Thursday, March 26, 2009

Crime call #1

For eight years I was a crime prevention specialist in Portland. During that time I have heard some very interesting stories and thought I’d share one today.

This is the story of a break in.

I got a call from a woman who was obviously quite old, and quite upset. She tells me that someone has been breaking into her house.

This is a serious matter and there is information I need to get. Older people sometime don’t like to call the police, because they’re afraid that being a victim of a crime is a sign that they can’t take care of themselves, and they worry about being removed from their homes and place into care facilities. So, I was used to helping out in situations where people were hesitant about going to the police and I often acted as a liaison in these situations. Here is how our conversation went, kind of.

Me: Were you home when the break in occurred?

Lady: No it happens when I leave the house.

Me: Do you know how they are getting in?

Lady: No, I have no idea.

Me: Have you checked all your doors and window to see if any have been broken or forced?

Lady: Yes, they are all fine.

Me: Are you sure everything was locked before you left the house?

Lady: Oh yes, I always check.

Me: Is anything missing?

Lady: No, not really.

I’m stumped because I’m not hearing anything that makes me think she’s had a break-in. At this point a caller has usually given me a ton of details.

Me: How do you know someone has been in your house?

Lady: Because every time I come home there is less salt in the salt shaker then when I left, and I want whoever it is to stay out of my house and leave my salt alone.

Well, what could I say to that?

The really interesting thing is, if you can believe it, a co-worker in another part of the city had an elderly gentleman call him with almost the same complaint in the same week. His problem was that when he left his house and came back there was less sugar in the sugar bowl.

We briefly thought about trying to set them up on date.

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