richfaa
Ohio
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Joined: 04/24/2005
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Many years of camping never a problem and we know no one personally who has. It of course happens and we all need to take whatever precautions we feel necessary. We have a couple of bikes outside the camper now that any thief can have..
06 Montana 3400. 08 Ford F-350 6.4L
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Vakeel
So. California
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Joined: 04/27/2008
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[\quote] What should happen, IMHO, is that law enforcement should DO something about that sort of criminal activity, so that angry victims will know that the scum will be punished; and are not are even slightly tempted to take things into their own hands because they know in advance that nothing will happen to the miscreants. Yes, I understand that rape and murder are much more important than a canoe theft, but if such "minor" things are ignored (as they always seem to be), some people may attempt to seek their own justice with terrible results.
As for the original post: Have not had anything stolen yet, but I lock everything that I can't put away. Too many years of seeing bad things happen to good trusting people to leave things to chance!
As for the canoe post: I feel for you and I would probably feel the same way if it had happened to me. But it did not so I can afford to be less emotional about it.
I am in So. CA so I don't know if there was any hanky panky or local politics or whatever going on or not, but I would suspect not. As one poster said earlier, most cops are good decent people just doing a hard job because they believe in right vs. wrong.
Let's hypothetically assume it wasn't your canoe, the cops arrested every single one of the punks and the DA charged every single one of them, they pled not guilty, hired attorneys and you got called to sit as a juror in their trial in which they are all presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. I guarantee you every single one of the punks would deny any involvement or knowledge. Would you convict if the only evidence against them was a trail of broken canoe and a canoe sitting by a lake by their camp? Yes one or two or some or all of them stole your canoe. You know it, I know it, the cops knew it and the local DA knew it too. But knowing something does not equate proof beyond a rasonable doubt. Maybe it was local politics against an out of towner. But, maybe, it was just a prudent dollars and cents decision of not wasting taxpayers money on a failed prosecution attempt! JMHO.
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Vakeel
So. California
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Birddogman wrote: What should happen, IMHO, is that law enforcement should DO something about that sort of criminal activity, so that angry victims will know that the scum will be punished; and are not are even slightly tempted to take things into their own hands because they know in advance that nothing will happen to the miscreants. Yes, I understand that rape and murder are much more important than a canoe theft, but if such "minor" things are ignored (as they always seem to be), some people may attempt to seek their own justice with terrible results.
Sorry, somehow messed up the original quote in the last post.
As for the original post: Have not had anything stolen yet, but I lock everything that I can't put away. Too many years of seeing bad things happen to good trusting people to leave things to chance!
As for the canoe post: I feel for you and I would probably feel the same way if it had happened to me. But it did not so I can afford to be less emotional about it.
I am in So. CA so I don't know if there was any hanky panky or local politics or whatever going on or not, but I would suspect not. As one poster said earlier, most cops are good decent people just doing a hard job because they believe in right vs. wrong.
Let's hypothetically assume it wasn't your canoe, the cops arrested every single one of the punks and the DA charged every single one of them, they pled not guilty, hired attorneys and you got called to sit as a juror in their trial in which they are all presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. I guarantee you every single one of the punks would deny any involvement or knowledge. Would you convict if the only evidence against them was a trail of broken canoe and a canoe sitting by a lake by their camp? Yes one or two or some or all of them stole your canoe. You know it, I know it, the cops knew it and the local DA knew it too. But knowing something does not equate proof beyond a rasonable doubt. Maybe it was local politics against an out of towner. But, maybe, it was just a prudent dollars and cents decision of not wasting taxpayers money on a failed prosecution attempt! JMHO.
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code3run
S. CALIFORNIA
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Never had anything stolen. Still I string a cable lock through bikes and couple other expensive things. Takes 2 minutes.
* This post was
edited 11/05/09 03:42am by code3run *
2008 ATTITUDE 21AK
2007 Dodge Ram 1500 hemi 5.7 lit
07 Yamaha ttr 50-SOLD
07 Yamaha ttr 90
07 Yamaha ttr 125
01 Yamaha yz 125
2 boys 9 and 12 and wife
Dusty the dog
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seraphim
Ohio
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Birddogman:
Of all the kids who were at that campsite, some were guilty and some were probably innocent. Which were which? How many were actually guilty and how many may have been asleep during the theft?
There's the rub, as Shakespeare said. One needs probable cause against an individual to file a charge. Could you or anyone else point to which individuals actually committed the theft, which ones damaged the canoe, which merely watched and did nothing, and which may not have been aware of the events as they happened? There's no way an arrest could have been made. Innocent until proven guilty is the law - and the cops don't write the laws. They'd be a lot different if we did.
Your reaction's a wise one. Wish everyone had your wisdom.
And no thefts because I lock everything - most people at a campsite may be decent people, but it only takes one thief, whether a camper or a visitor - and after 25 years in law enforcement, I'm no longer the trusting soul. There are no visible indicators for one to identify a criminal - remembering the above post about the friendly campers who cleared out a campsite.
Growing old is no excuse for growing up.
1995 Intervec Falcon 190
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(pronounced jer-falcon}
Jerry and Gail Hartwig (with Ben in the middle)
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otis-agnes
Wrentham, MA
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Only have had one thing stolen... a solar light that you stick in the ground - and they took only one. Plus they left the post in the ground and only took the light - STUPID! Agnes
Otis, Agnes and two Golden Retrievers (Haylie & Abby)
2007 Sunny Brook 270 BH w/Honda EU2000
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi 5.7
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