The Conundrum of the Crime Stoppers...
Yesterday a man robbed a bank in downtown LaGrange, an uppity suburb of Chicago. He fled from police in a high speed car chase that led him three towns north to Villa Park, where he abandoned his car and hijacked a house, killing a dog and sending the residents fleeing into the street during the afternoon rush hour.
The police responded in fine form with pent up enthusiasm to address an actual crime; a big change from ticketing teenagers for smoking and underage drinking. Officers from as far as four towns away, college security and forest preserve police all aided the effort to apprehend this criminal.
They quartered off the area up to a mile in each direction of the house. Trains were suspended for 3 hours despite the tracks being over a mile from the stand off. Major intersections were closed causing backups and delays to commutes. Businesses were closed, people were encouraged to stay indoors, lock their doors and not respond to visitors.
The FBI became involved as the stand off continued. Aerial surveillance was provided by major television news stations. Negotiators were called in to talk him out of the house. This was a siege of the most drastic proportions. Was this bandit wielding a weapon of mass destruction? Was he scouring the residence for bleach and ammonia to make mustard gas? Was he holding the cats as hostages? The world has yet to find out.
The last communications between the authorities and this robber occurred at 8:00PM yesterday. Since then the railroad has been given permission to operate and some businesses in the area opened their doors, however, the main intersections near the stand off are still closed. This disturbance has wreaked havoc upon this morning's commute. Delays are reaching over an hour, additional officers from further surrounding towns have been called upon to direct traffic, and commuters have poured into residential streets to find alternate routes to work. Accidents and collisions have already happened on several streets. Angry travelers have suffered from road rage and lashed out upon their fellow commuters.
A domino effect of inconvenience has touched the lives of millions all due to a single robbery. The apprehension of this criminal has eaten resources from police departments of several towns. Businesses have lost revenue from closing their doors and the closing of streets to the general public. The trains having been forced to suspend traffic along their lines for 3 hours has delayed the arrival of products to thousands of companies dependent upon the relative punctuality of rail shipping.
This ongoing attempt to capture this criminal will no doubt cost businesses, consumers and tax payers millions before it comes to a close. This compared to the couple of thousand that the robber was able to loot from the bank in La Grange makes this apprehension seem a bit extravagant. When should the authorities draw the line between the expenses caused from apprehension and the impact of the crime itself?
The worst thing is that nobody knows if the robber made off with any money from the robbery. The police have armored cars, bullet proof vests, shields and battering rams. What has stopped them from taking this man by force? He could have been apprehended at 2:00pm yesterday, but instead this stand off ensued, inconveniencing thousands and costing probably millions. The police that have responded and the measures they've taken to prevent escape are not worth the costs. The bank is insured, the robber was seen on camera, the police could use some infrared technology to ensure his capture. Send a few squad cars to wait him out, but don't close down a rail line a mile away or close off every major intersection in fears that he could escape. He can't!
What is the good from catching a criminal if the apprehension costs far more than the crime itself? In this case probably several thousand times more. Bottom line is that the police need to respond to such crimes with restraint. Not every crime calls for a police force to rival al Qaida. This situation is the result of over zealousness and anxious energy from officers that don't have enough to do. They should combine the police and fire departments so that maybe they won't be so anxious to jump off the deep end in pursuit of a little fish.
The police responded in fine form with pent up enthusiasm to address an actual crime; a big change from ticketing teenagers for smoking and underage drinking. Officers from as far as four towns away, college security and forest preserve police all aided the effort to apprehend this criminal.
They quartered off the area up to a mile in each direction of the house. Trains were suspended for 3 hours despite the tracks being over a mile from the stand off. Major intersections were closed causing backups and delays to commutes. Businesses were closed, people were encouraged to stay indoors, lock their doors and not respond to visitors.
The FBI became involved as the stand off continued. Aerial surveillance was provided by major television news stations. Negotiators were called in to talk him out of the house. This was a siege of the most drastic proportions. Was this bandit wielding a weapon of mass destruction? Was he scouring the residence for bleach and ammonia to make mustard gas? Was he holding the cats as hostages? The world has yet to find out.
The last communications between the authorities and this robber occurred at 8:00PM yesterday. Since then the railroad has been given permission to operate and some businesses in the area opened their doors, however, the main intersections near the stand off are still closed. This disturbance has wreaked havoc upon this morning's commute. Delays are reaching over an hour, additional officers from further surrounding towns have been called upon to direct traffic, and commuters have poured into residential streets to find alternate routes to work. Accidents and collisions have already happened on several streets. Angry travelers have suffered from road rage and lashed out upon their fellow commuters.
A domino effect of inconvenience has touched the lives of millions all due to a single robbery. The apprehension of this criminal has eaten resources from police departments of several towns. Businesses have lost revenue from closing their doors and the closing of streets to the general public. The trains having been forced to suspend traffic along their lines for 3 hours has delayed the arrival of products to thousands of companies dependent upon the relative punctuality of rail shipping.
This ongoing attempt to capture this criminal will no doubt cost businesses, consumers and tax payers millions before it comes to a close. This compared to the couple of thousand that the robber was able to loot from the bank in La Grange makes this apprehension seem a bit extravagant. When should the authorities draw the line between the expenses caused from apprehension and the impact of the crime itself?
The worst thing is that nobody knows if the robber made off with any money from the robbery. The police have armored cars, bullet proof vests, shields and battering rams. What has stopped them from taking this man by force? He could have been apprehended at 2:00pm yesterday, but instead this stand off ensued, inconveniencing thousands and costing probably millions. The police that have responded and the measures they've taken to prevent escape are not worth the costs. The bank is insured, the robber was seen on camera, the police could use some infrared technology to ensure his capture. Send a few squad cars to wait him out, but don't close down a rail line a mile away or close off every major intersection in fears that he could escape. He can't!
What is the good from catching a criminal if the apprehension costs far more than the crime itself? In this case probably several thousand times more. Bottom line is that the police need to respond to such crimes with restraint. Not every crime calls for a police force to rival al Qaida. This situation is the result of over zealousness and anxious energy from officers that don't have enough to do. They should combine the police and fire departments so that maybe they won't be so anxious to jump off the deep end in pursuit of a little fish.
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