My garage was broken into on Wednesday July 19th and a report was filed on July 20th. The officer said a detective would be out the following day. I waited all day and he never showed. I called that afternoon and was told it would be early next week. Well Today is Friday July 28th and still no Detective. Myself or my father has phoned 8 times in the past 3 days and we can't even get them to call us back. I live in a small farming town and we gave the officer who took the report a very good lead on who might have done this but a call from them would be nice. I haven't touched anything in the garage so they can take prints if they need to but they won't even come out. The amount lost is almost $30,000.00 and to me that's allot not to investigate. What are my options if they continue to not help me?
2006-07-28 02:41:27 · 14 answers · asked by racing_jrfan 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Well while I was typing this question, the police have finally decided to call us back. They have not said anything about wanting to come out now and fingerprint the tool boxes they broke into. Most of the tools I have come to terms that they are gone but i had a motor taken that belongs to a classic car I'm restoring and they want me to do the leg work and get hold of General motors and see if i can come up with the numbers off the block. Right now I will do anything they want to help me get my motor back
2006-07-28 03:35:15 · update #1
MEL T certainly has good advice for you. If you get your insurance company involved, they will light a fire under that detective's rump to get him moving on this. Otherwise, a complaint to the Sheriff's Dept. might get them to take some action. $30,000 is well into the felony range so it is odd that fingerprints were not taken.
2006-07-28 02:46:49 · answer #1 · answered by Sebring Sage 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems to me like you are going to have to make a pest of yourself until they DO get out there. I think I would call them daily with a "friendly reminder" that you are still waiting and the crime scene is getting colder by the minute. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to piss they off however, because they may not give their "best" on the case.
It does kinda remind me of the joke about the guy who called the police late one night to tell them there were burglars in his storage shed. The dispatcher said they had no one in the area, and it would be at least an hour before they could get out there. The guy hung up the phone. He called back in a couple of minutes and told the dispatcher there was no need to hurry because he had gone out and shot the intruders. The police arrived in 5 minutes.....took the bad guys away in handcuffs. But they said to the homeowner...."I thought you said you shot them." The homeowner replied ".....and I thought you said you had no officers in the area."
2006-07-28 02:56:10 · answer #2 · answered by kj 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is why police departments have supervisors. Call and ask to speak to either a Patrol or Detective supervisor. Of course this depends upon how large the police department is.
Some will leave a garage burglary to the patrol division however if you've actually had property valued like you claim I would think a detective would be assigned.
2006-07-28 02:45:38 · answer #3 · answered by Quasimodo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry this happened to you.And I understand your impatience with it taking so long for them to get back to you. It happened to my family twice last year...though they didn't take anywhere near what was taken from you.
Just remember the police have to prioritize, and unfortunately burglary when no one is physically hurt gets low priority. Because of this sometimes you fall through the cracks. Call and find out which detective it was assigned to, then ask to speak to him/her. Tell them your concerns, and find out what is going on straight from the source. But remember, you get more answers by being polite and non-confrontational. Save the big guns until you've exhausted every other choice.
2006-07-28 02:56:29 · answer #4 · answered by songbird092962 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you have insurance? make a claim right away. Go to the precinct get the police report. Speak with the commanding officer in charge of the officer who took the report. Call your mayors office for leads what to do.
2006-07-28 02:49:21 · answer #5 · answered by goldengirl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with Eleanor. Call the media. Remember that all police forces are essentially political entities. If it is a county Sheriff he is directly elected. If it is a police chief he is appointed by the mayor. Either way, they don't want negative publicity. Start making noise and they will respond.
2006-07-28 03:11:09 · answer #6 · answered by Wayne W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reason why they do not send out a detective can be summed up in 2 words:
Paper Work
Cops by nature detest paper work and burglary investigations generate and awful lot of it.
2006-07-28 02:48:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
body shops have their own version of e-bay. Do you have a body shop you are friends with. Put the fact you want to buy this motor and see if anyone responds locally. Without the VIN on the engine you can't prove ownership though.
2006-07-28 03:44:18 · answer #8 · answered by frankie59 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask your insurance company what you should do. Ultimately it's them losing $30,000.00. The cops often just make a police report for the insurance company.
2006-07-28 02:46:15 · answer #9 · answered by MEL T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell the police department that you're going to the newspapers with your story.
They'll be at your house in about 15 minutes.
2006-07-28 02:57:37 · answer #10 · answered by Jake 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋