Where's the Police?

You know where the police are? Not Lincoln Park:

• The owner and founder of a luxury consignment shop in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood had a pointed question after thousands of dollars worth of handbags were swiped from the store Wednesday: "Where is our police protection?"
  
  Corri McFadden was visibly frustrated in recounting how repeated calls to 911 went unanswered after three men -- two of them dressed as women -- ran off with bags from Louis Vuitton, Celine and Givenchy from the eDrop-Off store on the 2100 block of Halsted Street.
  
  "This is a problem," she said.

It's been a problem ma'am. For years now. We've been pointing it out for a long time. 9-1-1 is notoriously understaffed, given their overtime budget-busters year after year. And as for the "Where is our police protection?" question, people in the affluent neighborhoods have been wondering that for a long time. You just haven't been paying attention.

• Security cameras recorded the latest incident. Receptionist Mary Kate Farley said she felt uneasy immediately after she buzzed the three men through the locked entry.
  
  "You get a gut feeling the second that happened," she said.

Yeah, just ignore that intuition and sixth-sense. It's racist!

• The thieves got away, and while there was a noticeable police presence in the area after the incident, McFadden and her staff all claim the response was severely delayed. Further, she said what one officer told her will stick in her mind as long as the crime itself.
  
  "One officer looked me in the eye and said, 'You need to get your conceal and carry,'" she recalled.

That's just bad advice there and whoever gave it ought to take some remedial Academy time. You're going to get this store owner in trouble.

But this last line is a sad commentary on what policing has become:

• A Chicago police official said the response was based on three facts: it was a retail theft, there were no weapons, and no one was injured.

We'll bet money that when the call came in, it was a robbery-in-progress, because the store owners aren't usually hung up on legal terminology. That should have gotten a decent response. The lack of weapons wasn't verified until later and the owner chased them for a few blocks, which also should have generated a heavy response, too.

But if, as we suspect, there just weren't any officers to send, it being afternoon and either (A) shift time and/or (B) school dismissal time, then guess what? The police aren't coming anytime near soon enough and you better think about investing in a man-trap door, on-scene security, chaining the merchandise down or voting for someone who isn't slashing the police numbers in your neighborhood.