So as soon as it happened I got my phone camera out and managed to get a picture of the license plate and make and model of the car. I thought about calling in a police report right then but I needed some time to review the evidence and put together all the details so I decided to wait until I got home to send it in.
Once home, I emailed the picture and all the information I had to the local police. I thought for sure they would be able to identify the person and maybe even issue a ticket for a fine, but instead I got a reply saying they cannot accept police reports by email so if I wanted to report it, I had to call 911.
I have called 911 in the past so I kind of know what to expect, but I don't really like calling it unless it is an emergency. But for this case I really wanted to see if something could be done if enough steps were taken. So the next morning I called and placed the report by giving them all the information they asked for.
I thought that was pretty good and maybe they will be able to issue a ticket or at least put it on their record or something. Then a short while later I get a call from a police officer who was following up on it so I explained all the details to him.
Unfortunately the officer said there was not much they could do. He recommended calling it in as soon as it happened, but really I don't think that would have made any difference. I was able to give more information by taking the time to assemble all the details of the case.
He said they would need video evidence, but I got the evidence in the picture with the identifying information and the garbage next to their car with the lights illuminated on the car showing they were about to drive away. So really it seems like they could have done something about it if they wanted to but just didn't want to bother with it.
Something I found surprising was that he seemed to be more interested in my information than the person who committed the crime. He was asking details like my birth date and even middle initial. I should have asked why but I didn't want him to think I was trying to hide anything. I'm sure he just wanted to look me up in the system to get more of an idea of who he was talking to.
Anyway, I came away from the experience being pretty disappointed with the police service. I caught someone in the act committing a crime and got enough evidence to identify them and still justice was not served.
Crimes need to be able to be reported by email, not just by phone. These days many people do not even like talking on the phone anymore. In a case like mine where there is picture evidence to submit, it needs to be done by email. Reporting by phone is good for an emergency, but for other issues, they should be submitted using an online form. Hopefully changes can be made in the near future to improve this system.
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