Keep On Truckin'

What's a girl gotta do to get a stolen vehicle towed from her front door? That's what blogger/tech journalist Xeni Jardin was wondering after her sister watched a shady guy park a big, shiny, late-model pickup truck with a huge dent (and no plates) in front of the house they rent in Los Feliz.

Xeni writes at blogging.la that she attempted to call the police four times -- but nobody ever came. Finally, almost ten days later, a parking enforcement officer shows up, runs the vehicle identification number and confirms what Xeni and sis had pretty much figured out more than a week prior: The truck was stolen.

Then... nothing. Xeni writes: "Don't expect LAPD to show up and tow right away, because there aren't enough cops in LA to make nonviolent crimes like this a priority," he tells me. "If the police aren't here by, say, Tuesday, I'd suggest you call again."

So we have a stolen truck sitting in the street for almost two weeks, and a witness who saw the suspect park it, and even after the crime has been identified, we should anticipate another 48 hour delay before LAPD responds? What if the thief decides to come back to our house, say, late tonight when nobody's looking, and drive the truck away? The owner never gets their truck back, and there will no longer be any chance of nailing the thief.

The fact that stolen property has been sitting in front of *my* property for this long -- and the fact that the thief knows it's a safe place for him to dump his shit -- man, that gives me a nice warm fuzzy safe feeling.

Xeni's friend then suggested that she call the local precinct and talk to an officer responsible for her neighborhood. She did, and a few hours later the truck was finally towed away.

Moral of the story: Apparently, to go ahead an steal a truck... just park it in front of a vacant lot.