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The Police Spin on my Burglary
(The bottom line... it was probably mostly my fault.)
This is the response from the official Police spokesman...the
only response I have gotten, BTW
[Peter is another ex-pat who was robbed of some diesel
engines in the same time framel]
++++
okay, here goes,
Rick, It is not that I have reluctant to discuss this issue, I just have not
had the time. First of all, I was the one who personally contacted Supt.
Henderson and asked him to pay special attention to these two cases, yours
and Peter's, as a personal favor to me. He assured that he would and in
fact, told me that he had gone looking for you but did not find you and then
you showed up at the station. Rick, I can understand your frustration. I
do not however, think that you are being altogether fair. I explained to
the Superintendent that it is not good publicity to have a disgruntled
resident of the area in particular one who has access to the internet and a
list serve. I spoke to him since and he was very surprised that you have
accused him of calling you a liar. Did he in fact call you a liar or did
you deduce that from what he was saying.
Now let me say a few things that you might not be very happy with but I
think needs to be pointed out. This is not a defense of any incompetence,
ignorance or rude behavior by any member of the Police Department. That is
not condoned, encouraged nor can be explained away with any rhetoric or
sophistry. It is unacceptable and ought to be condemned, especially by me.
It makes my job that much harder. I find it a lot and address it often but
yet it persist. I will not stop trying and trust me, many others in the
Department are trying to address this problem.
Now of course, there are a few things that even you have said that would
lead me to believe that you in some way contributed to this situation. No,
I am not trying to once again blame the victim but the facts are the facts.
we can access a situation from an emotional viewpoint or we can be logical.
You went out and you were drinking with some very unscrupulous individuals.
A couple of these guys, by your own admission, hitched a ride in the back of
your pickup without you knowing. Really, Rick, how drunk were you. These
same guys, according to your accounts again, opened your gate, called out
your dog and then called out to you a couple of times. The neighbor heard
this and told you this, why didn't they stop the guys when they entered the
house or even the yard? You were in the house asleep. Rick, again, how
drunk were you.
\
Now let's be real. A person ought to be able to drink as much as he wants
to, get as drunk as he wants to and still keep what is his. That the ideal
and again, the ought. Let us consider what is. We live in a world where
people don't respect other people's property and we have to realize this and
take proper precaution. I keeping wondering indeed what would have happened
if you had awakened. Especially if you probably could recognize the guys
have drank with them all night.
Again, experience tells me that few people will understand what I am saying
but I am saying it none the less. It is written that "open rebuke is
better than secret love." The Police can only do so much. The Police
cannot stand at your gate and keep watch while you sleep off a drunken
spree. It is not fair to expect them to do so. When the Police are
investigating a crime, everyone is a suspect, even the one reporting the
crime. There are reports galore that turn out to be nothing more than an
insurance scam. I am not saying that this one was, I am saying it is
possible and the Police might have approached you in a certain way to test
the credibility of your report. If we want them to investigate thoroughly,
we must not tie their hands and demand that they do so conditionally.
And for you Rick to badmouth the entire Department and even the entire
country because you have had a few unfortunate incidents is unfair. Crime
happens everywhere and where ever you go, you have to do what you can to
prevent them. No Police Department in any part of the world can by
themselves protect every citizen against crime. Again, you are well liked
and one of the biggest problems that we face as a species, is that we tend
to draw conclusions based on how we feel about the person involved rather
than objectively reviewing the facts and be fair even if it means offending
a loved one. If that person is fair also, they will understand and
eventually recognize the truth of the matter. Be big about this one Rick.
By the way, I have also spoken to the Superintendent about Peter's stuff.
He believes that Peter's report certainly needs more attention and has
assured me that he will run out and see him soon personally. Please Peter,
let me know if he does and keep us abreast of any developments. If need be,
I will make a trip out there in the next week and I have been briefing the
Commissioner himself on these two matters and I can assure you that we are
very concerned. I am not saying that people should not be critical when
criticism is warranted but please, let us be fair and honest with ourselves.
----- Original Message -----
From: <rickz@usermail.com>
To: <Bz-Polisci@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: <bz-culture@psg.com>; <gmikereid@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2005 5:14 PM
Subject: POLICE AND NEIGHBORS ON RIX BURGLARY
>> POLICE AND NEIGHBORS ON RIX BURGLARY
>>
>> We can learn a lot about Standard Police Procedure by watching Crime Shows
>> on TV, and reading crime novels. I do a lot of that, since I'm in the
>> middle of writing a crime novel about Belize! And, in a previous life, I
>> built some Police Information Systems. So, let's compare what we know
>> about Standard Police Procedures with what I observed in this case.
>>
>> First of all, we know that a crime scene is critical to solving the crime.
>> Usually, the cops come in and put tape up around the scene, if it's a
>> capital crime. Of course, this wasn't a capital crime - this was just
>> poor old Rick sleeping thru his own burglary. But - altho I reported the
>> crime at 5AM, nobody from the Police even showed up until ten hours later.
>> By that time, we (neighbors and me) had figured out what happened. With
>> the help of a visitor from Panama who used to be a Cop, we found the point
>> of entry into the house, several good fingerprints and footprints, and
>> figured out that the burglars made their escape with the loot over the
>> back fence.
>>
>> Meanwhile, at the station house, the case report that I made in the
>> morning was being kept secret - not intentionally, but because
>> (apparently) the cops are not reading their own diary. (I saw the diary,
>> which was written in red - they just aren't reading it.) Nor are they
>> having shift-change meetings. So, two days after the crime, the trail of
>> the suspects is getting more stale by the hour - but none of the COPS
>> really know what is going on. (Ah, but, the neighbors know!! Rumours are
>> flying!) Monday morning - 48 hours after my report, Via Gran finds out
>> that his apprehension of a suspect with a (stolen) TV on Friday is
>> connected to my burglary on that same night. (And he finds out from ME!!)
>>
>> While I am making enquiries at the station on Monday, I am treated like an
>> intruder - an interloper - certainly not like a concerned citizen, and
>> certainly not like a VICTIM!! Later, as I discuss this crime with my
>> neighbors and friends, I find that this is the consistent treatment that
>> victims get. They are an imposition - an interruption of the tranquil
>> life at the Police Station.
>>
>> As I sit at the station, waiting to be helped, I watch the Police, sharp,
>> uniformed, sometimes armed, relaxed, friendly with each other. A
>> wonderful working environment, eh? Except that I - the victim of a crime
>> - am ignored - SYSTEMATICALLY IGNORED - with the excuse "It's not my case"
>> or simply because no one is assigned to take care of victims who walk in.
>>
>> And when I introduce new information into the "System" (and I use that
>> word advisedly) I am treated with hostility. Earlier, I used the word
>> "stonewalled" and I hope you know what that means. As it implies, a stone
>> wall has been put up between me and a potential source of feedback. I have
>> become dangerous!! A troublemaker. A threat to the Police comfort zone.
>>
>> Neighbors have suggested to me that I am being stonewalled because "The
>> Cops are part of it." In other words, folks believe that the Cops have an
>> interest in keeping my stolen goods stolen so that they and their friends
>> can profit from the thievery. I would not suggest that. Heaven forfend!!
>> However, I would suggest that the behavior of the Police lends itself to
>> that kind of thinking.
>>
>> "Why are they not telling me what happened to my stuff?" says the victim.
>> "Maybe because they are accomplices after the fact?"
>>
>> I certainly would not assert such a terrible thing - but it was suggested
>> to me as a possibility.
>>
>> Thursday night, my friend Brad pointed out to me that I had not reported
>> the theft of his $600 Fostek Digital 4-Track Recorder. So, I made another
>> trip to the PD on Friday morning. Now, I encountered Supt. David
>> Henderson at the front desk. He was very upset that I had filed a report
>> about my burglary on the Internet. He said that I claimed that the Police
>> were not doing anything. Of course, in terms of feedback, I can't
>> perceive any progress, and that is what I have asserted. Supt. Henderson
>> was very unpleasant with me - didn't know anything about Via Gran's
>> apprehension of a suspect - called me a liar - and sent me upstairs with
>> the CIB guys, who - altho they haven't read my internet message - called
>> me a liar again. The fellow who did the fingerprints asserted that he was
>> only doing me a favor because the real fingerprint guy was sick.
>>
>> "It's not my job," he said. Of course, I am glad that we have
>> fingerprints. We have a police intervention with one of the suspects, we
>> have fingerprints, but - as far as I know - we don't have an arrest, and
>> we haven't recovered any of my stuff. The only feedback I have gotten
>> from the Police is that I am a liar.
>>
>> So, these are my impressions of the police reaction to my crime, and we
>> have some local reactions to police activities in general. These are
>> intelligent guesses, because the Police have not seen fit to tell me
>> anything.
>>
>> I'm sure you think that I'm just a damned outsider, critical of "The Way
>> We Do Things Here In Belize." But I'm not an outsider anymore. The
>> criminals have drawn me into the middle of this, and I am waiting for the
>> Police to Do Their Job - to find my stuff and return it to me - to catch
>> these bad guys before they come back for the things they missed the first
>> time.
>>
>> I have reported the crime. I have identified the perpetrators. They have
>> apprehended them in the act. What else do we have to do? I don't know -
>> I'm just an Outsider.
>>
>> But, even an outsider deserves a good night's sleep - and that's something
>> I'm not getting.
>>
>> Rick Zahniser
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