Do police give a crap about recovering stolen property?

[Craig234]

There are things they can do, but don't have the resources, such as sharing a list of stolen items with local pawn shops.

I saw dialogue on a tv show recently where one character said to another, 'the police don't give a crap about recovering your stuff', as the police were actually using that concern as a ruse to investigate the person.

They'll return the stuff if it somehow ends up in their hands, with your name and phone number on it, but it seems that's about it.

It got me wondering if they do anything else, and what they should do that's practical.

It got me wondering, what actually would happen with an obscure item like my Yamaha YSP-4100 sound bar, where it'd be sold - it's not an everyday item.

They don't sit out on a street corner with a sign on it. There are flea markets, there is Craigslist... anything else they likely use to sell/fence this stuff?

I wonder if creating a 'reward system' where a person could offer 10% or 20% of the value of the items as a reward to the police department if it's recovered could be a win-win.

It's an ugly idea - 'but they're supposed to do that already' - but since the fact seems to be there's almost no effort put into recovery now, I wonder if that'd help them be able to do more.

 

[zzuupp]

Yes, they do. An obscure item is easier. They will check with the pawn shops, look on craigslist/ebay/whatever.

 

[Craig234]

Yes, they do. An obscure item is easier. They will check with the pawn shops, look on craigslist/ebay/whatever.

Even there - I wonder how universal the practice is. They could do it better or worse - check daily or monthly? One time or for how long? How thoroughly? They don't say.

 

[who?]

The pawnshops here register everything they buy in software that the police can look at.
Can you prove that it was stolen and not a gift that you regret?

 

[mindless1]

Caring doesn't mean being able to do anything. They can check around but the longer it remains out there, the less likely additional checks are going to find it and someone else has reported stolen items which have a hotter trail still. Similarly they're abandoning someone else's older theft to spend time investigating yours.

 

[Craig234]

The pawnshops here register everything they buy in software that the police can look at.
Can you prove that it was stolen and not a gift that you regret?

Not sure what you're talking about, but ya, I gave the police a list of dozens of largely unusual electronics and never heard from them again.

There wasn't any question they'd been stolen. Insurance would have paid but I didn't file a claim for the first burglary, wrongly worried about a rate increase (turns out they can't and don't).

 

[Craig234]

Caring doesn't mean being able to do anything. They can check around but the longer it remains out there, the less likely additional checks are going to find it and someone else has reported stolen items which have a hotter trail still. Similarly they're abandoning someone else's older theft to spend time investigating yours.

Ya, I'm just discussing how it works. These go back several years, not recent.

Basically no info was given to me on what they'd do.

 

[tommo123]

IME when something's stolen you report it to the police and ask for a reference number to give to the insurance company. that's the only thing you need from them. they can't stop a theft occurring and they're useless after the fact

 

[Jon-T]

If you gave the police the serial # for your Yamaha YSP-4100 it should be in the NCIC database,

Whenever the police come across a shady character they check their possessions against the NCIC database to see if they can press receiving stolen property charges.

 

[Craig234]

If you gave the police the serial # for your Yamaha YSP-4100 it should be in the NCIC database,

Whenever the police come across a shady character they check their possessions against the NCIC database to see if they can press receiving stolen property charges.

I didn't have any serial numbers, this was unopened stuff mostly.

Guess that kills most of the little chance they spot it.

 

[highland145]

Now you know that someone found your keys.



Depends. My CSA had her van stolen. It was found in this guys front yard with her belongings on his front porch. Cop, "We don't know he's the one that stole it." End of story. Must have been quitting time.

Had the company cc hacked and used in Myrtle beech, wal mart and walgreens. 2 different precincts but both sent me pics from the stores. Same card hacked in Birmingham..."Call your bank." click.

 

[Craig234]

Now you know that someone found your keys.



Depends. My CSA had her van stolen. It was found in this guys front yard with her belongings on his front porch. Cop, "We don't know he's the one that stole it." End of story. Must have been quitting time.

Had the company cc hacked and used in Myrtle beech, wal mart and walgreens. 2 different precincts but both sent me pics from the stores. Same card hacked in Birmingham..."Call your bank." click.

Actually, I HAVE had my car stolen when I've left the keys in the ignition. And trashed by thieves.

Actually, I guess that's a related story, in that the second time, the police actually did spot it being driven. The report said they gave pursuit but the driver got out and ran away. I've always been suspicious of that - did they not try much? Was he a protected informant they let go?

Either way, the thief had left a lot of evidence in the car, from condoms to a prescription for his venereal disease to a pay stub with his name on it to a lot of junk. So I had his name - I still remember it, "Noel Crosby" (his phone and address are actually found with Google I just checked). I took all this evidence to the police and asked them to at LEAST go question the guy; they took the evidence, and I never heard from them again (I would have if there were any charges).

 

[1sikbITCH]

From my experience the answer is yes and no. In Baltimore city it used to be that they couldn't spare any officers for a call unless you shot somebody. Not even showing up for stolen property. Now they are so busy they won't come for anything less than 3 bodies.

When I lived in a more suburban county, those cops, "Town Clowns" they were called, sat idling around in parking lots, and when one cop initiated a traffic stop, 5 cars would roll up because they had nothing else going on. They could devote more money and resources to investigating property thefts and they did.

So in between The Wire and Mayberry there's going to be a lot of difference in response.