🚀 go-pugleaf

chin@cs.sfu.ca (( Fred Chin )) writes:

>Hi,
>   the original poster told me via e-mail that it was the police who told him
>to call 911. I am confused! ?????  Personally, I will still try the local police
>even if I have to wait an hour or so. Life is more important than a computer.

The tale is getting a bit tangled here. First of all, I called the
police because someone broke into my house while my wife and two
children were asleep upstairs. I was concerned and the police were
similarly concerned. They had no problem fielding my call to 911, were
extremely friendly and send a policeperson over in less than 40
minutes. When I called there was no sign that anything at all was
missing in fact - I didn't know about the purse, and (unbelieveable at
it might seem) my computer wasn't the first thing on my mind.

While there may be guidelines on the part of the Vancouver City police
or other jurisdictions as to when and when not to use the "911"
system, I doubt if Mrs Chin and Wilts are the final word on the issue.
I felt that my family, although there was no "incident", had been in
danger - imagine if someone had gone down to the bathroom in the
middle of that - and the police never questioned my reporting
technique or suggested that the incident was trivial.

Finally, in the issue of my suggesting to others that they use the
"911" system, it would be helpful if the original context was
retained. In discussing with the detective on the possible means of
locating my powerbook, she suggested that I poke around the pawnshops
in the east side. But, she cautioned, I was not to attempt to reclaim
the property. I should immediately leave the store, call 911 and
report that I had located some stolen property. Those were her words,
she is a policeperson, I took them at face value. The suggestion was
that people who deal in stolen property are not likely to respond
favourably with a request to return something, and in fact might
respond violently. Moreover, time was of the essence in such a case,
since "hot" property has a short shelf life.

Incidently, I have also been advised, since then, to keep my eye on
the granville pawnshops, since my wife's wallet and cheque book were
recovered on the Granville mall two days later. If anyone feels
reluctant to call the police - call me, I will do it for them.

...r