Getting Help

It seems in the town where I live that you have a better chance of getting help from the police with a crime if you've been shot than if you're being stalked or if your car's been stolen. That is good new for the victims of potentially fatal gunshot wounds. You are at the top of the police department's priority list of citizens to help.

I understand the urgency of violent crime. But I also believe that just as a sin is a sin is a sin, a crime is a crime is a crime. Victims of crime are still victims whether they've been physically injured or mentally and emotionally tortured.

Getting a case number assigned to my harassment or stalking case was nearly impossible initially. Unless I could prove a physical threat to my life, the police really didn't want to be bothered with it. So, as I have often had to do, I sent my father to handle it. Once he was in the room, the officer was a little more cooperative. Who knew that filing a police report would be like buying a car and that being a single woman would put me at a disadvantage? If a single woman has a man calling her in the middle of the night 10-12 times a week, I think it should be assumed that she is in physical danger.

So now, my case has been on the books for three weeks and an investigator has yet to call me. I followed up with the police the other day and was told that they had "higher priorities such as gunshots" on their to-do list and that they'll get to my case "when [they] get to it." REALLY? So, I did what any angry single woman would do... I called my dad and had my dad handle it. And guess what? Four hours later, a detective called.

I thought there were new stalking laws in the state of Missouri that classify this crime as SERIOUS. Maybe I'm wrong. But in this case, I think the assumption should be a threat of physical harm until proven otherwise. And I think the police should be more willing to help. It might not seem serious to them but I thought their job was to PROTECT & SERVE.