Helping law enforcement based on info gathered from scanner
- Thread starter unixfreak0037
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I would say this is a pretty easy question to say yes to, seeing how our cities are cutting our LE men and women.
CompuDoc
Member
I think it would depend on where you live as to whether or not the dispatcher would get PO'ed or not for calling something in. I was living in California for about 10 years and a roommate stole 2 TV's from me. He had a warrant out for his arrest that I found out about so I called the police and told them where they could pick him up. The dispatcher did not seem to be to concerned and was very reluctant to send someone over to pick him up. It got to the point of me asking her if she wanted me to bring him in on a silver platter. Another time I seen a guy shooting up heroin right on the street and a block later I seen a LEO and told him about it. He said it was not in his area so he wouldn't do anything about it.Then I commented to him that where I come from the cops would be all over the guy in a heart beat and would not care if it was their area or not. He still did nothing.
JoeyC
Senior Member
The cop can't arrest the heroin shooter based on your story. You can make a citizens arrest and then go to the cops if you feel that is necessary. The burdon is on you unless the cop is a witness and cares to get involved. They aren't going to get involved unless the DA will prosecute. Are you willing to be the sole witness in the states case against the druggie? Unless the druggie is selling on the streets, this is akin to being charged with littering for tossing your extinguished match.
You probably would have gotten more from the cops in your roomate story had you reported a theft of TVs instead of pushing the warrant thing. They would have investigated your claim and upon contacting the alleged perp, would have found out about outstanding warrants if there were any. The way you wrote it, sounds like you made a random call to PD with your suspicions about the warrant. Depending on what the warrants are for they are going to need more information before wasting their time following up on a tip that may never pan out. They get all kinds of calls like that. Did you provide them the full name, DOB, SSN at least?
Back to the original question. I see no reason why mentioning you heard something on the scanner should matter. If you have a tip in a relative case they are working, they usually appreciate it.
You probably would have gotten more from the cops in your roomate story had you reported a theft of TVs instead of pushing the warrant thing. They would have investigated your claim and upon contacting the alleged perp, would have found out about outstanding warrants if there were any. The way you wrote it, sounds like you made a random call to PD with your suspicions about the warrant. Depending on what the warrants are for they are going to need more information before wasting their time following up on a tip that may never pan out. They get all kinds of calls like that. Did you provide them the full name, DOB, SSN at least?
Back to the original question. I see no reason why mentioning you heard something on the scanner should matter. If you have a tip in a relative case they are working, they usually appreciate it.
CompuDoc
Member
I would think if the cop was interested enough he would have at least investigated something one short block away. Being he did not seem to care except to maybe collect a paycheck he was not concerned.
As for reporting the theft of the TV's I would have needed hard evidence that he stole them along with needing proof that I owned them. Being the receipts were thrown away years ago what proof was their. As for his DOB, SSN and name I did have that and gave them that information. The dispatcher on the other hand wanted to know how I knew he had a warrant out for his arrest and was more concerned about how I knew then sending someone over. When the police finally did show up it was 2 hours later and he was not their at the time but he was their for about a half hour after I called them in the first place.
Another thing that happened one time in the same city of CA, I was a witness to a person being pick pocketed. As the victim and I were chasing the guy down I was on my cell phone giving the police a description of the guy and what direction we were heading along with where we were. They caught up to the guy and grabbed him. They got the guys wallet back and told him that if he wanted to press charges they would have to take the wallet and it's contents in as evidence and he would not get it back until the case was heard in court and resolved which could take months. Several years later the police called me about that incident and as it turns out the guy who stole the wallet was in trouble several times after that and they wanted me to go to court and identify him. I told them it would be impossible for me to identify him after something that happened four years ago and that if they wanted me in court to send a subpoena and I will show up but probably would not be able to identify the guy. They never did send the subpoena.
One other piece of information that you might like to know about this particular police department is that they do not respond to car accidents unless someone is injured and they need to go to the hospital or their has been a death. That basically means someone that is drunk can run a red light hit a car that was crossing at the green light and if no one is injured or died they will not show up.
Back on topic, It would depend if I call someone in on what the situation was and how receptive the police are with the community getting involved. If it was that city in California I would not bother if I heard it on the scanner. The reason for that is they gave me many parking tickets when I was legally parked in a truck zone. I never paid the tickets and one time came out to my vehicle being booted. In order to get the boot off I had to pay all the tickets plus the boot removal fee which I did then I sued them in court and won. Even though I won the case and showed legally I was allowed to park in a truck zone they continued to give me tickets for the same violation that I was not even violating. It came out in court by one of the people that gave me a parking ticket that they had a picture of my vehicle on the employee bulletin board stating if you see this vehicle parked in a truck zone to give it a summons. Not only did they give me a ticket for parking in a truck zone but gave me tickets for parking in a street sweeping zone which also their was a state law that prohibiting them from doing so that was brought up in court and they did not even know about the state law. After that was over I called UPS and FedEx and advised them of the law. UPS and FedEx were very appreciative of the information as they constantly get parking tickets for parking in a street sweeping zone and that gave them an out.
As for reporting the theft of the TV's I would have needed hard evidence that he stole them along with needing proof that I owned them. Being the receipts were thrown away years ago what proof was their. As for his DOB, SSN and name I did have that and gave them that information. The dispatcher on the other hand wanted to know how I knew he had a warrant out for his arrest and was more concerned about how I knew then sending someone over. When the police finally did show up it was 2 hours later and he was not their at the time but he was their for about a half hour after I called them in the first place.
Another thing that happened one time in the same city of CA, I was a witness to a person being pick pocketed. As the victim and I were chasing the guy down I was on my cell phone giving the police a description of the guy and what direction we were heading along with where we were. They caught up to the guy and grabbed him. They got the guys wallet back and told him that if he wanted to press charges they would have to take the wallet and it's contents in as evidence and he would not get it back until the case was heard in court and resolved which could take months. Several years later the police called me about that incident and as it turns out the guy who stole the wallet was in trouble several times after that and they wanted me to go to court and identify him. I told them it would be impossible for me to identify him after something that happened four years ago and that if they wanted me in court to send a subpoena and I will show up but probably would not be able to identify the guy. They never did send the subpoena.
One other piece of information that you might like to know about this particular police department is that they do not respond to car accidents unless someone is injured and they need to go to the hospital or their has been a death. That basically means someone that is drunk can run a red light hit a car that was crossing at the green light and if no one is injured or died they will not show up.
Back on topic, It would depend if I call someone in on what the situation was and how receptive the police are with the community getting involved. If it was that city in California I would not bother if I heard it on the scanner. The reason for that is they gave me many parking tickets when I was legally parked in a truck zone. I never paid the tickets and one time came out to my vehicle being booted. In order to get the boot off I had to pay all the tickets plus the boot removal fee which I did then I sued them in court and won. Even though I won the case and showed legally I was allowed to park in a truck zone they continued to give me tickets for the same violation that I was not even violating. It came out in court by one of the people that gave me a parking ticket that they had a picture of my vehicle on the employee bulletin board stating if you see this vehicle parked in a truck zone to give it a summons. Not only did they give me a ticket for parking in a truck zone but gave me tickets for parking in a street sweeping zone which also their was a state law that prohibiting them from doing so that was brought up in court and they did not even know about the state law. After that was over I called UPS and FedEx and advised them of the law. UPS and FedEx were very appreciative of the information as they constantly get parking tickets for parking in a street sweeping zone and that gave them an out.
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SmokingJoe
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what i would do!!!!!!
Me i would chase the guy down and take the money that he robbed from the bank,,then go buy me some more scanner equipment
NO not really just joking!!!! I would call and say "hey I heard you over my police scanner and I see the guy you're looking for."
Me i would chase the guy down and take the money that he robbed from the bank,,then go buy me some more scanner equipment
NO not really just joking!!!! I would call and say "hey I heard you over my police scanner and I see the guy you're looking for."
Make the call it is not frowned upon.
Here is a perfect example of why you should:
Video Library - cbs11tv.com
After the shooting, a scanner listener spotted the vehicle and called it in. After a chase the individuals were caught, both were heavily armed and wearing body armor.
Here is the press release form the City of Tyler (interesting, this press release does not mention the body armor):
"Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Steven Stone, 29, was shot Wednesday night, March 22, 2006 around 9:20 p.m., when he made a traffic stop on Texas Highway 31 just east of Farm-to-Market Road 2908.
Trooper Stone pulled over Ramon Ramos, 37, and Francisco Saucedo, 38, both of Tulsa, Okla., for a speeding violation.
After advising the driver (Ramos) of the truck the reason for the stop, Trooper Stone developed probable cause to arrest Ramos. During the arrest Ramos pulled a 9 mm handgun from his waistband and began firing the weapon point-blank at Trooper Stone. The passenger (Saucedo) and Ramos then began firing multiple rounds at Trooper Stone striking him several times.
Tyler Police received a call at 9:39 p.m. from a citizen who had been monitoring scanner traffic and thought the suspects had just pulled into the La Michoacana Meat Market. The caller described the vehicle as a dark truck with a Hispanic driver.
When officers arrived in the area, the suspect vehicle fled from officers eastbound on Commerce Street. The passenger started firing several rounds at officers that were pursuing them. Several Tyler police cars were hit by gunfire and some shots went into the passenger compartments only inches away from officers. The pursuit traveled east on Commerce to Loop 323, then to Texas Highway 64, where the suspects crashed into another vehicle that had pulled to the side of the roadway for emergency vehicles.
Investigators believe the suspects fired 75 to 100 rounds during the pursuit and Tyler officers fired 35 rounds during the chase.
Officers located several weapons inside the suspects vehicle including a Norinco SKS assault rifle, a Tec 9 9 mm, a Beretta 9 mm and a .22- caliber handgun.
Ramos and Saucedo have been released from the hospital into the custody of the Smith County Jail, where they’re being held on 14 counts of aggravated assault/with a deadly weapon on a public servant and an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. State District Judge Jack Skeen set both men's bonds at $23 million on each subject."
Video Library - cbs11tv.com
After the shooting, a scanner listener spotted the vehicle and called it in. After a chase the individuals were caught, both were heavily armed and wearing body armor.
Here is the press release form the City of Tyler (interesting, this press release does not mention the body armor):
"Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Steven Stone, 29, was shot Wednesday night, March 22, 2006 around 9:20 p.m., when he made a traffic stop on Texas Highway 31 just east of Farm-to-Market Road 2908.
Trooper Stone pulled over Ramon Ramos, 37, and Francisco Saucedo, 38, both of Tulsa, Okla., for a speeding violation.
After advising the driver (Ramos) of the truck the reason for the stop, Trooper Stone developed probable cause to arrest Ramos. During the arrest Ramos pulled a 9 mm handgun from his waistband and began firing the weapon point-blank at Trooper Stone. The passenger (Saucedo) and Ramos then began firing multiple rounds at Trooper Stone striking him several times.
Tyler Police received a call at 9:39 p.m. from a citizen who had been monitoring scanner traffic and thought the suspects had just pulled into the La Michoacana Meat Market. The caller described the vehicle as a dark truck with a Hispanic driver.
When officers arrived in the area, the suspect vehicle fled from officers eastbound on Commerce Street. The passenger started firing several rounds at officers that were pursuing them. Several Tyler police cars were hit by gunfire and some shots went into the passenger compartments only inches away from officers. The pursuit traveled east on Commerce to Loop 323, then to Texas Highway 64, where the suspects crashed into another vehicle that had pulled to the side of the roadway for emergency vehicles.
Investigators believe the suspects fired 75 to 100 rounds during the pursuit and Tyler officers fired 35 rounds during the chase.
Officers located several weapons inside the suspects vehicle including a Norinco SKS assault rifle, a Tec 9 9 mm, a Beretta 9 mm and a .22- caliber handgun.
Ramos and Saucedo have been released from the hospital into the custody of the Smith County Jail, where they’re being held on 14 counts of aggravated assault/with a deadly weapon on a public servant and an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold. State District Judge Jack Skeen set both men's bonds at $23 million on each subject."
We are having a similar, MUCH smaller, discussion in the Kansas section. This fellow evidently has a web-feed up and claims he got a phone call from a cop telling him he better take it down and wondered what he should do. He says it is up now, but it started a discussion.
In my view, both of these discussions touch on the subject of "We want the ability to listen and we want to show everyone what they are missing", but we are timid because we don't want them to cut us off~ whether that happens via scrambling, digitizing, or outlawing the use of scanners.
As far as scanning in my area goes, my biggest fears are: (1)Going digital, (2) more scrambling than they already do or (3) a downright ban on auto-borne scanners. Personally, in my 3 everyday driver vehicles I have vhf radios programmed with all the law enforcement freq's [receive only] and use them as scanners, so I feel safe in the knowledge that- depending on who was asking- I'd either explain them as CB radios or as a radio I use at work~ which I do. No sense giving them any more information that necessary and them getting their hackles up.
It is a fine line to walk to publicize your scanning. I want a "un-edited" information when I listen to stuff happening live, but they know the public is monitoring so they have their guard up and are more candid with their traffic. Let me qualify that remark by saying that it's true, except in real dramatic moments they don't bother and you are liable to hear anything during dramatic fires, car chases, foot chases and the like.
As my fears of losing the ability to listen go, I took note of one previous poster who gave me a good idea to use in the event they ever decide the need to curtail my ability to listen via going digital or something similar. I would counter their decision with the fact that the public is their eyes and ears and do you really want to blind or deafen yourself.
I do fear that some overzealous radio salesman will make their eyes gloss over explaining the need to go digital or somesuch with the added benefit of eliminating public eavesdropping.
I don't know how widespread the instances of criminals using scanners to avoid detection during a crime is, but they may try and trot that arguement out as evidence for the need to a brand new, scanner proof mode of law enforecement radio transmission.
In my view, both of these discussions touch on the subject of "We want the ability to listen and we want to show everyone what they are missing", but we are timid because we don't want them to cut us off~ whether that happens via scrambling, digitizing, or outlawing the use of scanners.
As far as scanning in my area goes, my biggest fears are: (1)Going digital, (2) more scrambling than they already do or (3) a downright ban on auto-borne scanners. Personally, in my 3 everyday driver vehicles I have vhf radios programmed with all the law enforcement freq's [receive only] and use them as scanners, so I feel safe in the knowledge that- depending on who was asking- I'd either explain them as CB radios or as a radio I use at work~ which I do. No sense giving them any more information that necessary and them getting their hackles up.
It is a fine line to walk to publicize your scanning. I want a "un-edited" information when I listen to stuff happening live, but they know the public is monitoring so they have their guard up and are more candid with their traffic. Let me qualify that remark by saying that it's true, except in real dramatic moments they don't bother and you are liable to hear anything during dramatic fires, car chases, foot chases and the like.
As my fears of losing the ability to listen go, I took note of one previous poster who gave me a good idea to use in the event they ever decide the need to curtail my ability to listen via going digital or something similar. I would counter their decision with the fact that the public is their eyes and ears and do you really want to blind or deafen yourself.
I do fear that some overzealous radio salesman will make their eyes gloss over explaining the need to go digital or somesuch with the added benefit of eliminating public eavesdropping.
I don't know how widespread the instances of criminals using scanners to avoid detection during a crime is, but they may try and trot that arguement out as evidence for the need to a brand new, scanner proof mode of law enforecement radio transmission.
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kjfswkr
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