Posted on 06/30/2004 5:42:56 AM PDT by mrustow
See my post #38.
So you're telling us that the Houston PD has solved the car theft problem?
exactly
That is true in most cases.
However, even that can be under reported as noted by PawPaw2 in reply #22.
They ought to hang car thieves just like they hanged horse thieves.
Like cyborg says, "exactly".
good point
A decade of mandatory sentencing has reduced crime to almost acceptable levels.
Almost.
Keep that in mind next time you hear somebody suggest the mandatory sentencing laws should be "relaxed".
"Here in Houston car thefts are reported as "unauthorized use of a motor vehicle" so as to "reduce" crime. I have a older car with only liability insurance that was recently stolen. The policeman who wrote up the report flatly refused to call it a car theft. When the car was recovered I spent nearly $2000 out of pocket to repair the damages (steering column, dashboard/glove box and trunk lid).
Incidentally, that same policeman said most car thieves are 18 and under and they are not prosecuted unless they are apprehended at least 3 times."
I know that this happens. In a N California Community about 10 years ago,there was an incredible increase of stolen autos and breakins to steal radios. It was a gang of juveniles whose parents were illegal aliens.
A doctor friend was called to the hospital to assist in an emergency operation. He parked his car in the ER parking lot during the daytime for about two hours. When, he came out his expensive radio/stereo system had been stolen.
At first the security bozo at the hospital and his supervisor refused to even write up the incident.
Then, he called the local cops, and they refused to come out. Of course when he tried to turn it into his insurance agent, he didn't have a report on the crime. So they refused to deal with it.
His response was to quit going to that hospital.
Later the thugs started stealing vehicles, and the local cops again didn't want to fill in stolen vehicle reports. Then, after several local newspaper articles started appearing about cops not filing stolen vehicle reports. It got so embarrasing that the cops finally busted the gang members. Amazingly the crime rate dropped like a rock.
I wonder if this means you can go ahead and shoot your mugger/attacker in the shin and get a free pass? Prolly not.
In California the combination of mandatory sentences and the 3 strikes Prop have had a real impact in reducing crime.
The left wing lunatics about every quarter start whining and telling about someone who stole a package of chips at a 7/11 going to jail for a long time.
The reality is that 3 strikes and mandatory sentences have made most communities in California safer.
This doesn't apply to the cities that voted heavily for al Ghorroid during the last presidential election. Those cities have severe gun laws, coddle the criminals and make good police move to other communities. So their murder, rape, violent assault and robbery rates are still high.
Why was I pinged?
There was a case in NYC where a Navy veteran father shot his son's attacker. The DA gave him a weekend in jail for not registering his gun in NYC (it was registered in Florida). No good deed goes unpunished.
Thanks for the ping!
Yep, the trot out the liberal mantra on this topic, then get bitch slapped by overwhelming facts.
Its fun to watch on a regular basis, as you noted.....(grin)
The Axis of Whining Liberals are so predictable on mandatory sentencing and the laws like 3 strikes.
A few years ago, Oregon put into law a two strike law and allowing any non felon to get a conceal and carry permit.
That had a real impact on crime rates except in the Portland area. Eventually the mandatory lockups lowered the crime rates even in Portland. I don't what has happened in the last couple of years with the rat/watermelon recession in Portland.
For my files.
Here in VT break in burglaries are out of control. Higher than in many cities. This is in part because rural homes are often not visible from neighboring houses. But it is also because police don't even pretend to try to catch the burglar. Fingerprints are NOT taken for the scene and only a vague inventory is even recorded.
One of my co-workers had his entire gun collection stolen and the state police officer "investigating" told him to "let us know if you hear anything".
This is why we track murders... It's given to wild swings unless you've got a truly ENORMOUS sample population (like, say, O, New York?) But there's no fudging the numbers.
Thanks for the very interesting post & ping.
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