I was checking up on Labor Day weekend activity, when I ran a query on "wild party" disturbances. These are complaints from citizens about disruptive parties. There were only 34 over the four days from Thursday night through Monday. That seemed low to me. So did the preceding week. Here's what Incident Code 12311-DISTURBANCE WILD PARTY looks like through Labor Day weekend over the past several years:
That's 449 fewer incidents--a 34% drop. It represents a huge workload, when you consider that each of those party disturbances requires a minimum of two officers, and holds the potential for many problems. Lots of assaults and complaints (mostly bogus) against officers in particular emerge from these alcohol-fueled events. One of our County Court judges summed it up pretty well in this sentencing order he sent me a couple weeks ago (the footnotes on page 3 are worth reading, too.)
Could it possibly be that some of these messages are getting through?
The 'sentencing order' link points to some crash stats.
ReplyDeleteGreg-
ReplyDeleteOops, wrong link. Fixed it. Thank for bringing it to my attention!
Readers: I'm sleep deprived today, and I think I just inadvertently quashed a couple of comments. If so, it was an accident--resend!
ReplyDeleteI have a question and can't find it here online. If someone were to sit out a fine in jail, how much money would he/she get per day spent in custody? Thanks for your help.
ReplyDelete11:13-
ReplyDeleteCounty Department of Corrections.
According to the FAQs on their public website, it's $60 per day.
It's too bad they can't put Phipps on a rock pile at $60 per day until he reimburses them for their medical bills. He'd never get out! You just know that when he gets out after this little stretch, he's going to do major violent felonies, and maybe even kill somebody this time.
ReplyDelete$60.00, 3 squares, a bed in a climate controlled environment, all clothing and necessary personal hygiene items are provided.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if LES would let me pay my bill like that each month?
'Hospital bills that the marginally employed/when employed Mr. Phipps is likely never to pay.'
ReplyDeleteI love it! Can I write my probable cause affidavits like this without getting written up? Creative writing at its best.
Maybe part of the drop is because of the paaaarty patrol.
ReplyDeleteChief
ReplyDeleteCould you explain how to add a link to a post. If you already did could you give us a little refresher course. Thanks
2:55 -
ReplyDeleteHere's some instructions for you. A little trial-and-error and you'll get it. If you goof up the HTML tag and try to publish your comment with an error, Blogger won't accept your post, and will give you a useful error message that tells you what's wrong. Use the blue "preview" button (right next to the orange "publish your comment" button to check your work.
Let me guess, Phipps was charged with felony assault and it was reduced down to a misdemeanor so he wouldn't be sent to the big house.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice if they had the charge of Habitual Misdemeanant which would result in felony charges being filed?
If I'm not mistaken they do that for shoplifting. They should do it for all misdemeanors, three assaults its a felony, three DUS convictions a felony, three DWI's a felony, three dog at large convictions a felony etc etc.
Might have to build more jail space..lol.
Dispatch just told me it is illegal to have a for sale sign on your car. Is this true? Also they are very grumpy today. 12 Hour shifts?
ReplyDeleteringo=
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it was a felony arrest.
There are a handful of misdemeanors that can be enhanced to a felony after multiple convicitons. In my experience, though, it's not very common for prosecutors to do so. There are some technical reasons for this that I don't fully understand--had to be a certain kind of finding, had to have been represented by counsel, or some such stuff.
Our all-time misdemeanor arrest record holder is getting perilously close to losing the top spot. I'll be reporting when the milestone is reached.
7:06-
ReplyDeleteYep, illegal to have signs in your windows. Municipal Code 10.14.450, and an equivalent State statute somewhere, too.
7:06-
ReplyDelete...enforced with a huge amount of discretion, though, normally a warning.
Oh and also three arrests for having a for sale sign in your car window.....FELONY! :)
ReplyDeleteOk Chief, I understand Google Docs but I will second the question of how to create a link? The link you provided didn't really get me there. I know there are some ways by using certain computer code, but surely there has to be a couple of shortcuts.
ReplyDelete'...enforced with a huge amount of discretion, though, normally a warning.'
ReplyDelete@ 7:06
But if you tell the cop he's been eating too many donuts because his eyes looked glazed you might get an official.
Ringo,
ReplyDeleteActually once the driver gets enough misdemeanor DUS 's it gets changed to a 15 year revocation, which is a felony. As it stands now your 3rd offense DUI, if you test over a .15 is a felony.
I wish they would running from the police a felony, regardless of the initial reason, for the stop, misdemeanor or felony. That's how it is down south. If you fail to signal a turn and the cops try to pull you over and you go on a high speed pursuit, felony.
Here it's only a misdemeanor, unless the reason you fled is a felony. This is silly because the bad guy knows that the stolen gun under his seat, or the crack in his pocket is a felony, but fleeing so he can bail and ditch the dope somewhere is only a misd. unless he gets caught with it in his hand. Makes sense to run in those circumstances.. I'd like to see harsher penalties come of that.
03:32 Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteMaking fleeing from the police should be a felony. As I read this I'm watching the film footage of aftermath of a chase that led to the death of a motorcyclist. Some doctor late to an interview led police on a chase reaching speeds of over 100mph.
Of course if it becamee a felony, couldn't we shoot fleeing felons?
Stop sticks wouldn't frighten me as much as OO buck coming through the windshield.
atticus-
ReplyDeleteSorry, no shortcuts. There is a link tool in Blogger for POSTS that creates the html tags for you, but in COMMENTS, you have to manually type the .html tags. It's easy, though.
Go back to those instructions I put out there. The line I highlighted in yellow is the tagged link for this is funny!
Just copy and paste that line into a comment, then use the PREVIEW button, and you'll see how it works.
Change the URL inside the quotation marks, and change the linked words (this is funny) to something else, and you have a different link.
It looks like certain liquor-licensed establishments on the 1400 block of O St are picking up the wild-party slack lately. Opulence Ultra didn't die, it just went into hibernation, and later reappeared a short distance away!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, when a bar exceeds their FD-rated capacity on a habitual basis, is there any sort of cumulative penalty for that, or do you just those violations at the next liquor license renewal?
I wasn’t going to post this but here goes. I contacted all my neighbors and asked if A car on our street belonged to any of them. No one had any knowledge of the car and it has been sitting there for three days. At 1840 Hrs I called dispatch and explain that the car appeared three days ago and that the neighbors do not know who it belonged to. I told dispatch it has no plates. Dispatch asked what "MY" problem was with the car. I explained that it was not a personal problem to me, and that all of the neighbors agree that it was "a community problem" since we all did not know the owner and also that it had no plates.
ReplyDeleteAt first the dispatch sent the Officer to the wrong location. So I called them and told them the correct location. At 1920 hrs I called dispatch and asked if the Officer was coming. The dispatcher this time was very polite, she is a long time employee. I know her voice and have met her while on break a time or two. She explained the Officer was on location at 1900 hrs and cleared at 1907 hrs. I asked her to have the officer call me and told her that WE all were waiting for the Officer and he never came.
During the time we waited I attempted to contact the owner of the car as the car had a for sale phone number on the window. After contacting three numbers referred by the persons answering the first call and consecutive calls, I then called a number which kept ringing with no answer. I assumed that my phone number would appear on their caller ID. So I am waiting for the Officer to call. My phone rings and the caller says "You called my number"
I did not hear this caller identify himself as an Officer.He may have done so but cell phones drop words. I thought I was speaking with the owner of the car. After looking at my incoming call list on my phone, I saw that it was
1-7662 number. I then realized that the caller that I thought was the owner of the car was actually a police Officer. So I called dispatch back. I asked dispatch to have the Officer call again. The Officer calls again, this time from a restricted number. This time I hear him say "This is Officer example" I explain that I was asking about the car and that I was not aware he was an Officer when I was just speaking with him on the prior call. He says the car is on private property and that was the end of the conversation. So today I called and the service desk says it is a registration issue and even if it is on private property, if it is visible from the street they can check it.
So here is my comment. Lets all get on the same page. This car still sits there and today’s story from the service desk is remarkably different from last night’s explanation from the Officer.
How to create a link.
ReplyDeleteChief & 12:00,
ReplyDeleteThanks, I think I've got it. See, we do learn something new every day.
Jim J,
ReplyDeleteWhere would you suggest they park the car? If they recently purchased it it could have no plates for 30 days and be legal. I just don't see this as a criminal issue, nor an issue to call an Ofc at night about. Night time is when the volume of calls, fights, assaults, burglaries etc.. is the highest. If it's such a serious problem that you cannont sleep with that vehicle parked in your neighborhood, call during daytime hours and parking enforcement can take a look into it. Or, take a step back, and look at the big picture. The veh is not causing a hazard, or putting anyone in immediate danger- give it a few days and have some understanding for your neighbor.
JJ-
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I'll look into it and see if there is a violation.
An vehicle that has been unregistered for more than 30 days cannot be kept on private property at all for any length of time, unless it is in connection with a lawful business, inside an enclosed building, or if the owner has obtained a hobbyist permit.
There is another section of the ordinance that limits the amount of time that junked and non-opeartional vehicles can remain on private property to no more than 30 days. These sections are independent: you can't do either.
If the vehicle doesn't run, it can't be there longer than 30 days--even if it has current plates. If it hasn't had current plates for more than 30 days, it can't be there at all for any length of time. As a practical matter, we normally give people a little time to get these things taken care of voluntarily, before we start hanging paper.
@ jim j
ReplyDeleteIs this the caaaar? If it is, I'll get it moved in a few days.
Don't drink and drive.
I'm selling my car too.
ReplyDeleteTo September 5, 2008 1:31 PM:
ReplyDeleteWe are a tight neighborhood with an AWESOME bunch of neighbors that communicate. As you see everyone was contacted prior to calling the tax paid enforcement. The driver even showed up about 3 minutes after the call was broadcast and could not get it to start. I left that part out. I also talked to the driver who quickly disappeared after the car would not start again. it was too late to cancel the call as dispatch had already sent the Officer to the wrong location. This happens with a great frequency, even though I often talk and spell street names. Coincidence or a call taker that hates the job? As far as being a priority I know it would be the last thing that gets done. I don't care if takes another three days. The point is that information needs to be accurate as relayed to the field. also the Officers and the service desk should have the same information about private property. In this case the Officer was clearly incorrect. We need our streets clear and our private property manager does a great job of enforcing the NO PARKING ON STREET signs. Occasional resident parking is overlooked.
Meter Maid Test:
ReplyDeleteIf the vehicle doesn't run.
How do you know if it runs or not?
A. Contact a judge for an order directing the ownwer to start vehicle.
B. Call the supervisor
C. none of the above
A recent pre-game wild-party-goer? It's hard to say:
ReplyDelete08003862 Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:55:00 CST MEDICAL EMERGENCY Officer was waved down on a report of an extremely intoxicated UNL student lying in vomit. She was transported to Bryan/LGH West hospital.
This sort of thing is never good, in part the ease of victimization if the wrong kind of shifty person found her instead. No indication from that summary if she was a minor or not.
8.. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL
ReplyDeleteHIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?
Clearing out 'wild parties' must be much easier when you make the decision to allow an MTV Camera crew to follow police officers around while they are working, eh Chief?
ReplyDelete