I am a victim of burglary?

Question

This just happened to me. My house is so called protected by a alarm and monitoring comany. Well certain items were taken and because what was taken and were it was located I feel strongly about who did it. I know they did not have long to get much but did get a particular item and left more valuable things untouched. I want to know how I can get police to put pressure on suspects and get to the bottom of this. Also if alarm and monitoring company cannot keep people out why am i paying them and are they liable in any way I have had a lot of problems with alarm not working properly. Alarm went off this time and they called me then police, should police not been called first. And finally if police not willing to do a good job on this then would a P.I. do any better?

Answer 1

Unfortunately there is not a whole lot you CAN do, I have been in this situation before as well, and I know it can be very frustrating. My advice:
1) Consider upgrading the physical security measures in your home, door locks etc. I find that a long wooden dowel (similar to a curtain rod) cut to the correct size and put in the sliding area behind closed windows and glass slider doors keeps them from being opened even if the locks have been forced.
2) Contact your homeowners insurance, they usually cover theft.
3) Do you best to move on, because not much ever comes of these police investigations. Sadly, not much ever comes of many investigations of crimes against people as well...

If you want to spend your money on a PI and he can PROVE that this person stole the item to the satisfaction of the police, you may be able to force an arrest - but the chances of a PI being able to obtain that proof are extreemly slim.

Answer 2

First off, they aren't the Pinkerton Detective Agency. They are in another city, and can only do things so fast. They call you first to make sure it's not a false alarm. If they called the police first everytime, there would be a lot of fuss for nothing. The commercials always show them calling the family first.
You going to sic a P.I. on an ex-friend of your's?

Answer 3

You can't "force" the police to do anything. You can tell them who you think the criminal was, and why you think it, but the decision as to how to handle it is theirs alone.

To get a conviction in a criminal case requires actual evidence, not just the victims opinion as to who it was.

Alarm companies "always" call the homeowner before they call the cops, because so many alarms are false. (In my county, by the way, the Sheriff charges a homeowner $150 if the are called to an alarm and it's a false alarm.)

Richard