Interesting article on the front page of this morning's Lincoln Journal Star about a proposal by an out of state developer to build a parking garage and 200 unit apartment complex on land roughly between Q and O Streets, 18th St. and Antelope Valley Parkway. The accompanying photo (and map, in the print edition) shows the area under consideration, directly across Q Street from the large complex named 50/50, which is nearing completion.
In fact, that is where the photo was shot from, looking to the southeast. In the photo, it appears there's already a pretty substantial building on the south side of Q Street, though, in the area where both the photo and the map depict the new project landing. Wait just a minute, there. I think I recognize that building. Well, my goodness, that's 1801 Q Street, Lincoln's Fire Station Number 1, and Fire Headquarters.
Nobody has talked to me about this proposal, nor Fire Chief John Huff. Replacing that facility would be quite an undertaking. It is both are largest and busiest fire station in the city, by a considerable margin.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
What would you do...
...if you were a police officer, and watched a couple people who seemed to be making book in the stands during high school tournament basketball games, right in plain view of the security staff, off-duty uniformed police officers, and other fans--even if the amounts were small--and hands full of dollar bills were being openly exchanged?
...if a man passing out religious literature on the arena property had been warned three times not to do so, provided with an alternative location a few steps away on the sidewalk, and decided instead on an act of civil disobedience? Would it make any difference to you if you realized that allowing him to continue would mean that this could be thrown back in your face (so to speak) in the event that other groups decided to do the same thing in the same place with quite different literature?
...if a man passing out religious literature on the arena property had been warned three times not to do so, provided with an alternative location a few steps away on the sidewalk, and decided instead on an act of civil disobedience? Would it make any difference to you if you realized that allowing him to continue would mean that this could be thrown back in your face (so to speak) in the event that other groups decided to do the same thing in the same place with quite different literature?
Monday, March 17, 2014
Red flag warning
Eastern Nebraska, including Lincoln and Lancaster country, is under a red flag warning today. A red flag warning is a fire/weather warning from the National Weather Service, meaning that conditions are ideal for wild fires: dry vegetation conditions, very low humidity, high winds. Historically, Nebraska's prairies have been regularly scorched by wildfires, which, despite their destructive power, also brought renewal to the grasslands.
Today, however, the grassland wildfire can threaten more than the occasional soddy on the plain. A wildfire in eastern Nebraska could cause millions of dollars in property loss, and threaten thousands of people. We had a close call on Saturday, when a fire ignited on this triangle of land west of Salt Creek and south of West A Street.
Driven by a gusty northwest wind, the fire threatened the commercial/industrial buildings to the south. Fortunately, a fast and furious response by Lincoln Fire & Rescue (the first three-alarm fire in quite some time) contained the fire before the buildings were lost, and kept the property damage to a minimum.
For my entire career, this triangle of land has been the site of hobo camps. I've walked it on many occasions, as Southwest Team officers still do today. From time to time, a body has been discovered in this vicinity. Although the fire inspector has not determined the source of this fire with certainty, I would not be surprised at all if it was a cigarette discarded by one of the denizens of the brush.
Today, however, the grassland wildfire can threaten more than the occasional soddy on the plain. A wildfire in eastern Nebraska could cause millions of dollars in property loss, and threaten thousands of people. We had a close call on Saturday, when a fire ignited on this triangle of land west of Salt Creek and south of West A Street.
For my entire career, this triangle of land has been the site of hobo camps. I've walked it on many occasions, as Southwest Team officers still do today. From time to time, a body has been discovered in this vicinity. Although the fire inspector has not determined the source of this fire with certainty, I would not be surprised at all if it was a cigarette discarded by one of the denizens of the brush.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Sad state of affairs
My daily email from the Police Executive Research Forum yesterday contained a link to a three-part series from USA Today:
The ones that get away
A license to commit crime
The short arm of the law
These concern an ugly truth about dysfunction in the criminal justice system that is little known by the public, but often encountered by police officers. Many wanted fugitives, for whom felony arrest warrants exist, evade arrest by simply leaving the state--because in many states, prosecutors are unwilling to bear the expense of extradition, the process through which a fugitive is returned to the state where the charges originate.
The USA Today series tells the stories of what occurs as a result: some of these wanted felons go on to commit more crimes, including robberies, rapes, and murders. How would you feel, if your own family member was the victim of such a crime, when you learn that the local authorities has arrested the defendant on an out-of-state felony warrant, but had been forced to release him because the state of origin declined to extradite? What a sad state of affairs.
I've encountered this throughout my career, from both sides, and I get it: extradition is expensive, and it makes little sense to spend a few thousand dollars to bring a forger back from Florida to face a fine of a few hundred. We can just try to execute the warrant when and if he returns to our state. But when a fugitive wanted for a violent felony is arrested in another state, and the authorities in the originating jurisdiction are unwilling to bring him back to face justice, that is another matter. They should just fold up their tent and close down, because the first obligation of government is to protect the citizens, and they have failed.
The ones that get away
A license to commit crime
The short arm of the law
These concern an ugly truth about dysfunction in the criminal justice system that is little known by the public, but often encountered by police officers. Many wanted fugitives, for whom felony arrest warrants exist, evade arrest by simply leaving the state--because in many states, prosecutors are unwilling to bear the expense of extradition, the process through which a fugitive is returned to the state where the charges originate.
The USA Today series tells the stories of what occurs as a result: some of these wanted felons go on to commit more crimes, including robberies, rapes, and murders. How would you feel, if your own family member was the victim of such a crime, when you learn that the local authorities has arrested the defendant on an out-of-state felony warrant, but had been forced to release him because the state of origin declined to extradite? What a sad state of affairs.
I've encountered this throughout my career, from both sides, and I get it: extradition is expensive, and it makes little sense to spend a few thousand dollars to bring a forger back from Florida to face a fine of a few hundred. We can just try to execute the warrant when and if he returns to our state. But when a fugitive wanted for a violent felony is arrested in another state, and the authorities in the originating jurisdiction are unwilling to bring him back to face justice, that is another matter. They should just fold up their tent and close down, because the first obligation of government is to protect the citizens, and they have failed.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Warm weather surge
Yesterday's spring preview certainly was welcome. Too bad it was a Monday, though. Nonetheless, outdoor activity was at a recent peak, as Lincolnites took advantage of the fine weather.
This made for a busy day for the public safety agencies, as well. Dispatchers sent police officers to 396 incidents, the busiest day of 2014 so far. Lincoln Fire & Rescue responded to 74 incidents, also an unusually busy weekday.
You can check daily fire runs and police dispatches online, if you are so inclined.
This made for a busy day for the public safety agencies, as well. Dispatchers sent police officers to 396 incidents, the busiest day of 2014 so far. Lincoln Fire & Rescue responded to 74 incidents, also an unusually busy weekday.
You can check daily fire runs and police dispatches online, if you are so inclined.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Prevention is the only way
Saturday's Lincoln Journal Star contained an article about the frustrations of a landlord with the damage done by her tenants or their guests at her northeast Lincoln rental property. The description of the condition of the house sounded familiar to any police officer, all of whom have investigated child neglect reports, domestic violence cases, party disturbances, and other incidents in such surroundings.
What bothered me a little bit was the landlord's exasperation with the police, who she expected would simply arrest the former residents for the filth and damage they left behind. Oh, that it was simply that easy. In order to convict someone of a crime, you've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the specific individual charged committed the crime. In these kinds of cases you have two problems: proving that the damage was intentional, and establishing who actually did the deed.
It's not a crime to be an utter slob, to permit your dogs to defecate on the floor, and to throw your garbage into the basement--unless it is done with the intent to create damage. This is often difficult to prove. Even more difficult is to determine who did it. If the toilet is smashed apart and leaking all over the house, all the lease-holder needs to do is to claim that it must have been one of the attendees at the party who did it while the renter was passed out, and the police are pretty much at a loss to prove otherwise.
Such was the case for this landlord: four adults were living in the home, none of whom took responsibility for the broken windows, and there was insufficient evidence to establish who, if anyone committed a crime. Even if their had been, arrest doesn't fix the damage. Contrary to popular belief, the judge can't make a criminal defendant fix the fence. The defendant could be offered probation, on the condition of restitution, but the only hammer to enforce that is the imposition of the original sentence. When you lead this lifestyle, the threat of a couple days in jail is not as daunting as you might think.
Nor is the landlord likely to experience much success in civil proceedings. It would be pretty easy to get a monetary judgement from the lessee, but collecting that is a different matter. Have you heard the phrase, "You can't get blood from a turnip"? The type of tenant who would do such deeds, or allow such to be done, is unlikely to have any assets which could satisfy a judgement.
While I sympathize with the plight of this landlord, prevention is the only way to avoid this conundrum. Fortunately, it usually works. Require a hefty damage deposit. Do a good background check on a prospective renter. Take action at the first sign of trouble. And understand that one of the risks of being a landlord is the possibility you will eventually encounter the renter from Hell. Don't blame the police: they deal with such people with depressing regularity, and in all likelihood this isn't their first rodeo.
What bothered me a little bit was the landlord's exasperation with the police, who she expected would simply arrest the former residents for the filth and damage they left behind. Oh, that it was simply that easy. In order to convict someone of a crime, you've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the specific individual charged committed the crime. In these kinds of cases you have two problems: proving that the damage was intentional, and establishing who actually did the deed.
It's not a crime to be an utter slob, to permit your dogs to defecate on the floor, and to throw your garbage into the basement--unless it is done with the intent to create damage. This is often difficult to prove. Even more difficult is to determine who did it. If the toilet is smashed apart and leaking all over the house, all the lease-holder needs to do is to claim that it must have been one of the attendees at the party who did it while the renter was passed out, and the police are pretty much at a loss to prove otherwise.
Such was the case for this landlord: four adults were living in the home, none of whom took responsibility for the broken windows, and there was insufficient evidence to establish who, if anyone committed a crime. Even if their had been, arrest doesn't fix the damage. Contrary to popular belief, the judge can't make a criminal defendant fix the fence. The defendant could be offered probation, on the condition of restitution, but the only hammer to enforce that is the imposition of the original sentence. When you lead this lifestyle, the threat of a couple days in jail is not as daunting as you might think.
Nor is the landlord likely to experience much success in civil proceedings. It would be pretty easy to get a monetary judgement from the lessee, but collecting that is a different matter. Have you heard the phrase, "You can't get blood from a turnip"? The type of tenant who would do such deeds, or allow such to be done, is unlikely to have any assets which could satisfy a judgement.
While I sympathize with the plight of this landlord, prevention is the only way to avoid this conundrum. Fortunately, it usually works. Require a hefty damage deposit. Do a good background check on a prospective renter. Take action at the first sign of trouble. And understand that one of the risks of being a landlord is the possibility you will eventually encounter the renter from Hell. Don't blame the police: they deal with such people with depressing regularity, and in all likelihood this isn't their first rodeo.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Wireless notebook
My colleague Jackie sent this photo to me last week. She discovered this cool wireless notebook! Never seen one that's three-hole punched like this. I hope it's 802.11ac, and that she's enabled WPA2 and MAC address filtering.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Remember the Palm?
Riley Johnson, a reporter at the Lincoln Journal Star, penned an interesting article in Saturday morning's paper about the rising numbers of stolen smartphones. No doubt about it, they are a hot commodity right now. I pointed out to Riley that the uptick in smartphone thefts probably is offset by the reduction in thefts of other items. Allow me to explain.
Last year, I was the keynote speaker at the Law Enforcement Information Management Conference. During the speech, I told he audience that if I had been on the same trip just a few years earlier, my kit would likely have included a Casio digital camera, an Olympus microcassette recorder, a Dell laptop, a Palm VII, a Samsung cell phone, a Garmin Nuvi GPS, and an Apple iPod--each with it's own charger. If you had stolen my briefcase in 2006 or so, it would have been a treasure trove of personal electronics. Then I held up my iPhone, and explained that the smartphone performed all of those functions today, and more--walkie talkie, police scanner, spirit level, weather station, travel clock, flashlight, video camera, and so forth.
The briefcase is very light today, and if you snagged my tablet or phone, I could remotely wipe and disable it as soon as I realized it had gone missing. There may be a lot more stolen smartphones over the past few years, but as the data I provided Mr. Riley demonstrates, there are fewer GPS devices, digital cameras, and media devices being stolen, as more and more people use their smartphones for these purposes, consigning their iPod, Canon, and TomTom to a drawer from which they are rarely retrieved. The current hot commodities for theft tend to change over time, with the exception of the always-popular stuff: cash, cigarettes, liquor, jewelry, guns.
Remember the Palm? Before tablets and smartphones, personal digital assistants were huge. PDAs ruled the personal electronics roost from the mid 1990s through the mid 2000s, especially the Palm Pilot. There were a lot a varieties of PDAs and competing operating systems. Several of these overlapped during this time period. I pretty much owned them all at one time or another.
They were also hot products for theft. Not any more, though. Despite the wild popularity of the Palm Pilot, which was in the briefcase or backpack of all the cool kids by the late 1990s, the last Palm stolen in Lincoln was taken in a burglary, on March 8, 2011. I suppose another one will eventually be stolen--from a museum, or from some private collector.
Last year, I was the keynote speaker at the Law Enforcement Information Management Conference. During the speech, I told he audience that if I had been on the same trip just a few years earlier, my kit would likely have included a Casio digital camera, an Olympus microcassette recorder, a Dell laptop, a Palm VII, a Samsung cell phone, a Garmin Nuvi GPS, and an Apple iPod--each with it's own charger. If you had stolen my briefcase in 2006 or so, it would have been a treasure trove of personal electronics. Then I held up my iPhone, and explained that the smartphone performed all of those functions today, and more--walkie talkie, police scanner, spirit level, weather station, travel clock, flashlight, video camera, and so forth.
The briefcase is very light today, and if you snagged my tablet or phone, I could remotely wipe and disable it as soon as I realized it had gone missing. There may be a lot more stolen smartphones over the past few years, but as the data I provided Mr. Riley demonstrates, there are fewer GPS devices, digital cameras, and media devices being stolen, as more and more people use their smartphones for these purposes, consigning their iPod, Canon, and TomTom to a drawer from which they are rarely retrieved. The current hot commodities for theft tend to change over time, with the exception of the always-popular stuff: cash, cigarettes, liquor, jewelry, guns.
Remember the Palm? Before tablets and smartphones, personal digital assistants were huge. PDAs ruled the personal electronics roost from the mid 1990s through the mid 2000s, especially the Palm Pilot. There were a lot a varieties of PDAs and competing operating systems. Several of these overlapped during this time period. I pretty much owned them all at one time or another.
They were also hot products for theft. Not any more, though. Despite the wild popularity of the Palm Pilot, which was in the briefcase or backpack of all the cool kids by the late 1990s, the last Palm stolen in Lincoln was taken in a burglary, on March 8, 2011. I suppose another one will eventually be stolen--from a museum, or from some private collector.
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