Not My Usual Post
This post has nothing to do with design, architecture, or art all together. I just feel like I need to share.
A couple of days ago I went to dinner at a friend’s home in downtown Chicago. I parked at a meter on a major street (N. Clark for those who are familiar with Chicago). Had a great time, and at 12:40am decided to head back. I opened the door and I was getting in, I stopped, things looked different…
The good news is that only the GPS was stolen, what I couldn’t get over was the response I got from Chicago police. They just didn’t give a sh**! I called to report the incident and hoping that they would send an officer my way. 45 mins later and 2 phone calls to the police the officer I spoke to said that his system was being too slow and couldn’t run my plates, therefore not being able to file a report. When I asked if an officer could do it when he got there, he told me that he’s not sending anyone my way because this is not an emergency, nobody will investigate it, and they don’t care to check the car at all. I asked if he could just check if a cop happens to be in the area, but he said that they have a shortage of cops and that they have more urgent things to attend to. When I pointed out that I didn’t feel safe waiting there, he said that I should just drive my car a few blocks up to a near police station.
At this point I realized that that was indeed my best shot, so I cleaned my seat and drove one block and around the corner there was 3 police cars, with 6 officers lounging outside a bar where everyone was getting drunk. REALLY???
In Arabic, they have a saying that goes something like “The police is in the service of the people.” That certainly was not the case, and it taught me that I should depend on myself and no one else! It is something that I expected would happen in the Middle East, but not here. Major disappointment.
It is the same here……little chance of solving the crime so don’t he try. Car theft, house break in’s, and young thugs and we just have to put up with it.
It’s such a shame, but I’ll keep it mind the next time the call me for a donation!
That’s horrible…….They would have harsh punishment for those criminals in the Middle East-that’s way
it WOULDN’T happened there, I bet!
It is horrible, and I’m sure that the person who did it knows that no one is coming after him, so I’m sure he continues to do it with no worries!
Unfortunately true..
I had the same thing done two months in a row. I started leaving my car un-locked for easy access and less expense until I received a $20 ticket from said Police :). I felt they would continue making an income for the city from me as I parked in the same spot each day or I would have just left it un-locked.
Great idea, I really didn’t care about the gps, but fixing the car the bigger headache..
I’m so sorry you went through that.. 😦
I wanted to say thank you but realized I didn’t know your name! 🙂
I’ve only just seen this! 😦
You are welcome..
Everyone just calls me Apple..literally.. =)
No problem apple 😉
What a shame but I hate to say that, I’m not suprised at the response you received from the CPD.Glad that you are safe!!
Thanks Chris, ya apparently this is normal!
Really sad. Keep the faith…
I will 🙂
Thanks for sharing your story.
Anytime
It’s just so sad and annoying – the loss of a GPS, a mobile phone or something else is almost the smallest part of annoyance – all hassle is so frustrating… ;-/
Yup, you’re absolutely right!
sorry to hear about your bad luck. The frustration is that they have time for revenue-raising fines but not for crimes.
Oh of course, they didn’t have any time to show up, but a couple of days ago while driving 1000 miles back to Houston I got a nice speeding ticket 🙂
OMG…!!!?!? I am glad you are safe!
Thank you Nadia.
The police don’t normally give a damn if it’s something small like a GPS or a mobile phone. They consider it a waste of time to investigate it. Terrible way they handled the situation. Hope this will be your last encounter with the police.
A few friends told me that even if someone broke into your home and stole everything in there, they don’t investigate that. What that means is that all these criminals know that no one is coming after them, so they’re free to do it!
It looks like you left some stuff in plain sight to tempt the criminals. I remember my first night here in San Diego. I left 77¢ in the console. Nothing else. Between 1:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., someone smashed a window and stole the 77¢. I learned that if I’m going to live in the big city, I can’t tempt people. There is never anything visible in my car to tempt the bad people.
The only thing that was visible was the GPS holder, but in any case I learned!
l understand your frustration,Thanks God You are O.K.I lived 8 years in Chicago,l hate to say l was in a similar situation once.Now we moved to California,.Wish you wellness.Jalal
Thanks Jalal, I guess that’s one of the downsides to Chicago.
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