It was 7:04 p.m. as I was walking home, and I saw a FBPD squad car pull out of the London Square Apartments parking lot. But what was curious was that the same car circled back around and went back into the parking lot through the complex's other parking lot entrance.
Now, back in 2007, seeing police cars once or twice a day was commonplace. They used to do "courtesy patrols," and the police used to meet once a month with residents for a Crime Watch meeting. Both of those practically vanished by the end of 2012.
During this year, 2013, squad cars have been infrequent sitings, at best. And I haven't seen a posting for the Crime Watch meetings since 2012. How in the heck are you to have a "Crime Watch Area" if the cops aren't involved? Sure, regular citizens are supposed to play their part and report suspicious activity. However, what's the point when you make reports and they're ignored like nothing happened?
The real crime here is the taxpayers being robbed by the local government. They pay taxes and expect certain things to be done. In this case, a police department that actually does its freaking job and enforces local and state laws.
Sure, gas prices are high. And it's costly to send out the fleet to patrol. But come on! They don't even want to bother with writing citations. They ignore complaints. I don't think they even have a record of all the times I complained, let alone anyone else that's made calls about other misdemeanors.
Well, here's hoping they weren't trying to bust my crock pot for the odor of cabbage soup. I know it smells bad, but it's dinner. But the day they make smelly food illegal is the day they rip out all cooking appliances in the apartments and don't return them. What's smelly dinner to me may not be the same for you, and vice versa. (Goodness knows the squad car wasn't circling because the scent of donuts was in the air. Otherwise, my door would have been gaping wide, torn off the hinges, and the car would have been parked with hungry "reinforcements" joining it. "All units, all units. Donuts found. Bring coffee. Repeat, bring coffee.")
