Profiling (NTTCAL related)
heathergirl67
member
I just got done walking my dog and as soon as I got into the house I called the non-emergency line of my local sheriff's dept. My dog and I were on a walk and saw a guy going through the back of a truck. It was a pickup truck and it had those containers on the side (I think they call them buckets?). At first I thought nothing of it, but then I noticed how carelessly he was rifling through it. He was just pushing things around haphazardly, not caring as many items fell onto the road.
So I looked at the guy and he looked.... well.... homeless. And high as a kite! He couldn't keep his head up for 2 consecutive seconds and his feet were wobbling, like he was standing on a tightrope. So that, matched with the careless way he was handling the items, matched with how nice and brand-new the truck was is how I decided to call the cops. I told them a guy who looked homeless was going through the back of a truck. I told them his description, location, etc.
I don't expect them to catch him in the act, but I hope that I did some good. I feel bad because I know not all (or even most) homeless people are criminals, but it was still a big deciding factor to me that he looked homeless. I don't want to be biased, and what if it is his truck?
But I think the good outweighs the potential bad:
1. If he's a thief the cops might catch him, preventing someone's stuff from getting stolen!
2. If it's his stuff and the cops talk to him, how mad can he be? They're looking out for him and keeping him and his property safe.
3. If the stuff gets stolen and the owner reports it to the police, they'll actually have a lead to finding the guy.
Tell me that my profiling wasn't the worst thing in the world. I need all the good karma I can get.
Re: Profiling (NTTCAL related)
No. Your fine. If you saw some guy doing that, and he didnt' look homeless, would you still call? (especially if he was carelessly digging through) The police have to check it out regardless, but you did the right thing. You didnt know.
I'll tell you a profiling story. My husband is a cop in a very old school town. They once got a call from a women in a subdivision that was probably one of the first subdivisions built in this said town ( a lot of the people who live in this subdivision have lived there their whole lives and are stuck in their ways; probably about 60-75 years old) The women called the emergency line to say and i quote;
" There are two African-American males (she used a different word) walking down the street with tennis racquet's, and I don't know what they are up to."
Uhh maam, its 230 in the afternoon and they are walking towards the tennis courts.......
Oh my! I don't feel that badly anymore.