Nice Parking Lot Larry

It all just a joke now....trouble is, we don't hear the laughter:

• A crew of car thieves pulled off a doozy on Saturday morning by stealing a Jeep from the parking lot of Chicago Police Headquarters, smashing through the entrance gate, and making a clean getaway. It gets worse: The Jeep belonged to a retired Chicago cop — and his gun was inside the vehicle.

  According to a CPD document reviewed by CWBChicago, the crooks didn’t exactly sneak out. They plowed through the parking lot’s barrier arm to escape, and yet — somehow — no one reported the theft or property damage for over an hour. The lot and headquarters have a security patrol, or at least they’re supposed to, and questions were raised about why it took so long for the crime to be discovered.

  Unaware of the theft, officers on patrol spotted a black Jeep SRT and a Genesis SUV blowing red lights near Pershing and King Drive at 7:32 a.m., about three blocks from headquarters. The Jeep’s windows were shattered, and both vehicles tore off toward southbound Lake Shore Drive, officers said.

  Shortly after, someone at Jackson Park Golf Course called 911 to report five Black males in ski masks standing next to a Genesis SUV trying to steal a Jeep that had its windows busted out. But by the time police arrived, they were all gone. It wasn’t until 8:50 a.m. — well over an hour after the barrier was smashed — that someone realized the Jeep had been stolen from the police department’s own parking lot.

"...plowing through the [...] barrier arm" isn't that big a deal. If it isn't in the raised position, it's either aluminum or a painted one-by-four from Lowes....pretty much the flimsiest piece of lumber in existence. There are no tire spikes or anything stopping a car thief from leaving.

But who was manning the booth? Did they not notice someone "plowing through"? 

And cameras. Where were the cameras watching the lot and cars entering/leaving? CPD has cameras in the lockup and lobbies, in-car and body worn, on lampposts and in most intersections. Not one was reviewed in a timely manner after some people (or folks) hopped a waist high fence, broke a window and stole a car from what should be one of the more secure parking lots in the city?

And leaving a gun in the car? Retirees are allowed to carry. Even if they aren't supposed to carry into HQ, how much would it cost to install a lock box in the lobby? They had/have them at Federal Court.

A bunch of simple fixes along with prompt notifications of a crime taking place at HQ. But what's another hot car and another hot gun on the streets?