Posted on 02/01/2006 6:25:58 PM PST by lowbridge
Hey, DVD slackers: Cops are onto you
RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, January 30, 2006
By Ken Palmer kpalmer@flintjournal.com
Forgot to return that "Hitch" DVD that's been gathering dust under your couch for months?
Be careful. A cop might be on your doorstep looking for it.
That's what happened when Deborah Gorney of Burton answered her door just before Christmas to find a Richfield Township police officer. He wanted to speak to her daughter, Colby, 20, who had two overdue DVDs from Paradise Video, 3058 N. State Road.
Gorney was confused about the doorstep service, but then got plain angry when the officer returned three days later, still looking for her daughter.
"I was next to irate with the officer," Gorney said. "I questioned whether he should be doing this. I told him, 'I feel harassed, and I'm asking you not to come back for this matter.'"
Township police, it turned out, were responding to a complaint by Paradise Video about the videos, which were a couple of months late and have now rung up late fees approaching $200.
In fact, officers from other local communities also play Clint Eastwood and show up at the doors of video scofflaws.
In an era when local budgets are stretched thin, some police say they'll go on the lookout for "Wedding Crashers" or "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" if a video store files a criminal complaint.
Some local residents said they wished the police would spend their time on something a bit more serious, like, say, investigating a burglary.
"I think that's stupid for them to spend their time on something like that," Christine Leonard, 19, said as she left a local video store Sunday. "That's kind of a low deal. I'd think they would have better things to do."
Gorney said the police department's involvement "just seems like a misuse of authority."
"It was just very maddening," Gorney said. "It's every parent's nightmare for a police officer standing at your door, saying, 'Do you have a child ... "
But it's not that unusual, said Richfield Township Police Chief Boyd Skellenger.
Skellenger estimated that his department takes a complaint from Paradise - the only video store in the township - about once every two months. The cases are handled like any other complaint, even though the store happens to be owned by Skellenger's brother and sister-in-law, he said.
"We would do the same for any person in the township," he said.
People usually return videos after being contacted by police, Skellenger said. Officers don't collect money, and once the property is returned, it becomes a civil matter between the store and the customer, he said.
People who don't return videos can be prosecuted, usually for larceny by conversion or failing to return rental property, both misdemeanors carrying possible jail time.
Some cases do end up in court, though they usually involve a large number of videos, Central District Court officials say.
Police from some larger communities scoff that seeking out video latecomers is small-time cop work that they simply don't have time for.
But police intervention isn't restricted to low-crime areas such as Richfield Township.
Until recently, Burton police were taking an average of two or three complaints a month from Rainbow Video, an independently owned store on Center Road, Lt. Tom Hudson said. The number of complaints has dwindled because DVDs have become more popular and generally cost less than video tapes.
Police follow up such complaints like they would any other crime, Hudson said.
"When the officer first takes the report, they will go to the house, they'll call or knock on the door and say, 'Hand 'em over and we'll take them back, and we won't be filing a police complaint,'" Hudson said.
"Typically, even if the officer just makes the visit, the VCR tape will mysteriously appear back at the store the next day."
But isn't this akin to seeking out someone who's got an overdue library book?
Not really, say police in some smaller communities, where police work can be different than in high-crime areas.
"We can't spend a lot of time on it, but we will address the problem for the store owner," said Chuck Melki, police chief in rural Clayton Township.
"We'll make a courtesy call to try to help them out. Friendly persuasion usually works. Who wants to catch a criminal case over a DVD you can buy in the store for 12 or 15 bucks?"
Melki said renters are more likely to return videos when they know police will run them down if they don't.
Some video store owners say they need law enforcement attention to stay in business.
"You give them a reasonable amount of time to return the movies," said Gene Kruszewski, manager of Rainbow Video, at Bristol and Center roads in Burton. "We rent them out on a good-faith basis that they'll return it. You don't bring it back, I'm losing money."
Kruszewski said he calls police only after all other remedies have failed.
Unreturned tapes or DVDs are a bigger problem for independently owned stores such as his, Kruszewski said. Chain stores can more easily absorb the loss and report it for collection, he said.
Gorney said she's not condoning her daughter's actions. The video store sent a certified letter to her home that she refused to accept because she was angry that her daughter hadn't taken care of it, she said.
Her daughter has returned the videos, but the store wants her to pay the late fees, she said.
Goodbye video stores, it was nice knowing you. Netflix and video on demand will be your downfall.
One word: Netflix!
I wonder if this PD is allowed to go after illegals ?
No kidding at 17.99 a month for all you can rent (well kindof) why would anyone in their right mind go and spend 2.99-4.99 a movie at these video stores? I have been using Netflix for over a year now and don't have one single complaint. Even when one of the movies got lost in the mail somehow, they replaced it without question or charge...
Great service.
Skellenger is the police chief. LOL
Yuppers!
FU LATE FEES!
bump
to be fair, netfilix does increase the time it takes to send you the movies based on how much you rent.
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