Your CRIME story

[Al_4_State]

When a drunk teenager takes the life of a buddy, I hardly call underage drinking a victimless crime. Some kids can actually be responsible about it. Unfortunately, many more can't.

The crime being committed there is something else than "being a drunk teenager". Underage drinking only has a victim if that person chooses to engage in some other dangerous conduct. Drinking in a living room only poses a potential problem to the individuals choosing to engage in it.

These cops just showed up and gave everyone tickets. They didn't get a drunk driver off the road or stop any other kind of crime. They just raised some money and/or free labor for the county. All this while there were far bigger problems in their jurisdiction. It gives the appearance that they are more concerned with fighting easier to enforce criminal acts than they are in really fighting the most troublesome issues.

[Naughtius]

Robbed the BK on Lincoln Way.

- SM

[Clone5]

Female officers are the worst.

[zwclones51]

how'd you find that???

Iowa Courts Online Search - Select Action you go into case search and type in the name Walker, Shawn and you have to find the right birthdate so I assume the previous poster knew the birthday of the criminal. It's a pretty neat website to go look at your friends, employers, neighbors and see what kind of trouble they have been in.

[Bipolarcy]

Hey, I was caught red handed and served my punishment, no complaints. I didn't try and get out of it. I plead guilty and accepted my punishment.

But don't you think that when methamphetamine abuse and production was at an all time high that there was a better use of a taxpayer money than pulling over a car load of teenagers, interrogating them about what parties were going on that night, and then sending 4 squad cars to a remote farmstead?

Not all crimes are the same, and when a department makes a habit of hunting down a relatively minor/victimless crime (like underrage drinking), they're going to be spending less time fighting other crimes. There's only so many resources. Why are so many resources spent on fighting crimes that are technically criminal acts, but are extremely minor? Mitchell County, Iowa lead the nation in underage drinking arrests for per capita in the first half of the last decade. Do you really think kids there were just drinking that much more than other places? Or maybe stopping it was a much higher priority for the County than other counties.

But I guess me and some friends getting drunk in my parents house (while they were out of town) is a bigger threat to public safety than the then out of control meth problem.

Wow, I've seen some rationalization of your own behavior before, but this takes the cake.

Personally, I think they ought to give all the meth users, rapists, B&E artists, con men and mobsters a break until they round up all the murderers.

[Al_4_State]

Wow, I've seen some rationalization of your own behavior before, but this takes the cake.

Personally, I think they ought to give all the meth users, rapists, B&E artists, con men and mobsters a break until they round up all the murderers.

Someone can't read.

I'm saying its a poor use of resources to lead a widespread law enforcement campaign against minor crimes when there are bigger problems. I suppose you feel that jay walking and murder deserve equal attention from law enforcement right? After all, a crime is a crime is a crime.

I was attacked for agreeing with another poster that in our home area, the police put a ton of effort into tracking down underage drinking. I never said that I shouldn't have got a ticket. I was caught breaking the law. That's fine. I do however think that there should be less energy placed on tracking down those crimes than others. Law enforcement can't be every where all the time. Why are we so concerned with minor crimes (and 17 year old kids getting drunk in a living room is a minor crime) at the expense of others? Is it because its easier to bust some kids for drinking than it is to track meth labs and take them out? You tell me.

I got another MIP while tailgating at an ISU game my freshman year. I was drinking a beer in full public view, and a cop came up and asked me for my ID. I didn't see anything silly/needless with that. There are 60,000 people all packed into a small area and you need law enforcement to keep an eye on that. He was making his rounds and had reasonable suspicion that I was breaking the law. So if you think I'm just justifying my breaking the law 8 years ago, think again. The moral superiority on this board is nauseating.

[Bipolarcy]

Someone can't read.

I'm saying its a poor use of resources to lead a widespread law enforcement campaign against minor crimes when there are bigger problems. [B] I suppose you feel that jay walking and murder deserve equal attention from law enforcement right?[B] After all, a crime is a crime is a crime.

No, but what I do feel is that if you get nabbed for jaywalking, don't bellyache about poor use of law enforcement resources because there are murderers running around free. That's just lame.

[Al_4_State]

No, but what I do feel is that if you get nabbed for jaywalking, don't bellyache about poor use of law enforcement resources because there are murderers running around free. That's just lame.

Read my post again, past the first paragraph. If you get busted for doing something out in the open, its not a poor use of law enforcement resources. Cops shouldn't just ignore a violation they observe.

However, its my opinion that tracking down underage drinkers much the same way that they track down drug production IS a poor use of law enforcement resource. When its occurring in a place where law enforcement might come across it in the "ordinary course of business", if you will, I think its an appropriate use of funds to prosecute that crime, and I can't really take issue with it.

[Bipolarcy]

Read my post again, past the first paragraph. If you get busted for doing something out in the open, its not a poor use of law enforcement resources. Cops shouldn't just ignore a violation they observe.

However, its my opinion that tracking down underage drinkers much the same way that they track down drug production IS a poor use of law enforcement resource. When its occurring in a place where law enforcement might come across it in the "ordinary course of business", if you will, I think its an appropriate use of funds to prosecute that crime, and I can't really take issue with it.

It's my experience that cops don't just do something for the heck of it. The neighbors probably complained about the party.

[alarson]

Iowa Courts Online Search - Select Action you go into case search and type in the name Walker, Shawn and you have to find the right birthdate so I assume the previous poster knew the birthday of the criminal. It's a pretty neat website to go look at your friends, employers, neighbors and see what kind of trouble they have been in.

Yeah, i started with Shawn Walker and searched all the felony cases.

Shawn Jarves Walker i think was the full name, that might narrow it down.

[Al_4_State]

It's my experience that cops don't just do something for the heck of it. The neighbors probably complained about the party.

Nope. They pulled over a carload of girls, found some alcohol, and asked them where they were heading with it. They said they were going to my place, and the rest is history. They actually let the girls go (all of them had been drinking and they were driving) in order to rack up more tickets, even though the people drinking and driving posed a greater threat than the people who were drinking and not driving.

I would be less bothered by it if they were investigating a noise complaint. I'm not sure if there are noise ordinances in unincorporated areas either.

[oldman]

When I was a squid back in the late 70s, some buddies and I were in Berkeley CA, parked in a lot in a windowless van. Tunes were cranking and joints were passing. There came a rap on the door; it was the cops. one of the guys did some dealing, and was stuffing pot and hash under the floor carpet, but a cursory inspection uncovered it. We were lined up, flashlights shining in our faces, and the cops were dressing us down.

"Pot in the state of California is a misdemeanor boys, but hashish, now that's a felony, worth 3-5 years." He drops it on the asphalt and smears it in with his foot. "Do I need to search you guys too, or is this it?" We acknowledged the latter.

"That'd be 5, 10, 15, 20 years of jailtime, so get your butts back to the Navy base, before I change my mind." We thanked him and bailed. On the way back, the sometime dealer says, "I'm glad he didn't search us, I had a 100 hits of acid in my front pocket."

[Bipolarcy]

Nope. They pulled over a carload of girls, found some alcohol, and asked them where they were heading with it. They said they were going to my place, and the rest is history. They actually let the girls go (all of them had been drinking and they were driving) in order to rack up more tickets, even though the people drinking and driving posed a greater threat than the people who were drinking and not driving.

I would be less bothered by it if they were investigating a noise complaint. I'm not sure if there are noise ordinances in unincorporated areas either.

So it's NOT like they didn't have probable cause to go to your place. They did. From your original post, you made it sound like they were just going door-to-door until they found someone underage who was drinking. But no matter what anyone says, you will always feel like you were picked on. I understand that. I just think you're wrong.

[Al_4_State]

So it's NOT like they didn't have probable cause to go to your place. They did. From your original post, you made it sound like they were just going door-to-door until they found someone underage who was drinking. But no matter what anyone says, you will always feel like you were picked on. I understand that. I just think you're wrong.

I don't feel like I was being picked on. You're missing the larger point, and that's fine. I did my community service and moved on. All this started because I agreed with another poster who said that most of the underage drinking tickets in our home town were a result of police boredom. They could have taken some drunk drivers off the road, but they let them go to collect 30 MIPs. I think reasonable minds can differ on the wisdom of that decision.

I still agree with that sentiment. You disagree. That's fine. I'm not justifying my actions.

[CyLoboClone]

to the poster saying a crime is a crime is a crime- I am sure black people not being allowed rights would argue being lumped into that simple statement. That's why we have scofflaws. I daubt I will ever pay luther college their parking tickets, and they can suck it.