Cameras Fail to Prevent Crime
- A ''distressed'' gunman on a balcony at the New York-New York casino opened fire on gamblers below early Friday, wounding four people before he was tackled by off-duty military reservists. A fifth person was hurt in a crush of people fleeing the casino.
- The gunfire, which erupted around 12:45 a.m., touched off a human stampede as tourists and gamblers tried to get out of the line of bullets. As they ran from the building, they jumped over slot machines and knocked over chairs.
Las Vegas casino floors probably have more cameras per square inch than any place outside of various government intelligence agencies. You can't walk through a casino without being caught on video something like 50 times, probably a lot more. And yet somehow, a person was able to get a gun into a balcony over the floor, squeeze off 16 shots and wound 4 people before being tackled by 4 civilians.
This mope will be convicted of numerous counts and end up doing life in a Nevada prison thanks to the video footage taken during his spree, but the cameras didn't do a thing to prevent this. The only thing that would truly work is more security bodies out there on the scene.
Why do we bring this up? A letter we received from a reader:
This mope will be convicted of numerous counts and end up doing life in a Nevada prison thanks to the video footage taken during his spree, but the cameras didn't do a thing to prevent this. The only thing that would truly work is more security bodies out there on the scene.
Why do we bring this up? A letter we received from a reader:
- Dear SCC, Could you please keep harping on the manpower shortages still being experienced in the Districts? I work in the (deleted reference) and we are actually running the day watch with zero rapids every day and zero rapids on afternoons 3 or 4 times a week. This is unconscionable and someone is going to get badly hurt one of these days because there just isn't the manpower on the streets. And it isn't because too many people are taking the day off or the furlough percentages are out of whack. We just don't have the bodies in district - maybe it's the 67 people detailed out? We need bodies, not cameras and the softball camera watchers calling in drinkers in nearby alleys - this BS is killing us. Thanks.
This complaint isn't unique. It's a common story city wide and we're really surprised it hasn't ended up with some copper getting sent to the hospital because backup was a long way off. Beat integrity has gone out the window in a big way because there are no rapids to pick up the in progress jobs. We're hearing a lot of citizens complaining about never seeing the beat car around - and they aren't being told it's because the beat car is covering someone else's jobs or assisting somewhere far away.
Comments?
Comments?
Labels: department issues
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
35 Comments:
Budget can't/won't allow more hires.
A switch to less manpower to be replaced by tech to reduce lawsuit payouts and increase revenue.
Just wait until all these dumb young people start to raise families and leave for public schools up north or west because Catholic HS is going to cost 20,000 grand a year in the city. Here comes Sec 8 and higher crime in about 10 years. And CPD will have about 6,000 overworked coppers on the street with 30,000 cameras.
Actually, the asshole with the gun in Vegas wasn't really tackled by "civilians". He was tackled by three off duty, on vacation coppers ( Department unknown ) and two on leave Military folk ( Department unknown ). With all the shit going on in this profession lately, it made me proud to see that off duty coppers took over the situation!!!
Now, hopefully those coppers wives knew they were really in Vegas and not on a fishing trip! D'oh!
It's a common story city wide and we're really surprised it hasn't ended up with some copper getting sent to the hospital because backup was a long way off.
With the dangerously low manpower, we have to work smarter. Thats what I tell all the PPO's I get. This is a new era of policing. The bangers have no fear of the police anymore. Used to be able to "adjust" their attitude, but it is not worth it anymore. And neither is challenging a large group of them when you have no help. I am sure I drive by one or two guns a day hidden in the large packs of roaming vermin. But the courts do not want me to use my instinct and stop to check them out (they call it profiling, but if you look like a banger, you are until proven otherwise). After seeing the judicial system fail time and time again I began to see how senseless the risks I was taking really were. And before the masses start with the "you should quit" nonsense, I am not saying do nothing, just work smarter (and I think most already are). Not out of cowardice, or laziness, but because the times dictate that we must for our own safety. I still do my job, I just had to adapt how I do it. If you don’t want to take my advice thats fine, good luck and god bless you for trying, just make sure you get the address out over the air so the help can start coming when needed.
why hasn't the FOP made this an issue? i'm sure the media would have no problem publicizing this issue. then again, what does the FOP do for anyone but themselves?
Look at what the Louisville FOP did when faced with the same impending crisis. A REAL UNION.
Louisville reaction
Please don't discount armed citizens just because you are in Chicago. I am generally armed(with a permit in my state). Although my first reaction would be to find hard cover and leave the area. You guys do a good job generally in mentioning other states adherence to the second amendment. Keep up the good work, but more is better.
Can someone explain to me how it makes sense to send in the troops(tru/sos) after a shooting takes place. Why not prevent it in the 1st place. 99 units abound, stacked 1a assignments, and thugs roaming in packs all over the city. What the hell can we do working alone and handling job after job. Will we ever take our streets back ?
The camera system will replace about half the police dept. Our systems will watch the streets. We can follow crime from the 911 center. The criminal will be located and a unit will be dispatched to arrest the offender.
It is only through the grace of God that a P.O. or a citizen has not been harmed due to the shortages in the Districts. Cline has made a pact with the devil by stripping the Districts of manpower to pursue bullshit objectives that can never be obtained. He could send 500, yes 500, P.O.s from Narcotics and Gang Intelligence back to the Districts on Monday and guess what? You would STILL be able to buy all the dope you want in Chicago and the gangs would still be gangbanging. These two juice units do NOTHING. The availability of drugs is greater than ever and there are more gang members than ever despite Cline devoting unprecedented resources to these units.
The patrol officers are the backbone of the Chicago Police Department and the Department should be doing everything in its power to support them. This support should include adequate manpower so officers can have a day off when they need it. The support should also include a 4-day workweek with 10-hour days as an option. I could go on but you get the idea.
Nothing new about the cameras, they are worthless. Put up a camera in the ghetto and the only thing you accomplish is driving the dealers deeper into the neighborhood, away from the prying eye. Put cameras up in the urban areas and you get sesational video of things getting blown up. Remember the videos of the bombings in Spain and London? Great footage, not an ounce of prevention. You think a suicide bomber cares that he is caught on tape blowing himself up? No, the footage actually promotes his cause. You thnk we need cameras for a successful prosecution? The odds that anyone can be positively ID's by one of these camera images is slim at best. Cameras do not prevent shit. The public has been bamboozled into thinking these things actually do anything but make for great news clips. The same clown who fleeced the CPD is now the same clown that brought his act to CTA. Smoke and mirrors on the taxpayers dime.
The amount of time Districts spend with a backlog should be front-page news. It is only a matter of time until a 1a call comes out with a woman calling for help, 4th call, and with the district in a backlog for the 25th day in a row, the squad arrives 35 minutes later to find her murdered.
But the murder and the resulting 25 million dollar payout are OK because Phil and the Mayor have successfully provided do nothing spots in exclusive units for all of their friends.
To the next Superintendent, remember, the mission of the Chicago Police Department is to Serve and Protect.
then again if you work in 011 you have to take into account the 2 year wonders who sit on jobs for surveillance for an hour...take 45 minutes to find the dope and then 3-5 hours to write the case and arrest...nice we love handling all the jobs on your beat! oh wait did you just go down on a traffic stop?
Las Vegas Casinos
Most security guards in Vegas casinos are UNARMED. There are a few exceptions ie. Sahara. The guards on bike patrol outside of the casinos are usually armed. One of the Unarmed exceptions is the Wynn which has NO armed security. Where most casinos security supervisors are armed the Wynns' Directory of Security is not allowed to be armed. Steve Wynn doesn't like guns. A man with a gun call usually sends 10-15 Unarmed guards to the situation. That's a great help. These guys usually make 10 -15 USC an hour.
Hey 0257, couldn't have said it better myself. You hit the nail on the head. Been doing the same and thinking the same.
Whom benefited from the cameras with CPD and CTA? What about the Red Light cameras? Did any one get a commision on the purchase or installation of the cameras? What Alderman had a hand in lobbying to get the cameras? I'm just wondering. They should of spent more money on hiring police officers!
the dumb young people won't be able to leave for the burbs. see, these people were so dumb that they bought apartments that they used to rent for 900-1600/mo. but now pay 3x that amount in mortgage, taxes and assessments. now, with the realestate market in price decline and the condo market leading that decline with huge inventories due to a number of factors......they ain't gettin out. a culture clash will result when the cash strapped members of the failed ownership society send their kids to CPS to socialize with the elements that make this city so edgy. camera's will be of litte compfort to these people.
You don't have to delete the reference because this letter just described the 11th Dist.
"With the dangerously low manpower, we have to work smarter"
Spoken like a true Whirt shirt wearing pimp. I have been hearing that bunch of crapola for the last 6 years. Sumthng the dummy exempts picKed up from a Management seminar .
Who's we Kimosabe? Meanwhile YOU sit on your lardass in air conditoned comfort stuffing your fat goo& flirting w/2yr House Mouses.
Get Bit, you are and always have been a FRAUD!!
"The patrol officers are the backbone of the Chicago Police Department and the Department should be doing everything in its power to support them. This support should include adequate manpower so officers can have a day off when they need it. The support should also include a 4-day workweek with 10-hour days as an option. I could go on but you get the idea."
AMEN!! No truer words spoken. perhaps the incoming Supe will recognize that. But I wouldn't hold my breath as long as the 5th floor runt still calls the shots...
Don't do away with the specialized units, they each serve a purpose in their own way. The answer is increase the fucking budget and hire more police officers. Get with the times, realize the problems at hand and be a part of the solution. The next copper that gets hurt and lets hope not killed due to the crazy manpower shortages in the districts, should file a fucking huge ass lawsuit againts the mayor and the city and hopefully force them to do something. I can't understand why all the newspapers &/or news channels haven't done a story about this?
why don't we get rid of these exempts, and hire 3-4 for cops for what they earn?
Anonymous said...
why hasn't the FOP made this an issue? i'm sure the media would have no problem publicizing this issue. then again, what does the FOP do for anyone but themselves?
7/08/2007 03:01:00 AM
Fop? Please the boy scouts have much better leaders! we have a team of drunks at the top! went to fop offices recentlt smell of cigarette smoke was overwelming what a bunch og jags! Could not help don't care in bed with daley! With the picnic at the drunk fest gaelic park wil the fop use the money saved from using santas village to help members? NOPE WILL BE FOR MORE FREE TRIPS FOR DONAHUGE AND CREW!
To Mr Daley....I have yet to see one of your cameras come down from a pole and catch a criminal....stop wasting our $$$ hire real police officers...your cameras are not working.
It's contract time right? an issue should be mandated staffing/manning of x number of beat cars per district, per watch. If manpower is unavailable, day off/ furlough officers will be brought in at overtime. the fire dept. makes this an issue.
Speaking of the fire dept., some posters on this blog should grow up. Yeah there are Ahole firemen, but there are Ahole coppers too. Painting all of anything with the same brush just shows how stupid you are.
I've noticed how any name mentioned gets response pro and con. I'm sure some people have a reason for their feelings, but many would just rather curse the darkness then light a candle.
The same can be said of dispatchers, tma, sts and sans. etc. I'd bet some good people there have been jerked around by a few idiot coppers we have.
What we need to do is vote out the F.O.P. and bring in a union unaffiliated with the city.
Don't do away with the specialized units, they each serve a purpose in their own way. The answer is increase the fucking budget and hire more police officers. Get with the times, realize the problems at hand and be a part of the solution. The next copper that gets hurt and lets hope not killed due to the crazy manpower shortages in the districts, should file a fucking huge ass lawsuit againts the mayor and the city and hopefully force them to do something. I can't understand why all the newspapers &/or news channels haven't done a story about this?
7/08/2007 02:14:00 PM
I think it would depend on the specialized unit. Units that have sworn officers taking seniors and kids on field trips are not my idea of "serving a purpose". As an officer and a tax payer, I see this as nothing but a waste of money and resources. It may have a purpose, but we have civilians that could do this task. I don't think the issue is hiring more officers, but rather, better management of manpower and resources. But this is Chicago and we'll always have the people who are connected and taken care of. It's a fact of life in Chicago. You want more manpower? Go after the medical abusers; look at the redunancy in units where a sworn, healthy officer is doing a office task that a civilian is doing or can do. Go to HQ's and see all the waste, that is healthy supervisors and officers doing clerical jobs. Some units are needed such as Bomb and Arson and Canine.
7/08/2007 01:13:00 PM
011 is actually approaching 80 p.o.'s detailed out, and it is still climbing.
The same can be said of dispatchers, tma, sts and sans. etc. I'd bet some good people there have been jerked around by a few idiot coppers we have.
7/08/2007 09:31:00 PM
Amen-- too many people let the crappy people spoil the bunches on ALL jobs.
beat integrity does not exist, and...for that matter, there are districts (mine) that routinely run without rapids (or maybe one or two) on the 3rd watch; the 1st watch runs with at least one primary beat down, no wagon, one or two one man cars, and every car with a ppo. That results in average backlogs (raps, the new age equivalent to the old "no cars available", which is politically uncorrect-speak after the media did their expose many years ago) of anywhere from 30-75 calls, on average, every night, so....citizens wait, sometimes for hours (sometimes the police just don't arrive) to see the police. The manpower situation in patrol is a disgrace, an insult to the citizens who need and deserve (and pay taxes for) prompt service and coverage, and a sad but real reflection of the incompetence at the top....
CAMERAS DO PREVENT CRIME!!! They work because they keep many of us from working. For instance, dope is a department-created crime (statistically) . If I don't take it upon myself to make a dope arrest, then I dont fill out the vice. If i dont fill out the vice, than a crime is not reported. if a crime is not reported, it did not occur for statistical purposes. I REFUSE to work under or near a camera because I don't trust the dopes that watch it. SO, it may look like crime is deterred simply because I am not taking the initiative to police on camera. However, pookie is selling his death at the regular rate. Pookie sells, I do nothing, the Dept is happy, Pookie is happy, and I am broken. All is well with CPD!! Keep voting democratic! I propose smoke machines. They are cheaper than cameras, and we cannot see any crime through the smoke. Incoporate a few mirrors, and all is well.
Who's we Kimosabe? Meanwhile YOU sit on your lardass in air conditoned comfort stuffing your fat goo& flirting w/2yr House Mouses.
Get Bit, you are and always have been a FRAUD!!
7/08/2007 01:46:00 PM
I dont see anything in my post that would warrant this kind of attack. Why all the hostility? I was simply giving some advice on how to deal with the situation that has presented itself (low manpower). Was it bad advice? By all means, set me straight if I am wrong.
And no white shirt here, I put on a blue one six days in a row and run around handling jobs all day. So your attack would be based on lies which would make you what? (hint: liar-noun, a person who has lied). But are you that ignorant that if the advice was coming from a white shirt you wouldnt listen just based on that? They are on the same team.
Go ahead and disregard it as "crapola", I am not forcing anything on anybody. And go ahead and call me all the names you want. Just remember, after the smoke clears from the next 10-1, take a look around at the officers that showed up to help you, I might just be one of them.
"Just remember, after the smoke clears from the next 10-1, take a look around at the officers that showed up to help you, I might just be one of them."
Right back@ you company clown. Either the truth hurts and your ducking & dodging, or you are still wearing the rose colored glasses issued to you@ the Last CAPS Meeting.
Screw their RAP...In english its simply NO CAR AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU SIR/MADAM, KEEP PAYING YOUR TAXES AND CALL AGAIN!
Right back@ you company clown. Either the truth hurts and your ducking & dodging, or you are still wearing the rose colored glasses issued to you@ the Last CAPS Meeting.
7/09/2007 11:59:00 PM
I am not the guy you seem to have a personal beef with, which I might point out what a piece of work you are for anonymously bashing a fellow P.O. on a blog. Since the "company" we work for is the police department I fail to see how that was a real insult. I am very pro police, as should everyone who is on the department. Since you cant offer a decent debate and just want to throw around insults like a child, I am not even going to respond to you anymore so good luck and grow up.
CAPS works!
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