BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

As the filthy teen in front of me railed on about "Pigs", I suppressed a tendency to bust him for vagrancy. Instead, I just listened, noncommittally nodding my head. As we parted, I gave him some advice: "Next time you need help, call a hippy!"

You spend your time stopping drunk drivers (or notifying next of kin), checking chop shops and known fences for evidence, answering domestic disturbance calls where suddenly you're the bad guy (statistically the most dangerous type of call), patrolling a park or schoolyard where, just last week, some homeless guy got the crap kicked out of him for $6.59, writing reports no one will ever read and attending "training sessions" where you learn how long some people can blather! Then some tin-headed twit criticizes you because you haven't found the camera he had swiped while he was chatting up some blond decoy! Meanwhile you have a half-dozen "easy" calls backed up, any of which can turn deadly in a second and you're not going to get lunch today. Ain't being a cop wonderful.

Pardon my typos and errors; I'm sputtering!

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

I don't think that photographic equipment, expensive as it may be, is the target of big-time professional thieves. Ofttimes equipment in snatch and grab and smash and grab crimes are purported by young offenders and petty criminals- addicts looking for drug money and other offenders like that in unfortunate circumstances. It's not like high end jewelry where there is an underground market or a like precious metals and stones that can be melted down, disassembled, re-set and resold. "Hot" cameras usually end up in "hock shops", second hand stores or with "fences" who dispose of the equipment in underground markets. Many times it's the same juvenile and petty offenders who rip off costly stereo systems from cars.

I do know that in New York City and other large urban municipalities, all second-hand dealers and pawn shop are licensed by the cities and monitored by the police departments. All purchased or pawned articles must be recorded in a log and can not be resold for a specified period of delay. In NYC, the police maintain "hot sheets" and officers are assigned to periodically monitor the dealers logs and check the items against the hot sheet, which nowadays is probably computer driven and accessible in computer equipped cruisers or two-way radio data. Many items are recovered in this manner.

Don't forget, possession and conversion of stolen goods is a felony in most North American jurisdictions. The police are very interested in tracking down theses crime systems.

Unless someone is held up at gunpoint for the equipment, a stolen camera complaint is not gonna dispatch the SWAT team to your location or going to be handled by major case senior detectives. Reports are taken by patrol officers and turned over to detective bureaus for investigation. Theses cases are not neglected and oftentimes the whereabouts and MOs of habitual thieves are known to the police. They do arrest bad guys, recover equipment and implicate the fences, sadly, not all the time and that is what precautions and insurance are for.

I have never had the impression that any police service neglects complaints- it just a matter or priorities at any given time.

Oh- My kid sister's husband is a retired NYC detective and her two sons are police officers. I have the above on good information.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

An excellent app to keep track of your equipment

tcthome Loc: NJ

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

This looks great, thanks!

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

In addition to metadata ID, all of my major equipment is scheduled by serial number with my insurance company. My gadget bags, roll-aboard, etc. all have ID tags and hidden internal identification.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Being a cop was indeed, the best profession I have ever had. Yes, all you say might be true. You also don’t mention the office politics that go along with what you have mentioned. You neglected to mention the citations issued to people who will tell you they know the Sheriff or Chief of Police personally. They don’t think your boss will appreciate you issuing a citation to their friend. I used to tell them to show the citation to the Sheriff. He will probably pay it for them.

But you also don’t mention the incredible rewards of being in law enforcement, putting bad people in jail/prison, locking up an alcoholic for six months or more and having him thank you because it will give him a chance to dry out and get some medical assistance if needed, finding a runaway and returning the kid home, finding a three year old wandering the streets at 4:00 AM because he woke up and started walking, and returning him home to his frantic parents, working years of boring reports interspersed with moments, some of them which seem to take a lifetime, of sheer terror and excitement.

Yes there was some bad to go along with the good but remember, if it was easy, anybody could do it.

Dennis

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Thank you for your response. I once worked in a county that was so mismanaged (actually unmanaged) that funds were not available to provide even mid-level EMS training. But the sheriff did approve a plan to deputize volunteer EMT's (after a short "academy"). Since I had already completed an academy (this was before POST), I began the ride-alongs immediately. My rewards came primarily as a result of my first responder training. Responding to innumerable TC's and roll-overs, usually involving alcohol, being able to triage scenes and then apply my training (and instruct the reserve deputy) was extremely rewarding, especially when I was able to help children. I had the good fortune to operate with a small, but highly trained ambulance service with an incredible response history. Finding a lost child is so rewarding, I can't imagine it, as is stopping a .24 driver. We had to pick up the pieces of the ones in the back country. I reveled in finding the missing child at the scene of a multiple car pileup, still trapped in the car, bleeding from a partially severed arm and being able to stop the bleeding, stabilize the patient, help Fire & Rescue extract him - and see him several months later on his high school baseball team (with two good arms). Those were my rewards - and I had the advantage of little or no paperwork

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Unless the theif is a camera guy, he won't have any idea how tha camera works. He won't even know what model camera he stole. Wouldn't be difficult to prove whonows the camera.

snapshot18

boberic:

The typical thief doesn't 'steal to use', he steals to sell! A $7,000 Canon will bring him $2-$3,000 at any pawn shop. Plus the several lenses, flash units, etc. in a camera bag. He doesn't care what he's got . . . just what it's worth in a super quick sale. So, what he gets isn't near what it's worth- who cares, HE DIDN'T PAY FOR IT! And even if it's identified via Metadata, or Insurance records, or ANY OTHER 'invisible' method, the Pawn Shop owner assumes it belongs to the scroungy Low-Life who has it! Or doesn't care! Engraving camera bodies is a very good way; the bottom of the camera is super strong and the Pawn Shop owner will always look there- make the engraving DEEP so said Low-Life can't sand it off (he won't have a grinder . . . unless, of course, he stole one of those, too)!
Lenses are a bit different because they're not so sturdy; however, the lens mount can take a bit of a beating, so I suggest engraving there. Flash units are even more 'fragile'; you're on your own, there. However, most flash units (except over-priced Nikon and Canon units), are reasonably priced and will require replacement since yours will probably be dropped somewhere along the way by said Low-Lifes (since he doesn't know photography- only stealing) so, you may not recover them or they won't be serviceable if you do.
Bottom line: think ahead and good luck.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Those are the rewards I am talking about as well. There were times when I manipulated the system to protect or otherwise take care of someone, even an arrestee. I once arrested a well known elderly wino for sleeping in a post office during cold months. He was beaten down pretty much by life in general and had been an alcoholic for years. Yes I know the Liberals and the ACLU will scream about his rights but I arrested him, knowing he would spend at least six months in jail. From having worked in the jail I knew this man would be given care, would work in the kitchen and most importantly, would have a chance to dry out. He thanked me for arresting him.

On another call of a woman in her eighties who had collapsed at home, the family called an ambulance to transport her to the hospital. The problem? The woman was about the most cantankerous lady I had met up until that moment. I spoke to the EMT people who assured me this woman could die if not transported. I told her that but she still refused. California has a Law many have heard of. It is Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Basically a lame wherein an officer can declare a person is mentally not able to care for themselves and/or is a danger to themselves or others. After talking to the woman at length I told her if she did not voluntarily go to the hospital I would declare her insane and order her transported. She refused so I did. She was transported to ER. I went to the hospital later and visited with her family and then her. The doctor had told them she was alive only because she went to the hospital. The EMT’s were correct in their determination that she NEEDED to go and soon. Even the woman smiled at me and said she was glad I was more stubborn than she was. I told her since I had not yet written my report yet I would leave the crazy part out.

Dennis

snapshot18

dennis2146:

For every nice story like that and I'm sure you have others, but how many Horror stories do you have? Something tells me the good & bad stories are NOT balanced.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

I don’t know about the good and bad being balanced. Obviously not but I do know that I miss that life every day. But other than Department politics I absolutely loved the job, dealing with people, good and bad. There is a camaraderie among men and women who do the hard jobs in society, the thankless but dangerous jobs, if you will; police, fire, military, those jobs. Forgive me everyone if I neglected a job you think should be there. People in those jobs know that others will willingly give their life trying to save yours. It is almost a given.

Dennis