So, let’s say your house was broken into almost two years ago, in the middle of the afternoon. A lot of stuff was taken, including some sentimental items that could never be replaced. The thief left behind a small amount of DNA, via a blood drop on the curtain that your eagle eye spotted thanks to years of watching forensic crime dramas, and the crime lab said they’d check it out.
Fast-forward five months. The DNA comes back with a match, and the police tell you they have a warrant out for the guy. When you ask for details, they tell you that he used to live nearby, but is no longer at that address. You ask if he lived in the neighborhood, but they refuse to give details, only saying he lived in the area.
The thief is caught, processed, and then because of an overcrowded prison system, given only probation for his crime, despite the fact that this would not be his first time in prison. You feel a little upset that this guy is out in public, but try to reassure yourself by saying that he probably lives nowhere close to you.
Now let’s say that in doing some internet surfing of court records last night, you come upon this guy’s record. (Not only has he robbed you, but since turning 18 has also been arrested three other times for forgery, driving without a license, and another robbery with criminal endangering.) And you find out that he didn’t just live nearby, he lived ACROSS THE STREET. As in, almost directly across the street. And that the residents of the home across the street are his family.
Knowing this new tidbit of information, do you feel that the police should have shared that the criminal lived in spitting distance of your house? Or that while he no longer lived there, his family was still living there, and now knew that you were the ones who helped get their little boy thrown in jail?
To say I’m a little shocked to find out the guy who upended our lives lived right across from us would be an understatement. I don’t understand why we weren’t allowed to know where he lived, and that his family were still living there. Shouldn’t we be told that our every move is still being watched by people close to the perpetrator?
I can now see why those neighbors have never talked to us, and why they still give us unfriendly – bordering on dirty – glares each time we drive past.
We never received a mug shot, so we still don’t know what he looks like. It’s possible that he’s still coming by to visit with his family across the street – lots of 20-something men and women come by that house all the time – and if so, he’s violating his probation order to stay at least 1000 feet away from us. But since we don’t know what he looks like, we can’t tell if any of the young men glancing across the street at us might be him. Creepy, eh?
It sucks when you don’t even feel safe in your own home.
Wow. Just, wow. I can’t even believe that. I’m racking my brain trying to come up with a reason they wouldn’t tell you–privacy, I guess, but that seems so wrong. He was convicted! It’s not as if it was just an allegation. at very least they should provide you with a mugshut. I’m so sorry. I would be livid.
Oh, I am so sorry you have to deal with that. Like piece of work said, that just seems so wrong!
That stinks – what kind of rules keeps HIS identity secret? That is just insane.
And in this market it’s not like you can just pick up and move whenever you want.
Sorry this is something you have to deal with – in your own home!
That would be so frustrating! You have had the worst luck with neighbors.
wow…
Can you get a restraining order for your family’s protection?. The police failed to tell you all there was about the perp and how near he really was to you.
I really don’t know legal stuff but wouldn’t He visiting his family imply danger to you?
Maybe I’m just paranoid (after living through having my parent’s house burglarized and lost every single one of our family’s heirlooms.
Take care, seek legal advice
Finding out that information like that had been deliberately withheld from me would make me feel unsafe in my own home. What laws are protecting this guy (was he a minor at the time of the crime?) rather than you, the victim? I’d be honestly curious to know what the rationale is there. I’d also be sorely tempted to start writing a lot of letters to state legislators urging them to write some legislation that would address situations like yours.
Can you move? I swear, I would move.
Argh. That makes me feel sick on your behalf. Almost makes me wonder if some of the things that happened to you were done by *him* rather than “just” the people who used to live next door.
I know you can’t just move. But OH MAN if I could, I would move!
dude, i think that calls for a letter to the dispatch or something. that’s infuriating.
I am hugging you. That stinks SO Much. So sorry… yuck.
I don’t think the police are under any obligation to tell you any details of the person who robbed you. (my husband is a cop, I’ll ask him later what they usually do)….did you not go to the trial for this person? You could have seen what he looked like at the trial….Our car was stolen from my work parking lot last year and the thieves were caught right away. Caught driving the car. Assholes. Anyway, the only reason we found out that they each had an extensive criminal background was because my hubs was a cop and had access to all that information. The police never told us any of that, and I wouldn’t have expected them to. they caught the thieves, thats their part of the job. We attended each of their hearings to make sure this case didn’t fall between the cracks and that they didn’t get away with a slap on the wrist. We also have a Victims Assistance Program out of the DA’s office that works with crime victims to explain everything to you and I assume they would have provided us with any information we needed if we had utilized them. Check with your local DA’s office and see if they offer such a service.
Good luck. I would feel so skeevy knowing that your perp’s family lived across the street too.
That’s awful. Seems like you have a legitimate complaint in that he may be violating his parole if the end of your driveway is less than 1000 feet away from the end of their driveway. You oughta at least know what he looks like. Could you call your local precinct?
That is ridiculous! I don’t even have any advice, but I agree that I would be pissed off. Good luck with everything!
Our wonderful justice system at work. If it was really designed to protect us, they would have told you. I can’t imagine how scary and freaky that must have been when you realized that.
Wow. That’s horrible. I am shocked.
Honestly, the victim needs to be protected more than the perp. Ya know?
I don’t blame you at all.
I hope they move. Soon. Do you have his name? Maybe you could look up his high school year book picture at the local high school>
Creepy is the understatment of the year.
Yikes.
Let me get this straight. Your neighbor’s son broke into YOUR home and THEY are giving YOU dirty looks????
Wow.
They were protecting themselves.
I’d feel the same way as you, but this is one of those intersections I keep harping on at my blog and everywhere this week LOL.
Conflicting needs.
If you went vigilante (I know, I know but it happens) and harmed that man or his family because of information they gave you, it could be Very Bad News for the police.
They may not understand it all completely and just decided to play it safe.
If the criminal is not a minor, it should all be public records. The DA’s office ought to have forms you can file to request information and they should have sent you there.
Because you have a side that’s a risk to them, too.
How awful. So sorry.
I would go over there and give those neighbors a piece of my mind.
Yes I would.
Those might not be dirty looks. They might be looks of shame, or looks of fear (that you will sue them). Or they might be real dirty looks, because your neighbors are selfish jerks. You’ll never know, though, until you go and talk to them.
To Lisa, the wife of the cop: I had my purse stolen once (off of my person) and I did go to the trial of the perp, despite the system’s best efforts to keep me away by not informing me when the trial was (I had to track the info down myself by repeatedly calling the court). And then when I arrived it turned out the prosecutor had failed to call either of the two witnesses, or the other victim, to show up, either. So he allowed the defense to move for an extension. And then the kid skipped bail, and disappeared, and the court never contacted me again, and stopped returning my calls inquiring about the case.
I understand the cops and the courts have scarier crimes to worry about than theft. But what THEY don’t seem to understand is that today’s purse snatcher who gets away might be next year’s bank robber who shoots a teller. They need to take these crimes more seriously, and give the victims access to information to protect themselves when necessary. I would say that a thief living across the street from his victim would be a case where the victim would have a right to know the thief’s address, liability for vigilantism be damned.