View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2009 > February > 23
Monday, February 23, 2009
A cop’s take on crime: Better to be smart AND safe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Around 10 p.m. a man, on his way home, walks into a convenience store to pick up a gallon of milk. He walks in right about the time another man, who has walked in some 30 seconds earlier, is trying to force the store clerk to clean out the cash drawer a bit faster so he can make his getaway.
The two men meet in the middle and seconds later the robber is out the door and running down the street. The poor slob who just happened to walk in at the wrong time, well, he’s standing there on his cell phone calling the cops while the store clerk just sits there with a wide eyed look on his now pale face. No one got hurt. They were lucky. The robber held all the cards and it was his decision whether or not this scenario turned tragic.
A couple of days later a man, on his way to his brand new Ford Expedition, walks from the parking deck elevator to his car parked in that section where few cars park. With the new car, he parks on the other side of the planet until he gets the first scratch and then, like all semi-new car owners, he falls back on the habit of parking as close to the office as possible. Anyway, he walks directly to the car and only slightly notices the two young men in an old Pontiac who, for some reason, parked way out there near the Expedition.
The man thinks it’s odd but then focuses on the car because it’s 5 p.m. and he want to get out of here and go home.
He glances at the two men, who turn out to be 17 years old, and hits the remote to unlock the car. As he opens the door, the two men are on him, one with a gun to the right side of his neck. They put him on the ground, hit him on the head with the gun butt, get in the car, and drive away.
He pulls his cell phone and calls 911. The two men don’t get a mile down the road before being spotted by a police cruiser who has just received the information from the 911 center.
The pursuit covers just over four miles. The two men, unfamiliar with the neighborhood and unable to shake the cops, drive fast but make a series of right turns until some seven minutes later, very close to the spot where they carjacked the victim, the pursuit ends when the Expedition slams into a police car who, like several others, were waiting at the end of the big circle.
The victim meanwhile is sitting in a police cruiser, holding a bandage to his head, still unable to grasp what had happened to him less than 10 minutes ago.
He was lucky. Although the cut on his head was throbbing, it was a hell of a lot better than lying there with a bullet in his head.
“It’s better to be lucky thank smart.”
I’ll take all the luck I can get! And, like most of you, I can remember a couple of times when it was luck alone that kept my butt out of some bad stuff.
Luck is a good thing.
Some luck, you can make for yourself. Here are some basics that aren’t labor intensive and will put a little more luck on your side.
First, realize this: We live in a large city with a large urban sprawl. Crime follows growth. Not necessarily high crime, but other than Mayberry, N.C., all cities and suburbs have some measure of crime so…
Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Here’s my safety primer:
Convenient stores
Convenient stores are often targets because they’re open late and sometimes located in isolated areas. It’s better if you don’t need to stop in during the late hours. If you need to, make sure you can see the clerk. If the clerk looks busy or what appears to be normal, good.
If the clerk has a wide-eyed look like he’s just finished his or her 25 cup of coffee, don’t go in. It might be there is nothing to it but it won’t hurt to wait and see—at a distance. Back out and if you have that funny feeling that something is wrong, call 911.
Sometimes this means nothing. Sometimes the store clerk is in the back stocking the freezer but it won’t hurt to take a couple of minutes to be sure of what you’re seeing.
ATM
At night—stay away unless it’s an emergency and running out of money at the strip club is not a good example of an emergency run to the ATM. Even during the day, choose an ATM location that is not in an isolated area.
The more customers around the better. Get your card out and get your business done quickly. Don’t pull over and start fiddling around with your wallet or cash or whatever.
Drive away from the ATM. Some of our ATM robberies occurred as a result of the bad guys hiding near the machine and approaching the victim during the transaction or just after.
They walked up from behind so while you’re at the machine, check the mirrors. No one should be violating that personal space around your car. If they do, drive off. Action is quicker than reaction right?
In the Car
No one can carjack you when the car is moving. When you’re parking the car or getting into the car is when you’re most vulnerable.
In the example above, the victim saw the two people and it was odd to him that they stood out in that they didn’t fit the corporate parking lot area, just sitting in the car in an isolated part of the parking deck.
He dismissed it and paid no attention to them. Look ahead and take some action if this kind of scenario pops up. It may never happen to you but take the hint if it presents itself to you.
The best source of information on everything I’m talking about here is your good ol’ beat cop. Ask him or her. They’re a great source for local crime and crime prevention information and most aren’t a bit shy about laying it out there without all that political correctness the command staff observes.
Find out about where you live, you work, and where you frequent. It’s good information and will put a little more luck on your side.
