Certain words peak my interest quickly. A single word or a group of words can obviously result in either a sense of interest or concern. As an example, a cold Guinness beer, a trip to Hawaii, or a date night with my wife, Theresa would all be of great interest, (not necessarily in that order) even though I really do like a cold Guinness.
Words that raise my sense of concern
are words like, "Hobo" camp. Stop right there! Now add
the words, "an encampment about 150 yards from Oak Valley Middle School,
under the Bernardo Center bridge by Dove Canyon Rd. There are couches,
graffiti, and a mattress on the ground". You now have my
complete and undivided attention. By the time the person sharing this
information with me mentioned, "the high school and middle school kids
hang out there under the bridge with transients and they say some people smoke
dope there". I was in another place and another time.
Cops, emergency responders, trauma
surgeons, and District Attorney Investigators, all know certain gruesome
details of crimes which are rarely made public. The details are only discussed
in a hushed matter in private meetings at private locations like a darkened
parking lot, judges chambers, courtrooms, investigator briefings, or in the
sterile, neatly printed words on a black and white pre-sentencing report.
It's not pretty. The details never are.
The details of a crime may sometimes sneak out in the
thin sliver of time in a dream or muttered under your breath between
complete intoxication and the approaching peacefullness of sleep. A
dangerous time. Most cops like most military personnel will keep those
details suppressed in a tightly sealed metal drum deep within the recesses of
their mind. Never really forgetting the rusty, metal reinforced straps
encircling the sights and sounds too painful to remember. I'm not
whining. Every profession has it's downside.
When I heard about the
"hobo" camp near Oak Valley Middle School, my mind went to another
transient camp where one of the most horrific crimes ever occurred in south San
Diego County. I was not there, but I was told the details, which I
wish I never heard. It made removing our very own 4S Ranch, "hobo"
camp very important.
My
father in law, "Jimmy" and I went to the area and took photographs of
the camp and requested an SDSO Sergeant to meet us at the scene.
SDSO communications declined my request for a supervisor and sent a Deputy. The
Sergeant ultimately arrived and supported the Deputies interest to aggressively
enforce any criminal behavior at the location. I pointed out that a
vandalism had occurred and asked for her to take a crime report.
The
Deputy suggested she could provide us an "incident number"
instead of a crime report. I made it clear an, "Incident
Number" was not satisfactory. I wanted a, "Crime
Report". She relented and agreed to properly document the crime.
Most people have no idea what the difference is between an incident number and a crime case number. When you know you have a valid crime and a Deputy Sheriff or a Police Officer ever mentions any other term but, "crime report" with the accompanying case number that starts with the current year, (12) think of a snowball. A snowball is pretty nice to have in San Diego County but it won't last long. Neither will an incident number.
An incident number, or CAD number, (Computer Aided Dispatch) is simply a record of the radio call and details related to time of arrival etc. Comments can be added to the incident but there will normally be no detective follow-up, no evidence collected, no report to track crime trends or to base an arrest on later. It is almost a joke. A sign of laziness and/or inability to have the proper computer equipment to quickly gather the necessary information. The failure to get a case number also gives the false impression there are less crimes in our community. Good for re-elections but not good for the community, Either way, not to fully document a real crime is wrong and should not be acceptable or tolerated. Simply think of this story and imagine a case of Guinness beer. You want a "case number" IF you have a valid crime.
I want to thank the SDSO personnel who responded and Tom Hickerson with our 4S Ranch HOA who came to my request for assistance. He assured me he had the resources to remove all the furniture items this morning as well as make arrangements to paint over the graffiti. Tom was also suggesting fencing off the tunnels. That is called CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Enviromental Design). All good stuff! Let's hope the HOA has follow through before a crime occurs in the tunnels.
I know sometimes we think of our 4S Ranch HOA as only basketball goal or landscaping police, but they really do provide so much more you do not see. This is the perfect example. If you see a hazard to our kids or anyone else be sure to get the word out.
This story is a little bit different this week, but I thought it was important to let you know about the encampment. A special thanks for all the emails, phone calls and positive comments I received this past week encouraging me to keep writing. "Letters to the Editor" will remain a important part of this EMagazine.
Most people have no idea what the difference is between an incident number and a crime case number. When you know you have a valid crime and a Deputy Sheriff or a Police Officer ever mentions any other term but, "crime report" with the accompanying case number that starts with the current year, (12) think of a snowball. A snowball is pretty nice to have in San Diego County but it won't last long. Neither will an incident number.
An incident number, or CAD number, (Computer Aided Dispatch) is simply a record of the radio call and details related to time of arrival etc. Comments can be added to the incident but there will normally be no detective follow-up, no evidence collected, no report to track crime trends or to base an arrest on later. It is almost a joke. A sign of laziness and/or inability to have the proper computer equipment to quickly gather the necessary information. The failure to get a case number also gives the false impression there are less crimes in our community. Good for re-elections but not good for the community, Either way, not to fully document a real crime is wrong and should not be acceptable or tolerated. Simply think of this story and imagine a case of Guinness beer. You want a "case number" IF you have a valid crime.
I want to thank the SDSO personnel who responded and Tom Hickerson with our 4S Ranch HOA who came to my request for assistance. He assured me he had the resources to remove all the furniture items this morning as well as make arrangements to paint over the graffiti. Tom was also suggesting fencing off the tunnels. That is called CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Enviromental Design). All good stuff! Let's hope the HOA has follow through before a crime occurs in the tunnels.
I know sometimes we think of our 4S Ranch HOA as only basketball goal or landscaping police, but they really do provide so much more you do not see. This is the perfect example. If you see a hazard to our kids or anyone else be sure to get the word out.
This story is a little bit different this week, but I thought it was important to let you know about the encampment. A special thanks for all the emails, phone calls and positive comments I received this past week encouraging me to keep writing. "Letters to the Editor" will remain a important part of this EMagazine.
Have a great week!
