[emptyfile]

>hey’d see kids after dark at the school and just assume we were up to no good.

That sounds totally crazy to me, did these people get into any trouble or fined for just calling the police like that? I assume you're american, in my eastern european country they would NOT be happy about getting called 5 times for this...

[creer]

It's not entirely impossible to get fined or arrested for calling the police in the US but you have to go extremely far out of bounds. Calling the police because there are kids near the school (hehe) is completely acceptable.

If anything it's the opposite: if you do anything slightly out of the usual - all the way to walking through a neighborhood that doesn't know you - there is a good chance someone will call the police. And that some patrol car will check it out just for breaking the dullness of the day.

Some of the cops who respond (because they might ALL head there, if it sounds fun enough), some will be smiling and relaxed and civil, while others will be very much looking for trouble and aggressive from the start. Such that for example, using plastic pistols in dark or day in public is a serious bad idea in the US.

[__MatrixMan__]

Can confirm. As a high schooler, I used to meet up with friends in the middle of the night at an elementary school playground. Mostly we would just swing on the swings and chat. Occasionally we'd share a 6-pack of beer, shame on us.

One night, somebody called the cops, who called school district security. When they drove up we left without saying hi because we get it, we're not wanted here.

Well they called the cops back, who chased us down (we ran, 'cause we were stupid). I was apprehended and from the back of the cop car I counted six other cop cars and a helicopter all looking for my friends for the crime of being near a school at night (the cops never mentioned the beer).

[creer]

Some cop noticed the beer, most likely - and they were one of the good guys.

Another one might have taken this opportunity to start an in-depth "investigation" (read "bullying spree") to figure out who sold the beer and who bought it and passed it on (if anyone in that bunch might plausibly have been underage.)

[__MatrixMan__]

Seems likely. It's still weird to me that it was worth all of that taxpayer money to keep the helicopter in the sky while they searched for my friends (most of whom took to the storm sewer and were not caught).

[freeopinion]

Our community has to stage mock events to give these folks some practice. We burn funds every once in a while on purpose to maintain readiness as we suppose. If you plan ahead, you can include hotdogs and soda in the budget.

[Atotalnoob]

Large cities usually have helicopters in the sky 24/7. It’s better (meaning get overhead faster) than trying to scramble when actually needed.

The helicopter will go and respond to random calls if it’s not needed for anything in particular.

Not defending the practice, just explaining why a helicopter might respond to something that’s overkill

[ricardobeat]

Don’t helicopters cost insane hourly amounts to operate?

[TigeriusKirk]

I'm not sure even Los Angeles keeps them up 24/7. Most cities either schedule them for evenings or do as-needed.

[__MatrixMan__]

Yeah that makes sense. We weren't large enough to justify it though. They cancelled the program a few years later (2010ish). I haven't seen a police helicopter over this town since.

[creer]

Once when it happened to me and the whole gang responded, the "lead responder" was clear that he considered that this was a bullshit call and that WE totally had the right to do what we were doing and HE was sorting out a nuisance call to the police. He may also have been playing "good cop" - it's not like I was trusting him. While one of his buddies had parting words for me: "Do you realize what it looked like <insert saucer eyes>?" and "It could have been XXXXX, so of course police has to respond."

About a helicopter, the problem is compounded because that whole outfit needs some quota of flying hours to remain certified. It might be a boring area, and any opportunity to take it out and fly then counts as training, if nothing else can be written up for that flight. That there is a helicopter guarantees that it will be used. And same for SWAT and such.

[bongodongobob]

They need to justify having it in the first place, that's why it'll get dispatched for less than needed situations. Use it or lose it.

[Noumenon72]

I bought alcohol for some underage people who asked one time, not perceiving it as a risk because who could tell why I was buying it or watch me give it away? Not until today did I understand what could have happened.

[doctorhandshake]

I like to say that in suburban USA, it’s illegal to be underage in public after dark. Cops will harass you for no reason, detain you for no crime, question you with no motive other than to try to peg you with a crime, on the assumption that you don’t know your rights and won’t assert them. If you try to assert your rights they will work harder to try to put a crime on you. And then we wonder why our kids get addicted to screens and don’t leave the house. It’s insanely fucked up and it stems from bored cops fucking with kids because they have nothing better to do.

[yard2010]

It's funny, where I come from cops behave exactly like you describe towards anyone. Not just children, grown up adults too.

[whimsicalism]

in the urban city i grew up in, it was quite literally illegal to be in public after 11pm

[doctorhandshake]

Wow where was that?

[whimsicalism]

dc - curfew for all kids past 11pm

[Hayvok]

American, yes.

Can’t speak for the whole country, but in the Midwest, rural community I grew up in, people had a “better safe than sorry” attitude, and would call police on mere suspicion that you were up to no good or that something was amiss.

Even told them afterward how wrong they were, they’d probably shrug and say it was still good for the police to check.

[whimsicalism]

oh definitely american.

i’ve had the cops called on me frequently for stuff like breaking into my own house?? they’re also really on edge, i’ve had them shout at me to take my hands out of my pockets which… fair i guess?

not to stereotype, but America just has lots of SAHM busybody types

[paulddraper]

To clarify, you would prefer the cops not be called if someone is breaking into your house?

[rvba]

It sounds that the neighboirs doing those calls, did it to cause problems for the poster above, not to be helpful (basically harassment via fake calls to the police).

I bet they would NOT call the cops if real thieves showed up.

Some people try very hard to be assholes.

[whimsicalism]

i think i would prefer if people had a little more evidence. i wasn't even entering my house, let alone breaking in, just outside with a flashlight

[psychlops]

The more calls the police get, the more money they are able to justify by pointing to the amount of calls received.

And, I think, generally it would be a much more enjoyable call to go talk to some parents about a few kids, than to respond to more demanding complaints.

[pineaux]

Yeah. I cringe that this mentality is also exported from the US to other countries. I firmly believe that breaking a leg, getting lost in the woods for an hour, being able to play somewhere without any adult supervision, really made me a stronger, more capable, stress-resistant adult.