DA>There was a bank robbery just up the road on the main drag in Vienna, VA
DA>a couple of months ago. Before the guy entered the bank, he relieved
DA>himself on the sidewalk in full view of the entire world. A passing
DA>motorist called the police on his cell phone to complain.
DA>When the robber came running out of the bank with a bag of money, the
DA>police were standing directly in front of the door examining the puddle
DA>on the sidewalk.
I think cellular phones are a great safety device and crime-fighting
tool.
I saw suspicious activity of 3 people doing something behind the
Village Pantry where no one was supposed to be. It was not a
through way, so it was not as if they were going anywhere.  I
pulled off the road into a parking lot 1/2 block away, pulled out
my list of local businesses (I live next to a shopping center)
from my wallet, and called the Village Pantry store to say that
there were 3 men loitering behind their building.
I don't think it does any *immediate* good. But it at least lets
them know that there was possible drug dealing going on on their
property between their building and their back fence.
When I see shit like that, I don't bother calling the cops
anymore, I call the business owner (or store manager, or regional
manager) and let THEM know that I'm too scared to go into their
store cuz there're drug dealers on their property.  Now *that*
gets action!
Our local PD doesn't have time to respond to "mere" citizen's
reports of "suspicous activity" any more.  Even if you were
attacked, but if you don't require an ambulance, it will take up
to 30 minutes for the cops to arrive.  But when a store manager
calls the cops and says "we got suspicious men/teens loitering
outside our building where we can't easily see them" and "these
ganster-looking dudes are loitering in our lot and scaring off the
customers" then the cops usually come.
I have no illusions about solving anything.  If the cops roust
the drug dealers for loitering often enough, the net effect is
that the dealers just move to another area.
I don't know about other departments, but in our local PD, the
street cops don't or won't do drug busts.  The uniformed officers
avoid the drug dealers and leave everything to the narcotics
squad.  I found this out from several sources including local
eyewitnesses, store employees, and a fireman who said that his PD
buddy told him in reference to the drug dealers, "We leave them
alone and they leave us alone."
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ Don't feel the pain... impeach the pain.
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