Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 38491	2003-10-09 00:17:00	OT - What should he of done?	Kame (312)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
181506	2003-10-09 00:17:00	Just had a mate talk to me today about an incident that just happened to him about 30mins ago. He told me about a customer who was acting suspicious and knew something was up that he thought he'd just play along, he took down the guys registration number of the car and what it was, as well as a description of the guy and the passengers in the car. The guy piles on the counter, a lot of expensive items and asking if he could get a box for the items or check whether he has a catalogue for some of the items (just ways of distractions, sending him out back to fetch a catalogue), knowing the guy wasn't going to pay for any of the stuff he just went about it casually. The guy then said he's just going back to his car to get his EFTPOS card. The guy leaves and is never seen again. My mate then calls the police reports what just happened and the police said they'll note it as a suspicious car but unless he could prove the guy was shoplifting then that's all they will do, he has to find out what went missing and talk about it to his local police station. He just thought if he called them at the soonest, it would have been better, he didn't look for anything missing till after the call and he said he's found a few items missing now and is worried his boss will be unimpressed with the action he took. He could have just hit the guy over the head with a hammer. He also said that the guy gave a false name and a phone number that didn't work as well as a mobile number that wasn't active, which he had the office lady check, during the guys wandering about the store. I'm just wondering if he's done anything wrong. I've never been in that sort of situation but if I was I'd probably go for a shotgun under the counter :P but apart from that, he didn't endanger himself and I thought he noted enough information about the person, and now that he's found the items missing, does he really have to travel out of his way to the police to report it, he thought phoning them was sufficient enough but it sounds like they won't do anything about it. I think if my mate sees the guy again then obviously he's going to do something stupid.	Kame (312)
181507	2003-10-09 00:33:00	Did the store have security cameras? or any witnesses? like others who was in the store?	csinclair83 (200)
181508	2003-10-09 00:36:00	I think he did exactly the right thing -- just goes to show how lazy/unenthusiastic and/or under-resourced the coppers are. That's a pathetic response from the cops especially given that your mate has given them so much info. Unbelievable!!	Chemical Ali (118)
181509	2003-10-09 00:39:00	Difficult question, seeing as everyone has different opinions on what is considered acceptable behaviour. If it had been me in that situation as soon as i suspected something i would have turfed him from the shop. But, I do have a habit of upsetting people and have even been known to go overboard on the odd occasion…. :D	metla (154)
181510	2003-10-09 00:42:00	> -- just goes > to show how lazy/unenthusiastic and/or > under-resourced the coppers are. > That's a pathetic response from the cops And in the absence of any evidence that an offence had been committed, just what do you think the cops should have done ? Get real ...	TonyF (246)
181511	2003-10-09 00:46:00	well he mentioned things have gone missing.. aint that evidence enuf that a shoplift has happened... it just the fact...was it that "suspicious" guy or was there a shoplift earlier in the day and therefore he came in looking weird etc and doing what he did...and things found missing and point the finger at him coz of his actions... so yeah it sucks that this happens in nz...just gotta have better security cameras and more honest ppl	csinclair83 (200)
181512	2003-10-09 00:48:00	> > And in the absence of any evidence that an offence > had been committed, just what do you think the cops > should have done ? Get real ... > I think the police should have done the job out tax money pays them to do. Which would have ment finding thet person and car as soon as possible. If my house gets robbed would i be in the same sitiatuion?...prove it with hard evidence or get knotted? As much as anything it shows the poor attitude of the police,and a pathetic set of standards.If they can't do their job then fire them.	metla (154)
181513	2003-10-09 00:48:00	To do anything he must go physically to the nearest Police Station and file a report. When you think about it, that is a protection for us all as it reduces the number of spurious and/or malicious complaints. Insurance companies also require a copy of the formal Police documentation advising the loss or theft. Keeps down claims for losses that never happened. Nothing stops a determined fraudster or somebody really out to get you, but the present system helps so I'd advise your friend to go in and report his suspicions. You never know, the Police may just recognise some of the details he gives and be off on the miscreant's trail. We had a cellphone stolen and duly reported it to the Rozzers. When Telecom gave the Police a log of calls (numbers, names and addresses) made from the phone by the thief, they recognised some known local villains. A surprise visit followed! Cheers Billy 8-{) [pre][b]It is not always easy to do the right thing, but you or your friend may get some quiet satisfaction from trying to prevent similar thefts at other stores.	Billy T (70)
181514	2003-10-09 00:55:00	The absence of evidence is the problem, and who knows, do the cops really get calls that mean sh!t to them? Every call I would hope to them they take seriously, I can see why he called them, as he can't just visit the local station which is in another suburb from where he works to explain his case, but it looks he may have to just to get the results he needs . I don't know, I have my problems with authority now and again, and I don't know whether he needs to gather a lot of evidence in such a short time just to explain his case, he did say he called them straight after the car sped off and that if he just lied about witnessing it they probably would have taken action then, but why should he have to lie?, how much more evidence is he going to need? The guy for starters lied about what he was about to do, do people go into stores say they are going to get their EFTPOS card out of their car, jump in and speed off? He's already recorded the items that are missing prior to the guys dwindling in the store and now he has to do his own investigation . I don't think he should blame himself though, or worry about his boss taking his head off . I would just tell him that his boss should have better security measures in place but obviously they don't . Maybe we should not worry about the police investigating things like this? Maybe we should just let them be the traffic controllers they love to be, at least we have less drunks on the road or speedsters now aye? Criminals aren't a problem in NZ .	Kame (312)
181515	2003-10-09 01:11:00	Well I don't know about getting satisfaction, as I remember preventing a car thief and ended up being accused of it because I decided I would tell the owner what I witnessed.	Kame (312)
1 2