Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/10/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Yes, but remember you will be putting a teenage mother in jail and likely her kids into a foster home rather than giving her another chance - all over a camera that has been returned. Through the veil of distance, I have a feeling the cop/judge in charge knew exactly what they were doing when they processed the case. Future deterrence likely was not the sole motivation. This comes from close association with cops in the rural south (father was a Captain, uncle a Lt) and I've heard seemingly a 'jillion stories like this. I'll leave out my position re right/wrong, just wanted to point out that there was probably more going on than not knowing how much a new Leica was worth. Tacoma, WA isn't quite that backward. I think Dave's suggestion is excellent and might be an interesting piece of PJ if the thief was willing. You'd be able to find out how she thought she was helping her kids (school tuition, clothes, shoes?) or whether she was actually filling some other habit. Too bad this project wasn't stipulated as 'community service' so that it could be used in education materials for future offenders, etc. However, there are probably reams of laws why this couldn't be done. Very glad you got the gear back, C. At 07:19 AM 10/24/2002 -0700, you wrote: >You can actually make them rewrite that ticket, and file a complaint >with the city attorney. The assessed worth, which would be new evidence, >can be used to force them to reopen the case. >In one incident, I've made the police rewrite a report from one of >malicious mischief to that of a hate crime. They didn't think that a >series of swastikas spray painted on the outside of an immigrant's home >to be a serious matter. >I've always been of the opinion that the first strike should bear all >the weight of the community's indignation. By the time you get to the >third or fourth strike, it's already been too late. >Slobodan Dimitrov > > >Austin Franklin wrote: > > > > > The police > > > were called, > > > the equipment confiscated, and the girl was given a ticket. (wha wha wha > > > WHAT?) > > > > Hi Jim, > > > > Glad to hear you got your equipment back! What, exactly, was the "ticket" > > she was given? Like a $25 fine? That hardly is a deterrent. > > > > Reminds me of "joy riding"...someone can steal your $250,000 Ferrari, claim > > they were merely "joy riding" and it's not considered theft, but they are > > given something like a $50 ticket.... In my book, taking something that > > doesn't belong to you is theft. > > > > Austin > > > > -- > > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html >-- >To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html