I am concerned about the way in which the calls of complaints are taken and dispatched to police officers. I had the most unsatisfactoy experience last month when trying to report a person who I had finally managed to get the licence plate number of who religiously drove down my street and ignored a four way stop on the corner.
When this occurred the first time, I was out in my front yard doing yard work, and I live on one of the corner lots adjacent to the four way stop. The person was a young adult or teen, who had all the windows down on the car, driving by himself and come speeding through the four way. When he did so, I yelled, "Hey, that is a stop sign you know!" He slammed on his breaks on the other side of the intersection and gave me the finger. Since then, this same person has made it a point of coming down on a semi-regular basis and continuing to go through the same intersection without stopping. One day this occurred, my neighbor was out in the yard with me, as he gave me the finger again, although I did not say anything to him, however both times I was not in a position to be able to get his license plate number. The third time it happened, I was out on the street he comes down and we were loading our vehicle to go on vacation for a few days. This time he slows down about 1/2 block from the corner on the side street where I happen to be loading my vehicle and revs his engine to draw attention to himself and the fact that he is flipping me the bird for the umptyth time, but this time I start reciting quite loudly his license plate number over and over so my husband who is coming out of the house with more cargo for our vacation can hear. ( I did not have paper and pen at the time) This time, my husband says, report him to the police, you now have his number. I thought that was a prudent move, seeing this person had now seen we were leaving for the weekend with all of our gear. Wisdom tells me that people that exhibit these types of behaviors are volatile enough that they could cross the line into much more vicious territory at any time. I made the call. Dispatcher tells me that she will send an officer out to take the complaint. I ask how long it might take and explain that we were just headed out of town for vacation for a few days an already have our dogs and gear packed. Dispatcher tells me that she has no idea how long it might be and that we should just wait. I ask how long. She tells me it could be up to two hours. I tell her that we will wait for awhile but are anxious to get out of town. We wait, and wait and wait. An hour and a half later, I call back and ask the next dispatcher how long it might be. She checks and says she has no idea. I ask how long ago the officer had been dispatched. She states that although she is not the original dispatcher she found out that no officer had been dispatched as of yet. I ask why no one was dispatched. She states they do not dispatch until the officers call in, and this was a non-emergent complaint. I ask her if she could just put the complaint in so that the license number is on record with the police, and I would talk to an officer upon our return. She states that no, we cannot just leave the information with her now. We can only wait, or cancel the complaint altogether. I then ask if we can go to a precinct and make our complaint. She states we can go down to the Grove Street precinct down by the new Law Enforcement Center and file the report if we choose. I tell her that this is what we will do. IT GETS WORSE... I am so confident that things will be handled more expediently in person. I get to the precinct and there is a smartly dressed officer behind the glass at the front desk. No one is in the waiting room. I come to the desk and this is roughly how the conversation goes. Me: Hi. My name is Pam Ellison and I came down here because I was told by the dispatcher that I could make a complaint here. Him: We don't do it that way. Me: Isn't this the police station on Grove Street? Him: Yes it is, but we don't take any complaints here at all. Me: Why would the dispatcher say that you do then? Him: I don't know why, but we do not take complaints from the public here. Me: Well this is a non-emergent but serious concern I have and I am about to leave town and cannot wait for an officer to be dispatched to my home to make the complaint in that way. Him: Well I am sorry but we cannot take the complaint here you have to wait for a dispatched officer. (By this time I don't know if I am more incensed and angry or more confounded in disbelief of how ludicrous the situation is) Me: Let me get this straight. This is the police station on Grove Street and you are a police officer, but you cannot take complaints from the public here. Him: That is correct. Me: You have a reception desk and a large waiting area here to for people, but you cannot actually help anyone here. Him: That is correct. Me: All right, well heres the thing, I am a law abiding, tax paying citizen of this city, and I don't intend to leave until I have accomplished what I came here to do, under the direction of the dispatcher. Him: (rolls eyes) What is it a neighborhood dispute? ( sarcasm so thick you could put it between two slices of bread and eat it for lunch, if you like that kind of sandwich) Me: No, it actually has to do with someone who deliberately ignores the four way stop on my corner and speeds through on a daily basis. I don't even know where the person lives. Him: Well, there has been no crime committed so I cannot take a report. Me: I thought that ignoring stop signs was a crime. Him: It is a petty misdemeanor. Me: Yes, and the last time I checked you do cite motorists for not abiding by the stop sign. Him: It is a petty misdemeanor. Me: Sounds like it would go on your record then. Him: Yes. Me: All right then I would like to make my report, as I was finally able to get his license plate number and I want the poliice to be aware. I did try to tell him one day as he sailed through the intersection that he needed to stop at the stop sign and ever since then, he insists on going through the stop sign. When I am out in the yard is now giving me the finger each time fails to stop at the sign. Him: Well it sounds like there has really been no crime committed and until there is, it seems pointless to file a report. Me: As I said, he did committ a crime by continuing to ignore a stop sign in a neighborhood busy with children. I guess until someone actually gets hurt, nothing will be done. Well, I will not leave tonight until I have given you the information and his licence plate number is on file with the department along with a complaint from me. (Enter another officer from behind the wall of the glassed in reception area. He says to the on duty officer: "Just take her report.") On duty officer rolls eyes again, (must be part of the training to be on the police force because he has the skill down) and slides over a pad of half sheet memo type forms and takes down my information. I give him the information and he completes the form. Him: Well, I have it all down now, so you can leave now. Me: I will be happy to do so, as soon as you make a copy of that report for me to take with me. Him: Why? Me: To prove I made the report, when this person continues to be a problem. He now goes behind the wall with the other officer and makes me wait an additional 5-8 minutes. Meanwhile as I am waiting a well-dressed young lady between the ages of say 19-25 comes into the reception area. I look at her and tell her that if she is coming in for help, this is not the place to get it. One of the officers overhears from the back and comes to the window to ask what he can do for her. This is even more interesting than the lack of assistance I got. This is how their conversation went: Officer: Can I help you? Lady: There are warrants out for my arrest and I called the dispatcher and told he I wanted to turn myself in and they told me to come to the law enforcement center, but all the doors are locked and there is no one sitting at the desk. I cannot get anyone's attention in the building over there. Officer: Did you try all of the doors? Lady: I tried the main entrance and also the other door on the side, but both are locked. Officer: Well, did you ring the night bell? Lady: Where is it, I didn't see it anywhere. Officer: It's there. Lady: Well what would you suggest? Officer: I think you need to go back over there and look for the night bell and ring it. Lady: Ok.... NOW: Here we have someone actually turning themselves in, and the officer made no effort to call over to the other building to get assistance for her, or take the time to escort her over there, he just let her go off on her own. I was on my way out of the precinct, still trying to make sense of the situation I had just been through and I don't know whether or not she got to where she needed to go, or if she gave up and walked away. One thing is for sure, she and I both had to work hard to get any service whatsover.. I look at this, I look at the state of our streets which are so poorly maintained that one needs a front end alignment as often as one needs an oil change, and I have to ask: "WHERE ARE MY TAX DOLLARS GOING?" I love living in Saint Paul, but it is more and more difficult to get any service for the high property taxes we pay. If you look at all of the property taxes we pay in Saint Paul, we are one of the most costly places to live, tax wise, and yet even though they seem to have cut our taxes, they just raise our property values which offers the same effect as raising the property taxes. So you can play the shell game all you want, but as far as I can see we are woefully under-serviced for the dollar. Anyone want to impart some wisdom on this? I think it is interesting that we are taxed for all of these services, but who makes certain the roads are repaired in a timely manner or the trees are trimmed when necessary. I have a locust tree on my boulevard that hangs way over my property line that I was told was diseased over ten years ago. It killed other trees on my property and I was told they would not remove it, because it still had many years of life in it. The thing is hanging way over my property line and needs to be trimmed severely. If they can't repair the roads and they can't trim the trees and they rarely plow in the winter, what are we paying for? Yet we seem to still have the time and resources for our Mayor and City Council to take up the Stadium issue almost every year without fail, as long as I can remember. What gives? I would entertain any discussion on any of these items. Pamela Ellison Como Park Saint Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "SPPD-VBC SPPD-VBC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 1:47 PM Subject: [StPaul] Re: Garage Burglaries Highland Park and MacalesterGroveland > > > > > > Thanks, Officer Dan. > > What do you mean by this statement: > > "... it has been a long time since we could leave > our garage doors and windows unlocked and assume our > property is safe ..."? > > When was that time? > > If the Dispatcher did not know about these burglaries when I called the > other night and told her about some thugs testing out a television behind > SuperAmerica (using SA's power), maybe she should be informed next time > instead of making me feel like I was wasting the SPPD's time. I'd rather > catch a burglar than lock myself and all my stuff in "the compound" and > only to have him go on to the next garage. The S/N idea is a good one, > obviously, but what can we do more of to reduce the chances of ANYONE > getting burgled instead of reacting to burlgaries that occur? Why are > these people burglars anyway? > > Four more days until National Night Out. Can we expect any announcement > from the SPPD? > > > AMH > Armstrong Av > > > > Andrew M. Hine > Corporate Research Materials Laboratory > 3M Center 201-1W-28 > St. Paul MN > 55144-1000 > USA > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel: (651) 733-1070 > Fax: (651) 737-5335 > Lab 201-W110 > > > > > "SPPD-VBC > SPPD-VBC" To: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: > l.mn.us> Subject: Garage Burglaries Highland Park and Macalester Groveland > > 07/30/2004 02:25 > PM > > > > > > > I don't have more specific locations but I have been > informed we are having many garage burglaries in the > Highland and Macalester Groveland areas. I was also > informed that in about 80% of these incidents the doors were > unlocked. While everyone should feel comfortable and secure > in their homes, it has been a long time since we could leave > our garage doors and windows unlocked and assume our > property is safe. This is unfortunate, but please help > reduce garage burglaries in your neighborhood by making sure > your garages are locked and encourage your neighbors to do > the same. > > An additional step you can take is to record the serial > numbers of your bicycles, power equipment and electronic > items that you own. If you are the victim of a burglary or > theft, having these numbers can assist in getting your > property back. It can also assist the police in getting a > suspect charged. If a thief is caught with property or > sells it at a pawn shop, it is nearly impossible to prove > the items are stolen and who the property belongs to if the > crime victim does not have serial numbers for the stolen > items when the police report is made. > > The Mpls. Police Department recently discovered that with > all of their reports that included stolen property only a > single digit percentage of victims had serial numbers for > the stolen property. I don't have actual numbers for St > Paul but based on my 20+ years of experience here I would > say it is very similar to what Mpls. found. Please help us > help you, by recording serial numbers for your valuable > property. > > Dan > > ALL SUSPECTS ARE CONSIDERED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN > COURT > > DO NOT USE THIS LIST TO REPORT A CRIME. If you are the > victim of, or a witness to, a crime you should dial 911 for > emergencies or (651) 291-1111 for non-emergencies. > > To submit information to the list send an e-mail to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe from the list send an e-mail to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with Unsubscribe in the > subject line. > > If you have any questions regarding this list please > contact me: > > Sergeant Dan Anderson > Operations Administration > Saint Paul Police Department > 367 Grove St > St Paul, MN 55101 > 651-266-5514 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Member: International Association of Law Enforcement > Planners > > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
