The official "Ask a cop/deputy anything!" thread

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Yes! He cracks me up. I love the content.

I liked when he asked that girl if she ran her car through a dryer!

[tracknut]

What a great thread, thanks so much for these posts, Sedan_Clan

I just had a neighbor let me know their car had been stolen at a hotel, and when the police arrived they were told an all-too-familiar thing "the car's probably already on a boat heading out of the country" when they asked about the odds of getting it back (this is in Calif, if it matters).

It made me think to look up Lojack, which I've never really looked at. I see comments on the Lojack site that "all new cars come with Lojack already installed", to "I called the Police with my VIN and they said they don't use Lojack". It was a bit disconcerting, I guess, and came off as a scam.

Care to give us a run-down on car recovery, and if I (who hasn't installed any aftermarket gizmo in my car) should/are already likely have a Lojack, and whether my car would end up on this same boat if I don't do something or pay somebody a monthly fee?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by tracknut

What a great thread, thanks so much for these posts, Sedan_Clan

I just had a neighbor let me know their car had been stolen at a hotel, and when the police arrived they were told an all-too-familiar thing "the car's probably already on a boat heading out of the country" when they asked about the odds of getting it back (this is in Calif, if it matters).

It made me think to look up Lojack, which I've never really looked at. I see comments on the Lojack site that "all new cars come with Lojack already installed", to "I called the Police with my VIN and they said they don't use Lojack". It was a bit disconcerting, I guess, and came off as a scam.

Care to give us a run-down on car recovery, and if I (who hasn't installed any aftermarket gizmo in my car) should/are already likely have a Lojack, and whether my car would end up on this same boat if I don't do something or pay somebody a monthly fee?

Any time! I’m always glad to add perspective and bridge the gap(s) between law enforcement and the community.

The “it’s probably already on the boat” comment was more true back in 2014-ish when the luxury SUV’s were being shipped to China from the U.S. in shipping containers. Around that time no Mercedes, BMW or Land Rover dealership would sell their top SUV’s to anybody of Asian descent. We even had stings taking place in dealerships to catch exporters of SUV’s. Nowadays it’s not as bad, but it still happens. It’s not really an issue for cars though; exportation was mainly an SUV issue. Your neighbor’s car was most likely used to joyride, commit a crime, or stripped of its parts in a chop shop. What kind of car did your neighbor have? Was it a KIA or Dodge?

As for LoJack, I suppose anything is better than nothing, but we really don’t utilize LoJack to track these days. We track most cars using Apple Air Tags, so I would just hide a Tag in your car somewhere. All cars definitely DO NOT come with LoJack installed. That is an absolute lie. Installation may be an option, but it’s definitely not pre-installed. Most of the major companies have their own systems (..e.g. GM OnStar, Porsche vehicle tracking, etc.). I can’t even tell you the last time we utilized LoJack.

[Ojala]

Originally Posted by tracknut

Care to give us a run-down on car recovery, and if I (who hasn't installed any aftermarket gizmo in my car) should/are already likely have a Lojack, and whether my car would end up on this same boat if I don't do something or pay somebody a monthly fee?

LoJack was bought out. Old LoJack towers no longer work, and almost no PD has the receivers anymore. These days LoJack is just another gps tracker with cell reporting. Honestly you could buy a GPS tracker with a monthly prepaid sim and just be your own LoJack for less money. Real crooks look for airtags now so they are kinda worthless.

Civilian GPS isn't super accurate so if your car goes into a garage your kinda screwed. I would upgrade to a $200-$300 telematics system that gives you the ability to kill fuel and honk horn or flash lights remotely.

As far as where the cars go unless you live in the RGV or San Diego its really only top end cars that go out of the country like Range Rovers and exotics.

Kias, Hyundai, and K vin GM get stolen solely because it's easier than walking. Big increase lately in emulators that target specific chip families like Toyo/Lexus, Stellantis, and GM used for vehicle ignition that let crooks steal vehicles without keys or fobs.

Rough breakdown in my town around 400 cars reported stolen a month. About half are actually repos. Maybe 50 are drunks forgetting where they parked. I personally recover 30 or so stolen cars a month. Patrol recovers a bunch but there are a bunch that never get recovered.

[tracknut]

Awesome info, thank you! Glad I didn't run out and get Lojack all set up.

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

What kind of car did your neighbor have? Was it a KIA or Dodge?

It was a 2018 Corvette. Apparently the theft was quite professional, it was all viewable on the hotel's cameras. They replaced the plates on it with stolen ones before they drove it off.

@Ojala, thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into another gps system as you suggest.

[Ojala]

The tracking industry is really focused towards large govt and fleet customers. Most consumer tracking devices come out of Shenzen(of course) so brand names are meaningless. Unless you are comfortable with OpenWRT linux and AT commands its probably best to stick with a device that comes with a sim and is preconfigured from the vendor.

[dradernh]

I'm reminded of what an older and wiser co-worker shared with me back in 1968 and that I took to heart after I kept going to the window of the facility in which we worked to make sure my highly-modified and special motor vehicle to me was still where I'd parked it before coming in.

He simply said: "I got rid of my [Pontiac] GTO one week after I realized that every car theft ring in the region was after it and every car like it. I suggest you think about how much time you want to spend worrying about your car."

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by Ojala

LoJack was bought out. Old LoJack towers no longer work, and almost no PD has the receivers anymore. These days LoJack is just another gps tracker with cell reporting. Honestly you could buy a GPS tracker with a monthly prepaid sim and just be your own LoJack for less money. Real crooks look for airtags now so they are kinda worthless.

Civilian GPS isn't super accurate so if your car goes into a garage your kinda screwed. I would upgrade to a $200-$300 telematics system that gives you the ability to kill fuel and honk horn or flash lights remotely.

As far as where the cars go unless you live in the RGV or San Diego its really only top end cars that go out of the country like Range Rovers and exotics.

Kias, Hyundai, and K vin GM get stolen solely because it's easier than walking. Big increase lately in emulators that target specific chip families like Toyo/Lexus, Stellantis, and GM used for vehicle ignition that let crooks steal vehicles without keys or fobs.

Rough breakdown in my town around 400 cars reported stolen a month. About half are actually repos. Maybe 50 are drunks forgetting where they parked. I personally recover 30 or so stolen cars a month. Patrol recovers a bunch but there are a bunch that never get recovered.

Which department are you with? We’ve actually had great luck with Air Tags.

[Sedan_Clan]

A few pics of the TASER 10 innards/projectile rounds.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

A few pics of the TASER 10 innards/projectile rounds.

Is that a new model that has the ability to "rapidly" reload?????

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Is that a new model that has the ability to "rapidly" reload?????

Well, I suppose you could look at it that way. The new TASER 10 is now considered a “firearm” since it shoots a projectile. You can engage multiple targets, and you have more flexibility than with prior taser models. Each trigger pull shoots a single projectile and you need at least two trigger pulls per suspect/subject; if both projectiles hit then you’ll achieve NMI.

That said, with great technology comes more opportunity to have it used against you. The TASER 10 registers angles in degrees, so it will register if the unit is actually pointed at someone (…which will be used in policy to slam officers/deputies). The unit also automatically activates the AXON 4 body worn camera of the officer/deputy who deploys it and any in the vicinity the moment you remove the unit from the holster. This tech sounds great until it’s used as a disciplinary tool.

[vreihen16]

Two questions from observations on a certain live TV show.

1) Is "appreciate you" now a part of police training when someone complies with a lawful request? I noticed it in the southeast jurisdictions last year, and heard it for the first time in California from an officer on last night's episode.

2) Do the computers in patrol cars have an interface to send the next call's location to an external GPS device for navigation directions? I heard what sounded like a Garmin GPS providing turn-by-turn directions to an officer running code to an incident, and am wondering if she stopped to punch the address in or if it happened automagically? It didn't sound like it was coming from the patrol car's "your incident has been updated" computer.....

[vreihen16]

One other question. Is it only a Toledo thing, or do people make 911 calls in other parts of the country claiming that a firearm is being brandished just to get police to respond quicker? It seems to happen there on every TV episode, but maybe it is amplified because the cars with TV crews gravitate to firearms calls.

FYI. Toledo PD arrested a woman last night for admitting that she told the 911 dispatcher that there was a gun to get quicker service to a non-priority call. Her neighbors were all literally cheering as she was hauled over to the patrol car in handcuffs.....

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Two questions from observations on a certain live TV show.

1) Is "appreciate you" now a part of police training when someone complies with a lawful request? I noticed it in the southeast jurisdictions last year, and heard it for the first time in California from an officer on last night's episode.

2) Do the computers in patrol cars have an interface to send the next call's location to an external GPS device for navigation directions? I heard what sounded like a Garmin GPS providing turn-by-turn directions to an officer running code to an incident, and am wondering if she stopped to punch the address in or if it happened automagically? It didn't sound like it was coming from the patrol car's "your incident has been updated" computer.....

I haven’t heard any of my partners say that……at least not in that way. We often say, “I appreciate your cooperation.” however.

Our mobile data computers (MDC) have GPS with that capability. At all times it can navigate me to a call, show me the location of a call on a satellite map, show me where all of my partners are, etc. When we are dispatched a call, all of the above are shown. I’ll provide an example of what I mean sometime the upcoming week. It is possible some departments have updated/better technology due to the department being smaller. My department is the largest Sheriff department in the country, so while we have more resources than just about any other agency in the country (..only NYPD and Chicago PD are larger; LAPD is smaller, but has about the same number of sworn personnel as we do; the CHP is the largest highway patrol agency in the country), we also don’t always get the newest, latest or greatest gear.

Originally Posted by vreihen16

One other question. Is it only a Tol edo thing, or do people make 911 calls in other parts of the country claiming that a firearm is being brandished just to get police to respond quicker? It seems to happen there on every TV episode, but maybe it is amplified because the cars with TV crews gravitate to firearms calls.

FYI. Toledo PD arrested a woman last night for admitting that she told the 911 dispatcher that there was a gun to get quicker service to a non-priority call. Her neighbors were all literally cheering as she was hauled over to the patrol car in handcuffs.....

It happens every week. Criminals and people with psychiatric/mental health issues regularly test response times or call in fake calls. It’s a phenomenon known as “swatting”.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

I haven’t heard any of my partners say that……at least not in that way. We often say, “I appreciate your cooperation.” however.

I was thinking that it was a local dialect thing in the Carolinas when I first heard it, but it seems to have migrated to Florida and now California in the last year. An example is if a driver at a traffic stop goes to open the door and the officer asks them to stay in their car. When they close their door again, the officer will just say "appreciate you" and not "thank you" or a complete sentence like you use above.

I was just wondering if there was some new police de-escalation technique to say that the officer appreciates the person and hopes that they appreciate the officer in return, or now thinking about it more maybe it is a social media appreciates/likes entering mainstream conversation?

(Those southern folks sure do talk funny at times, with officers calling every male they stop "Bubba" and their "bush bond" thing when a suspect flees a vehicle on foot.)

It happens every week. Criminals and people with psychiatric/mental health issues regularly test response times or call in fake calls. It’s a phenomenon known as “swatting”.

The thing in Toledo is not swatting. The 911 callers are making legitimate calls for things like roommate disputes, and falsely claiming that a firearm was brandished to get the police to show up faster. It obviously places officers in danger when they have multiple units unnecessarily rolling code thinking that someone is about to be shot, and it was great to see that one woman admit that she was lying to 911 about the gun and immediately escorted to a waiting patrol car in stylish matching chrome bracelets.....

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

The thing in Toledo is not swatting. The 911 callers are making legitimate calls for things like roommate disputes, and falsely claiming that a firearm was brandished to get the police to show up faster. It obviously places officers in danger when they have multiple units unnecessarily rolling code thinking that someone is about to be shot, and it was great to see that one woman admit that she was lying to 911 about the gun and immediately escorted to a waiting patrol car in stylish matching chrome bracelets.....

Yes, I was saying that both happen weekly……swatting and people trumping up the circumstances to achieve a more rapid response.

[UncleWede]

Sedan, from those TASER pics, you aren't getting out enough during the day in your new home state. Wazzup???

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Sedan, from those TASER pics, you aren't getting out enough during the day in your new home state. Wazzup???

I was the photographer. Those hands belong to our resident collegiate wrestler who is an ex-Hawaii cop.

[Sedan_Clan]

I completed the CHP’s “Street Racing & Takeover/Sideshow” training today. Really informative and it highlighted how closely tied some of these crews are to the Mexican Mafia (…and/or operate just like street gangs), their methods of communication, enforcement options, etc.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

I completed the CHP’s “Street Racing & Takeover/Sideshow” training today. Really informative and it highlighted how closely tied some of these crews are to the Mexican Mafia (…and/or operate just like street gangs), their methods of communication, enforcement options, etc.

Is there profit somewhere in the mix, or simply fun? I mean outside of ransacking the local 7-11.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Is there profit somewhere in the mix, or simply fun? I mean outside of ransacking the local 7-11.

It’s much deeper than that. The takeover crews run drugs, steal cars, move cartel members and kill people.

[vreihen16]

Me thinks that CHP has been getting their intel reports from watching too many "Fast and Furious" movies.....