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Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

specklebang

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The Associated Press: Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

Twice in my life, I've found wallets containing cash. I took them to my office and called the owner in one case (his business cards) and in the other case I called Casino security and they located the guy. Seemsd that in NY I'd be wearing handcuffs for my good deeds. This is just sick police state crap. Has New York abandoned the Constitution completely? Why isn't the FBI investigating these criminal-cops.

I'm disgusted.
 
The Associated Press: Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

Twice in my life, I've found wallets containing cash. I took them to my office and called the owner in one case (his business cards) and in the other case I called Casino security and they located the guy. Seemsd that in NY I'd be wearing handcuffs for my good deeds. This is just sick police state crap. Has New York abandoned the Constitution completely? Why isn't the FBI investigating these criminal-cops.

I'm disgusted.
I think the only bait programs they should use are the bait cars and trucks. Finding a stray wallet is not even in the same ball park as stealing a car or attempting to break into a truck to steal goods.
 
I agree. If you break into a vehicle, you are a thief. They have taken entrapment to a whole new level.



I think the only bait programs they should use are the bait cars and trucks. Finding a stray wallet is not even in the same ball park as stealing a car or attempting to break into a truck to steal goods.
 
I've found several wallets / credit cards. I usually pick them up and take them to the police station or to the nearest store. I do this so that some asshole thief doesn't use the card.
 
The Associated Press: Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

Twice in my life, I've found wallets containing cash. I took them to my office and called the owner in one case (his business cards) and in the other case I called Casino security and they located the guy. Seemsd that in NY I'd be wearing handcuffs for my good deeds. This is just sick police state crap. Has New York abandoned the Constitution completely? Why isn't the FBI investigating these criminal-cops.

I'm disgusted.

If you see a Big Gulp on a NYC street corner, turn the other way and run - that's a capital case waiting to happen.
 
NYC is a world of its own. I don't know why people love to live there but they do.


If you see a Big Gulp on a NYC street corner, turn the other way and run - that's a capital case waiting to happen.
 
The Associated Press: Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

Twice in my life, I've found wallets containing cash. I took them to my office and called the owner in one case (his business cards) and in the other case I called Casino security and they located the guy. Seemsd that in NY I'd be wearing handcuffs for my good deeds. This is just sick police state crap. Has New York abandoned the Constitution completely? Why isn't the FBI investigating these criminal-cops.

I'm disgusted.

In the age of cellphones, there's no excuse for getting handcuffed doing a good deed. Call it in when you find it. Then you're covered.:cool:
 
I don't carry a cell phone. If I did, who would I call? 911? The owner of the wallet? How long do I have before I'm arrested for picking it up?


In the age of cellphones, there's no excuse for getting handcuffed doing a good deed. Call it in when you find it. Then you're covered.:cool:
 
The Associated Press: Take the bait? NYPD anti-theft tactics criticized

Twice in my life, I've found wallets containing cash. I took them to my office and called the owner in one case (his business cards) and in the other case I called Casino security and they located the guy. Seemsd that in NY I'd be wearing handcuffs for my good deeds. This is just sick police state crap. Has New York abandoned the Constitution completely? Why isn't the FBI investigating these criminal-cops.

I'm disgusted.

I am, too. Is it really theft if one finds a lost wallet with money and keeps the money? I think they have too many LEOs in NY City. I find it offensive.
 
You do know 911 is for emergencies? Do you think this is an emergency? Wouldn't the more natural thing to do would be look inside for ID so you could call the person who lost it? Or go to find a cop to hand it over to?


Lack of a cellphone makes you unusual. Yes, call 911.:roll:
 
You have no right to keep the money. That is theft. You do have an obligation to be a decent person and you might get a reward if the amount is substantial. Mostly, you just feel good about yourself for doing the right thing.


I am, too. Is it really theft if one finds a lost wallet with money and keeps the money? I think they have too many LEOs in NY City. I find it offensive.
 
You do know 911 is for emergencies? Do you think this is an emergency? Wouldn't the more natural thing to do would be look inside for ID so you could call the person who lost it? Or go to find a cop to hand it over to?

911 operators have a well-practiced shtick whereby they redirect errant callers to the correct number. Happens all the time and they're glad to help.:cool:
 
You have no right to keep the money. That is theft. You do have an obligation to be a decent person and you might get a reward if the amount is substantial. Mostly, you just feel good about yourself for doing the right thing.

And here's one city's law addressing it:

The old saying goes "Finders keepers, losers weepers." But in California, finders can be weepers too when they face charges for not returning lost property to its rightful owner.

Penal Code 485 PC -- California's law against appropriating (or misappropriating) lost property -- prohibits you keeping property that you find when there are clues identifying its true owner.1 You are not required to go to extremes to identify and contact the owner. But the law says you must make a reasonable attempt to do so.

However, I think LEO stings are a bit over the top. :rofl
 
I am, too. Is it really theft if one finds a lost wallet with money and keeps the money? I think they have too many LEOs in NY City. I find it offensive.

It is theft to keep the money, if there is any reasonable chance of identifying the rightful owner and returning it thereto.

The big problem here, as I see it, is presuming that someone who finds a wallet or other valuable object, and doesn't hand it over to the nearest obvious police offer who just conveniently happens to be nearby in plain sight, intends to steal it. The one time I ever found a lost wallet, I went to the address on the driver's license I found therein, and left it on the doorstep of that house. I don't know if there was any money or anything else in it, I opened it and looked only to the barest degree that was necessary for me to determine where to return it. I guess if this had happened in modern-day New York City, I could have been arrested for theft, since, having been able to determine where the wallet's owner lived, it would never have even occurred to me to do anything other than take it directly there.
 
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In the age of cellphones, there's no excuse for getting handcuffed doing a good deed. Call it in when you find it. Then you're covered.:cool:
Really? You seem to be missing one important aspect of this particular case...
Myers' daughter, seeing that the driver left the car door open, went over and peered inside to see personal items that included what looked like a bundle of cash — in reality, a dollar bill wrapped around pieces of newspaper. The girl had called her mother over when another set of police officers suddenly pulled up in a van and forced them to the ground, according to Myers' account.

"Get on the floor? For what?" Myers recalled telling the officers.

The officers took them into custody, even though they never touched anything inside the car, the suit says. While entering a stationhouse in handcuffs, Myers spotted the driver of the car standing outside, smoking a cigarette. It dawned on her that he was an undercover with a starring role in the sting — a suspicion supported by the court ruling.
Considering that the mother has no criminal record whatsoever, we have no reason to not believe her.
 
Really? You seem to be missing one important aspect of this particular case...

Considering that the mother has no criminal record whatsoever, we have no reason to not believe her.

We shall see.
 
I am, too. Is it really theft if one finds a lost wallet with money and keeps the money? I think they have too many LEOs in NY City. I find it offensive.

I would say its not theft if the owner can not be identified, like the wallet had no ID or any other way of identifying the owner.If you saw someone drop or if there is ID in it or some other clues to ID the owner and you take that wallet then its theft.
 
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