Our local police suck

[VenomX]

Well some of them anyways.

With our old pumps the customer could pump their own gas and drive off. When they did this and we called the police they would tell us its a civial matter and do nothing more. New pumsp now stop this as only employees can pump the gas.

If someone threatens us or attacks us the ploice say its a civial matter and do nothing.

Well someone hit one of our pumps and damaged it the other day. He drove off but not before my co-worker got a plate number. Police show up and the officer says sorry its a civial matter and leaves. WTF? So hit and runs are now civial matters and theres not a thing the police can do? I asked another officer that came in last night why it was a civial matter and not a criminal act. He said that it was new to him and that it infact was a criminal act.

We have a new Mayor and Police Chief, I wonder if something will change if they were told whats going on.... maybe we should just inform the local paper.... but then I think about what they could do to me if I piss them off enough...

[Crazeyal]

Uh..

Sounds like you need to contact the state police and/or those other people. Either those morons were never trained properly or they are SERIOUSLY lazy. You could always do it annonnymously.

[Dark-Star]

Post the plate # (with picture) on the web and announce him as a thief?

[Bright_Star]

A civil matter? IF someone were to do that kind of nonsense around here the cops would be on them so fast that their heads would spin.

[Becks]

I wonder if murder is considered by some of them to be a "civil matter"?

[blas]

Did an employee from the past at your store do something to piss off the police so much that they won't deal with your store nowadays?

I wonder this because where I live (granted, a different state than where you live) the police are never more than 5 minutes away when a call from a gas station comes. Any and every call from a gas station is treated like an emergency. Hell, treat em good enough and they won't even care if you feel scared and want them to stay until close with you! I had several cops do it several times....they never seemed to mind!

[PepperElf]

i'd say... the next time one of them says "it's a civil matter" ask him for his name and badge number.

cos... what cop refuses to investigate a theft or take a report?

theft isn't "a civil matter" it's theft. you can't properly process the insurance claim without the police report.


or... jsut ask them... "are you refusing to process a police report?"
i'm sure few of them would say "yes" ... not if they're really thinking about the consequences.

and if they do say yes, then get the badge number etc.

[crazylegs]

Where someone makes off without payment, thats theft, where someone strikes a worker or deliberitly damages a unit thats assault/criminal damage.

However (from what I've read on the post) the collision between the car and pump *is* a civil matter if they had literally had an accident, if they were deliberatly drivingat the unit or a worker then charges could be brought, otherwise its as if you've dinged another car in a car park.

[Lingering Grin]

However (from what I've read on the post) the collision between the car and pump *is* a civil matter if they had literally had an accident, if they were deliberatly drivingat the unit or a worker then charges could be brought, otherwise its as if you've dinged another car in a car park.

Yeah, but leaving the scene of an accident is a felony.

[crazylegs]

Yeah, but leaving the scene of an accident is a felony.

Only on the public highway. On private property it isn't.

[Gerrinson]

Last I heard, theft (including gasoline) was in fact a criminal matter. Also, any leaving the scene of any vehicular accident is also a crime. If the damage is >$1,000, then a police report is required to be filed with the insurance (this may apply to vehicle/vehicle accidents only, rather than vehicle/property.)

At least, that's they way it stands in my state, I'm assuming it's fairly similar in the rest of the country. I'm assuming you're in the US.

[crazylegs]

The only wway I could ever see the petrol part as being a civil matter is if there is a disagreement to either
a) how much petrol was dipensed or
b) how much the total would come to

Other than that removing the petrol from the forecourt with the intention of permanantly depriving the petrol station of said fuel, well thats theft and you have some lazy officers there.

(Its very rare I will critisise *any* police but in this instance its justified)

[VenomX]

Only on the public highway. On private property it isn't.

ohhh but I was told by the police we are NOT private property!

I told a couple to leave and not come back and he said I couldnt bar him from our store. I said you wanna bet? He stepped towards me so I stepped towards him and his wife/girlfriend jumped inbetween us and shoved me. I told her thats assult and I could have her arrested. The man called 9/11 and when they came I was told I couldnt bar them because it wasnt private property. The officer told me I could only bar people I caught shoplifting. He refused to do anything to the woman that shoved me.

Its getting so bad that the guy on midnight is going to start carrying his gun(a 45) to work.

We are getting new security cameras in that will be saved on a hard drive then saved onto a DVD when needed. No more getting robbed and the police telling us they couldnt find the video of the robbery on the tape.

I have asked two other officers about the guy hitting the pump and both have said it was news to them that it was a civil matter. They said he should have atleast gave us the name and address of the plate owner. We never did get that from him, so even if it is a civil matter we have no way of going forward.

[powerboy]

Sounds like my cities police. They are the shittiest & laziest cops around. Call them because a neighbor of mine shot my parents. Ended killing my basket ball instead(Thank god). Called the police and they didn't even come out. They said that, it was probably by accident.

[hotelnpa]

Where I work in PA, we are about 3/4 of a mile from the city boundary, so the township is our police department. Just getting them to answer the phone is a chore. They take forever to respond too. We called them when we were trying to get disruptive guests out of the hotel and they didn't come until almost an hour later.

We try not to call the police unless it is necessary. The police 3/4 mile a way are great, but since we are not in the city limits, they will not respond to us.