab what they want. It’s amazing the things that people leave in plain view in their cars. Purses, wallets, laptop computers, checkbooks, briefcases, etc., usually laying on a seat or on a console in plain view.

Here’s an example. You pull into a 7-11 parking lot and your purse is on the passenger seat. You run in for “just a minute” to grab a cup of coffee. You leave the purse on the seat and you’re in too much of a hurry to lock the car door. Besides, there are no other cars in the lot so there’s nothing to worry about. You get your coffee, grab a pack of gum and go to the checkout counter. You see people walk into the store and notice cars parked on both sides of yours. You go to your car and begin driving out of the lot when you notice your purse is missing.

You see that the cars that were parked next to you are now pulling out of the lot and you also see some school kids wearing backpacks walking away from the parking lot. What can you do? Nothing. It’s too late. Unless you saw who took the purse from your car there is nothing you can do except to start the process of calling all your credit card companies, DMV, Social Security office, etc……to report the loss.

Or what if your laptop was stolen from your car? The one with all your personal business information stored on the hard drive. The one you were going to create a back up disk for but you never got around to it. Any loss creates inconvenience and a lot of times, monetary losses. The hassle of reporting or replacing stolen items can be very frustrating. And the aftermath, especially with credit card or identity theft, can last for months or even years.

But instead of having to spend hours trying to straighten out losses after items are stolen, why not take an extra 10 seconds or less to prevent it from happening in the first place. Our book has numerous tips on how to prevent different types of thefts and what you can do if you become a victim, but here are a few quick tips to start with.

Never leave anything of value in plain view in your vehicle. Take it with you, put it inside your house or workplace, or if that is not possible, lock your valuables in the trunk of the car or at least hide it. Thieves usually don’t waste time searching inside a car if there is nothing is in plain view to attract them.

Lock your car. Thieves rarely break windows or force entry to a car unless they see something they want. If you leave a laptop or purse on a seat, locking your car probably won’t help. Locking your car and making sure valuables are not in sight will probably make the thief pass you up and go on to an easier target.

If you like to leave your home garage door open while you are home, keep an eye on valuables. Don’t leave wallets, cell phones, etc on a work bench or somewhere where a solicitor or neighborhood kid might get tempted to take it. If you’re not going to be in the garage for some time, shut the garage door. And keep the door leading from the garage into the house locked. There was a recent rape and murder of a housewife where the 3 suspects entered through an open garage door. They randomly selected this house because it was the first house they saw with an open garage door.

Never leave keys in your car when you are not in it. I hear calls daily from people reporting cars stolen after they left them running to warm up or while they were in a store. Warm up your car by slowly driving a block or two. It only takes seconds to steal a car. Locking your car and taking your keys with you usually assure your car (and valuables) will still be there when you return.

Never give out personal information over the phone unless you are sure who you are talking to. Ask for a supervisor, ask for a return phone number and call it back. Ask for a company address. Tell them to call you back later and in the meantime, Verify the information. NEVER give out your social security number unless it is absolutely necessary. If someone asks for mine to verify information, I usually give them just the last 4 numbers even if I know it’s a legitimate call. I don’t think anyone except me needs my whole social security number. Take the time to verify the caller; the consequences of identity theft are devastating.

There are many more tips, stories and useful information in our book to help keep you from becoming a victim. While we try to update our web-site on a semi-regular basis with new stories and tips, we get bogged down at times with work, court, overtime, family life etc. Our new book is currently being published in a bound version so why not order the book and get all the tips, stories, and over 280 pages of useful information at once.

If you don’t buy the book right now, keep coming back to our web-site for useful tips one at a time.

Thanks for visiting and take the time and precautions to be safe……….

The NetCops staff,
Jim, Mark & Brent

Every now and then we get the call for a “Vehicle verses Train” collision.

Sometimes it’s a bogus call.

Sometimes it’s an intentional suicide.

But for the most part, when we get there and it’s a real “grinder”, it turns out to be someone who was in a hurry. Someone who misjudged the speed of the on-coming train and drove around the gates. Sometimes its kids, sometimes its adults, but all the time they turn up dead! The train that looks big and slow from a distance is actually a rolling missile when it goes by you. You know that! You’ve been the first car in line at a train crossing before.

I work primarily marine patrol now, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such traumatic and shocking destruction and mutilation that can be done to the human body than by a fast moving boat and propeller. Except for what a fast moving train can do to a carload of people. It’s shocking.

Those trains are heavy. You have no idea how much horsepower it takes to pull the loads they do. And the thing about it is, if they suddenly see you on the tracks it isn’t like they can slam on the brakes to stop. It may take a mile or two to even get it to slow down…
You know what is really weird? It doesn’t make that much difference if the train is doing 30mph or 80mph. The sheer weight of that incredible power chews up whatever is in its way, and if it’s a vehicle on the tracks, that car will end up looking like it was demolished by a gigantic can opener!

You come up to the crossing gate and stop. You look left, you look right, and then you look down at your watch and see how late you are for work, or to pick the kids up from school, or to rush home with the kids to cook dinner.

You see the train in the distance and you hear that little voice inside of you that says “you can make it, go for it”. You look around to see if anyone is watching. In that second you looked around that train has traveled 50 yards. You look both ways again and move your foot off the brake and start creeping forward. Another second, Another 50 yards closer. You start to maneuver around the crossing gate, which takes a second or two, and the train is 100 yards closer than it was. And as you cross the first track and you get ready to punch it to safety when you hear a loud horn blasting and in your last second of living you look up to see the horrified face of the train engineer. And then you see – nothing.
All because that slow looking train approaching, traveled the length of 2 football fields in a matter of seconds. But it doesn’t matter because you’re dead!

I could tell you what happens afterwards but there’s no need. It’s too gruesome and kids read this page. But I can tell you this. You’ll look thinner in blue. You see, there are green body bags, black body bags, bright yellow body bags, red biohazard body bags, and nice pristine white ones…but everyone looks thinner in the blue ones….maybe it’s because all your parts aren’t there…

But hey! We recovered your watch 300 yards away near your demolished vehicle. Or what used to be a vehicle. Remember the one that let you know you were running late?

Why do you do it people? Why do you literally kill yourselves way before it’s time? If it rains and the streets are wet, you just have to speed up. If it’s foggy and you can’t see where you’re going, you just have to speed up. If the road is flooded and the signs say don’t cross, you just got to make the top story on the evening news by either looking like an idiot, or by getting dead. “Well I didn’t think it was that deep and I thought my Geo Storm could make it…” Snow? Who needs chains, let’s go! Go faster, faster… No passing zone? Yeah right….lets just see what this little 4 cylinder can do! I can pass these 3 cars long before that 18-wheeler gets up here. And then when you’re stuck between car #1 and car #2 with nowhere to go you start craping your pants because you knew you shouldn’t have tried this to begin with

This is the bottom line. Life is short. Really short. Ask any cop, firefighter, or paramedic just how much shorter it can be and they will tell you. Enjoy it. You only get one shot at reaching a ripe old age. S L O W D O W N! If you’re running late think up a good excuse. Or better yet, start leaving a half hour earlier if you’re a commuting road warrior always riding the edge.

And when it comes to trains…. In 24 years I haven’t seen a vehicle win yet…Remember this. T H E T R A I N A L W A Y S W I N S… Say it out loud right now. Go ahead, no one is listening. Get it in your head. Say it a bunch of times. And especially say it the next time you are stopped at a train crossing getting stressed out. Keep repeating it until the train crosses. “The train always wins.” Hey, if you pass any of our articles onto your young teens in the family, pass this one on. “The train always wins.”

Oh by the way, if you are the loser parents of these two 7 or 8-year old children who are made to walk home alone after school, across railroad crossings, along roads with no sidewalks where they could get hit by a passing car, or where they could easily be abducted, you ought to be …….. God, I can’t say it – I’m supposed to be a professional. Sometimes I hate being a professional.

Don’t lose the thought of the day…”The train always wins”
(You can get my other thoughts on “parents who shouldn’t be parents” in the archived story “Where have all the parents gone”)
Hey America, Stay safe out there.

NetCops P.S.I.
JL