Beer Bandit strikes AGAIN!!

Yes, some of them. San Vito is willing to replace their card for me. Toys and Babies R us, have been faxed the numbers, sans the last 4 digits, so they have to do recon, but hopefully can cancel them and replace. No clue how to track the rest. There were a few that were presented as gifts. Anyway, that's cool about the pawn shops. Maybe they can do more than I think they can. What a fine surprise that would be. I do think this is a crime of opportunity and based on what they took, I'd have to say they were males. Sorry guys!

 

The less houses and neighbors around you the more you can do that.
Can't do that thing anymore here in broadlands.

 

Are you saying the demographics of home buyers in this area have changed in the past few years?

You mean these buyers came with younger children and now the kids are older and causing problems in the neighborhood? I would think there are new people moving in with older kids too.

I'm not putting words in your mouth. Just wanted to check if I read you comment properly.

 

It is simple - more people, more crime.

 

also - more retail...more crime

 

What does that mean about Loudoun County "ain't no CSI"? If there are (were) fingerprints everywhere, you should have called immediately. Most fingerprints are composed primarily of water, and the quality will diminish over time. Loudoun County does have a very capable CSI unit, and numerous specially trained evidence technicians -- but they probably won't waste their time on a case in which the evidence has likely been destroyed. Also, remember that if the suspects are neighborhood kids, most neighborhood kids don't have fingerprints on file with the FBI...

 

Exactly. We asked the deputy to take fingerprints but he said he was unable to do so. Nothing had been destroyed. Maybe that was just a junior Deputy, I don't know. Because of the monetary value of the crime, it's considered some form of larceny, not just Corona and Mike's. It's a punishable crime at this point...they were in my home and garage and at the very minimum, that's trespassing and larceny. Anyway, you're right about the kids probably don't have fingerprints on file anyway. No need to defend LOCO, I'm repeating the words of the Deputy.

 

I had my car broken into and the airbags stolen one time.

Total to replace everything was around $3500.00

Cops never came either. Just took a statement over the phone.

 

Okay. Now, I'm pissed.

 

The fingerprints might not be in the fbi database, but if your child was ever fingerprinted for school or anit-abduction purposes you can bet that the cops can get to them if they want em.

 

Okay, so let's recap:

We have a neighborhood watch, but to catch these bandits, we'll need to set up a sting. I noticed we did hire security guards when the poo in the pool became unbearable. The cops either cannot or will not collect data to save in a Broadlands file. If their collected fingerprints start to match, one day this kid will hit the big time. Do the math, add them all up, and the numbers are high. Stolen airbags?? Holy crap!! The crime is increasing, as a result of new neighbors, new teenagers, new businesses, and paths to other existing neighborhoods. Just today, I read that someone tried to start a bridge on fire, and other kids are playing dead in the street, and some are spraying graffiti on private property. While some of you may think this is petty crime, like stealing beer, and cash, doing such things on property that does not belong to you or your parents is a big problem that's obviously getting bigger. And I really don't think setting the bridge on fire is petty. And while some of the items taken are crap, it's MY crap...not theirs to take.

How about this....let's all take photos of these kids, when and if we can catch them doing stupid things. Certainly we have caught some kids doing bad things, painting, sex on the hill, whatever. That way when their parents say it wasn't their kid....well....that one will cost you. Maybe we should round them all up and send them to Gitmo!! Anyway....I don't want to live in a lockdown situation in my own home. That stinks. And if I leave my car unlocked, or my garage door open, I shouldn't expect to have to call the police the next day. I would expect the parents of these kids to knock them into next week when they discover they did these things. And who are these parents that let their kid roam all night long? Short of that, they should apologize publicly for the sins of their sons and daughters.

I'm certain I've missed some talking points here, so bring it on. When is that happy hour?? I think I'll put Armed and Dangerous on my nametag!!

 

Well, while this may be true in certain circumstances, the cops would probably have to be narrowed down to a particular suspect in order to make such a comparison. In most situations, the latent fingerprints are submitted for a computerized comparison against the FBI files.

 

I don't think the cops could take fingerprints from kids without the the parents' consent, and such a process would be extremely costly relative to the number of cases solved. I'm all for it, but I think when the taxpayers see the price tag, they would not approve. Many juvenile delinquents have parents who are enablers, and those parents would probably not consent to voluntary fingerprinting of their juvenile delinquents. Besides many folks just don't want big brother getting too involved in their lives -- and I might count myself in that group on this subject. (Why should my kid get fingerprinted like a criminal just in case he ever steals from you?)

I think the reality is that when you don't live out in the remote country, you do have to be security conscious. We in Loudoun do enjoy a relatively safe community, but we are not immune to criminal activity. The easiest solution is to take small steps to prevent yourself from becoming a target of opportunity.

Think of how much work (and taxpayer money) a complicated investigation involves, relative to the amount of time it takes to close your garage door. You may not realize it, but the report you filed will result in a cop coming to your house, then he has to type a report, then a supervisor has to review the report, then it gets filed in the records system, then an investigations supervisor has to review the report and assign it to an investigator who could end up spending an entire week or more investigating your case. If there is physical evidence, an evidence technician would recover the evidence, package it, submit it to the evidence section, evidence section employees would log it, and transport it to the state lab where another employee would eventually do an analysis of the evidence and generate a certificate, at which time the evidence would have to be transported back to the local police agency. Then comes time in court, with many officers receiving overtime pay to attend court. (Let's not forget about the judges, prosecutors, bailiffs, clerks, who all get paid by taxpayer money.) So, you can't be troubled to lock your doors, but you expect taxpayers to foot the bill for a police investigation that could cost tens of thousands of dollars???

 

Yep, I'm familiar with them, and have fingerprinted many youngsters myself. Many of these setups send mom and dad home with the only set of fingerprints to keep in a safe place. Let's not forget that law enforcement agencies operate under the authority of law, and if there's no provision authorizing submission of non-criminal fingerprints into a criminal database, it's just not gonna happen.

Yep, I'm very familiar with broken window theory, and it does not apply to anything I said. I did not say that I oppose thorough criminal investigations. I did indicate that I find it much more efficient and cost effective to close your garage and lock your doors than to leave everything wide open and pray for the best -- and call the cops if things don't work out. Since we're using a fire analogy now, do you propose that everyone leave unattended candles in their homes, and if a fire occurs -- oh well, that's what the firefighters get paid for?

No. But I would suggest that you go on a ride-along or two with deputies that patrol your neighborhood. You can see how busy they are already, and how sometimes routine calls go unanswered for an hour or longer while they rush to handle all of their calls. After you've seen how it is, let me know if you think every crime scene should be processed like a homicide. I agree that it would be great -- but LCSO clearly does not have the manpower to do that. When was the last time you contacted your representative on the BOS to ask for increased police staffing?

NO. I believe very strongly in the role of the criminal justice system. I also believe in the responsibility of a homeowner to protect his own family and belongings by locking-up.