We’re All In This Together
Carole Moore
Missing Persons Contributor
Officer.com
Aren’t we?
Here’s the deal: law enforcement is insular by nature. It’s a “them and us” kind of profession. I think some of that is good. I find few in the general public understand exactly what is out there on the streets. But by reinforcing the division between LEOs and civilians, we also lose one of our most precious assets.
All of those eyes, those ears, those witnesses, those people paying attention to what’s going on around them.
How many cases have been solved because somebody NOT involved in the crime paid attention? Saw someone who looked like the composite, took down the license number because the car seemed suspicious, remembered a guy who had a jacket like that, found a key piece of evidence and called the police?
A lot. So why do we universally bristle when civilians volunteer their time to search the Internet looking for matches between missing and unidentified found persons? It’s not like law enforcement has the time or personnel to work every missing persons case the way they could be worked. But with thousands and thousands of eyes and ears out there and hours of volunteer time, it is possible to end some of the misery that families and friends undergo.
I can’t imagine not knowing what happened to my father or sister or child.
But I see an unofficial partnership that could be very useful.
More about this in my next post.
As a group Citizens can be more of a deterrent than a single patrol cruiser, if that crowd if not makde up of hooligans.
There is a growing underground of right minded citizens that support law enforcement and want to help. The problem is and always has been politics and ego.
Having dealt with local law enforcemnt on several occassions I have run into some genuinely honest and professional LE types, and I have run into the largest, most irritating egotistical ass I have ever met. The one thing that we need to realize is that LE are people. They have bad days, family problems, and are faced with a stressful life. Sometime retreating into the badeg is an escape tactic, and by training they are taught to get the upper had as quyickly as possible. This can be misconstrued as being pushy and egotistical when in reality is how they survive. The sweetest tiny little girl can pull a weapon and injure or kill in a mere second, and it can be difficult to know who is safe and who is a threat.
I think if the local LE were to approach semi LE types such as fraud departments and the NRA, concealed carry groups, there are many, they would find a huge resourece willing to assist.
It might be considered a way of expaning that neighborhood watch to a regional watch.
Criminals are like roaches, they do not like the light, and they will hide in the dark in groups, but scatter when the light is shined on them.
As an intelligence analyst, the crime patterns in my city are obvious but it is difficult to reach the right people to share the knowledge with.
I am in a missing persons volunteer network. We have over 700 members and we are searching for the missing everyday. We see the good and bad in people and wish there were more like us to help these families with a resolution or just to let them know their loved one has not been forgotten. Every receptive LE is very much appreciated. We do wish more of them were receptive to the volunteers who put many many hours in on searching either through the internet or by performing live searches with other groups.It has been proven these civilian volunteer groups can help bring the missing home We can only hope the communication line stays open with LEso we can help as this is what we have chosen to do.
Thank you, Carole, for recognizing the value of civilian volunteers who use the internet to try to solve missing persons cases. I am a volunteer with a missing persons website, and I can tell you that our members spend many, many hours examining the details of missing and unidentified persons cases, sometimes with not much information to go on. No doubt it can be distracting to law enforcement officials when, for example, they receive multiple calls or emails regarding the same case. However, cases have been and will continue to be solved by internet volunteers in partnership with law enforcement personnel who are willing to listen and look at what we have to offer. Thank you again. - Lisa Burns
What a great article. I think you are very right that there is a partnership that is extremely useful between the citizens and law enforcement.