Every time the economy tanks, police departments warn people to be on guard against the inevitable uptick in crime. The logic is simple: the more desperate people get for work and money, the more they turn to lives of crime to bring in some extra cash. Fly got a firsthand view of the phenomenon last Wednesday when we found ourselves right in the middle of a bust. The day started with a bad omen—we woke up to voices outside a Campbell apartment and soon learned that a neighbor’s car had been broken into, pushed around the block and stripped of its valuables. Later that day, a group of strangers gathered outside for an apparent cigarette break in a small common area that is usually empty. Primed for suspicious activity, Fly crept from window to window to get a better look, and saw a huddle of peeps rifling through a purse, pulling out and inspecting item after item and laughing about a large bag full of prescription medications inside. A fake trip to the mailbox yielded an even closer look, but also prompted the foursome to ditch the purse and drugs in a trash bin and walk away—immediately after which a Campbell police cruiser pulled up. Witnesses streamed out of the surrounding apartments shouting out helpful tips, and the suspects were quickly apprehended. A debriefing after the fact revealed that the purse was stolen from an elderly woman at a supermarket almost a mile away. Turns out it was the second purse-snatching of the day in Campbell. The whole experience convinced Fly that an ad hoc neighborhood watch—a simple exchange of phone numbers among neighbors—is not only an adorable idea, but a useful one.
San Jose Inside
San Jose Inside (https://www.sanjoseinside.com)
Do my eyes deceive me, or did the Metro actually assign reporters to cover an article that actually SUPPORTS the Police? WOW! Oh wait a minute; they are congratulating the citizens who helped the Police, not the Police. Oh well. I guess I got excited for nothing.
Is there any reason you didn’t tell us the ages or race of the purse-snatchers, or doesn’t that matter since the crime occurred in Campbell and not San Jose?
Kathleen, get over it please. Your instigation is childish. Stick to your good point blogs you post.
#2-Concerned Downtowner,
I find it odd that you don’t see the truth in the obvious. The Metro and the Merc have a double standard in how they report things. If this happened in DT San Jose the Merc and the Metro would put the age and race of the purse-snatchers, but because it happened in Campbell, they haven’t. Aren’t you the least bit curious about why that is? I know I am.
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#3: Actually, if these 4 bozos snatched a purse in DTSJ the following would likely happen:
1. The Merc, or what’s left of it, would do a series of articles questioning the arrests. It would declare that since 1 of the kids looked kinda Hispanic there is an obvious pattern of racism.
2. The City would appoint a commission to investigate, with strict instructions to report back in 6 months after everyone’s forgotten about the incident.
3. The Police Chief would go on the radio strongly defending his officer’s actions but also saying he finds the allegations “troubling,” thus deftly pissing off both the public and his rank and file. (While this plays out the SJPOA will argue that the purse snatching means officers need better retirement benefits. The arbitrator will agree.)
4. Here on SJI Raj would declare that the old lady whose purse was stolen is a white supremacist and part of a larger Cop/Old Lady conspiracy. In response Finfan would post a thoughtful essay that you know in your guts is total B.S. but, damnit, you can’t shake the guy. Kathleen will defend the cops, someone will immediately call her a racist. (Oops, sorry…that already happened!)
5. Copwatch would post a camera downtown. Unfortunately, the Copwatch camera gets swiped by a crook (age and race undetermined, this ain’t the Merc) while the Copwatch guy runs into Starbucks for a Chai Latte.
6. The Independent Police Auditor, having talked it over with the ACLU, would issue a scathing report. She will eventually be fired, or as they say at City Hall: “not re-hired.”
7. Sam Liccardo will smile a lot.
8. Nora Campos, smelling blood, would say the downtown purse snatching means the entire city budget must be spent for recreational programs over in her D-5 “so our hoodlums won’t want to go downtown any more.” Oddly enough, this idea gains traction.
9. Despite 4 signed confessions and 26 witnesses, the DA would decide there’s insufficient evidence to prosecute the purse snatchers. She issues a statement saying: “It’s been so long since we prosecuted any bad guys we forgot where the damn Court House is.”
10. The old lady’s money would never be recovered. Like everything else it gets mysteriously sucked into the BART budget. The old lady will not live to see BART in San Jose. Then again, will any of us?
Just because I am questioning why the Metro and the Merc isn’t mentioning the ages, or race of perpetrators in Campbell doesn’t make me a racist. It makes the writers in the Metro, and the Merc suspect and bias because they only feel the need to harass the San Jose Police Department, not other Police Departments in other cities for doing the exact same thing. You guys should really lay off the Egg Nog!
The admirable and courageous thing about Kathleen is that she has the guts to put her name to her words.
#6-MC,
At least SOMEONE gets the point of my posts. Your post is hilarious! I love it! Thanks for the belly laugh!
Agree with Kathleen on this one. “Just give me the facts, man.” There’s nothing racist about that.
#11-Fair Player, (I think you need to chose a more integrity ridden name if you’re going to be such a hypocrite.)
The Metro you say has an “ideosyncratic staff.” Okay thanks. That explains the lack of fact in their articles, helps us all understand the bias we always see in there, and certainly helps explains why they allow and sell illegal porno ads in the back.
You said “The posts on San Jose Inside should stick to the discussed subjects; discrediting the messenger to diminish the message makes for a weak argument.”
Isn’t that a bit like the pot calling the kettle black? Or are we readers just supposed to follow you reporters and your stories blindly and never question “your stats, your facts, your reason for bias reporting, or your reason for omitting the entire truth from your articles?” Sorry but this is a free country where freethinking is encouraged. If you don’t like it move to China were you cannot report anything unless you get it approved by government first, and if you as a citizen question it, you or your family can be harmed.
Kathleen is at her best when she attacks stereotyping. She is at her worst when she stereotypes and tars everyone with the same brush. The Merc is a big corp out of Denver, the Metro a locally-owned publication with an ideosyncratic staff. Media bashing for the sake of media bashing gets tired. The posts on San Jose Inside should stick to the discussed subjects; discrediting the messenger to diminish the message makes for a weak argument.