I received an email this week from a reader whose property was stolen during a recent rash of car burglaries. The writer expressed disappointment that the Whitewater Police seemed to have cast blame on him, and others, for not locking their car doors.
Here’s part of what the property owner wrote in his email to me:
After several weekends of free reign throughout the city, our police department has finally caught the three juveniles that have been stealing items from cars and garages. I was one of the victims…. It seems that the Whitewater Police Department does not want our help. Have you heard anything about a neighborhood watch program? It seems to be the policy of the department to believe that if they don’t talk about problems, then they don’t exist. Then, after having my belongings taken out of my car…I and every other victim gets to be ridiculed by the newspaper reports. I quote from the Good Morning article “Police Make Arrest in Recent Rash of Car/Garage Break-ins”. “….These items reflect the fact people are keeping high value items unsecured.”
That’s right, it’s our fault. The fact that three juveniles, weekend after weekend roamed freely, with absolutely no fear whatsoever has absolutely no bearing on the subject. But stand by…they are still investigating. This is no surprise, since in my case, there was pretty much no investigation whatsoever. They took my report, never came to my house, at least when I was home, and have not contacted me on anything unless I contact them first. After all this, they have the audacity to publish articles congratulating themselves on the “big arrest.” I have absolutely no hope of ever getting anything back.
What are the problems with how these burglaries have been handled? There are three:
1. When the department rushed forward with a press statement, they communicated partial and confusing information. In its November 8th issue, even the Whitewater Register reports that Chief Coan sees more than one set of burglaries afflicting our town. That’s a different story from the police press release in the Good Morning Advertiser. (When the current city manager wrote to celebrate ‘great police work’ in this case, I was doubtful, twice over: (1) I was not convinced that the police had a good handle on the extent of these crimes, and (2) most likely, the primary information that the city manager had about the case was from our self-praising police leadership.)
2. Second, it’s possible to communicate the need to lock one’s doors without shaming individual property owners. It’s not a small point: it’s revealing that the police show little sympathy for these property-crime victims (implying that they had it coming, so to speak). It’s also contradictory to Jim Coan’s published opinion that all fault in criminal matters lies with the alleged wrong-doer. Not in this case, apparently.
A broken police culture, based on blame-shifting in which police portray themselves as exceedingly skilled will lead that department to shun consideration of its own thoughts and conduct. (Why did apprehension take so long, are all those involved apprehended, etc.)
3. Third, there’s no one – so far as we can see – who can effectively coach this department to view themselves with humility, and to offer genuine community policing.