Skip to main content

Person calls City Police to beef about shopper's expired inspection sticker

By Billie Owens

City police are in the parking lot by JCPenney, tasked with locating a 2008 black vehicle out of compliance with the law. "Our caller feels the need to inform us that (it) has an expired inspection sticker," says the dispatcher.

Jeff Allen

Proper police response..."please wait there until we arrive" then do a thorough inspection of the callers car for any potential deficiencies. All in the name of public safety of course.

Oct 11, 2013, 12:01pm Permalink
Ed Hartgrove

"Devil's advocate". What a nasty job! But, sometimes, it's needed.

Personally, I would've handled this differently. If the un-inspected vehicle belonged to a friend of mine, I probably would've left them them a note tucked under their wipers. Then, it would be up to them whether they heeded the warning. On the flip side, if I didn't know the offender, I'd have probably just kept walking. Guess that makes me not very civic-minded.

Most likely, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it in the first place. Hell, with over 45 years of owning vehicles in NY, I'm guessing there were half-a-dozen times when I forgot to get my vehicle inspected ON TIME. So, I doubt I would have noticed someone else's overdue sticker.

Now, we don't know the 'callers' reason for alerting the police. They may have a grudge against the vehicle's owner. Or, they might just be a little more civic-minded than me (or, apparently, some of you). It is possible the caller reports ANY crime they witness.

So, my question (as devil's advocate, of course) would be, where do y'all draw the line?

If you see someone hauling stuff out of a neighbor's house, and you know the homeowner is not there, do you report it? I'm thinking, "Yeah, you probably would". Why? It's nothing to you, per se'. It isn't your TV & stereo being taken. No, you'd probably report it because you saw a 'possible' crime being commited. In this case, one with a 'victim' - the homeowner.

OK - possible crimes with victims are, I guess, alright to report.

How about 'victimless' crimes. Do you, or would you, report those types? Let's say that every couple nights someone tries for the land-speed record down South Main. Say it's been going on for 3 years. Do you report it? Why (or, why not)? It's been happening for 3 years, and nobody has been injured or killed - no property has been damaged. It is, by definition, a victimless crime. So, do you just let it continue, or do you report it?

Just what laws do you feel live up to your standards of being reportable? Just askin'!

As for this particular crime (un-inspected vehicle), on the face of it, it would appear to be a 'victimless crime'. Probably (again, PROBABLY) the owner just forgot to get it inspected. Been there, done that! Through the years, I've gotten a couple tickets (and paid fines) for just such a 'crime'. My bad! And, there were times when the cop would say, "Get it inspected!! And, I'll be watching for you to make sure you do!"

As I said, it would appear to be a victimless crime. But, what if the vehicle in question was right at the point where, say, a brake line was ready to malfunction? And could've been caught with an 'inspection'? It's POSSIBLE that the 'caller' save someones life. Probable? Maybe not. But, quite possible. This, we will probably never know.

Just as an aside, when I moved to Florida last year, I was amazed to learn that there is NO vehicle inspection in this state. Nope, the state leaves it up to you whether it's a 'safe' vehicle. That kinda sounds ideal - doesn't it? No yearly rigmarole to go through (I could've swore rigmarole had 2 a's in it, but, nope). But, I'm guessing that there are more than one unsafe vehicle here in Fl. It goes with the 'no inspection' territory.

And, here's a 'better' one. Florida doesn't require ANY insurance on motorcycles. No comp, no collision, no liability. Nothing. That's (part) of the reason there are so many 'cycles' here. Twelve months of riding weather (minus hurricane days), 50+mpg and no insurance costs. Almost sounds ideal, doesn't it? Well, OK, if a 'biker' runs into you or your car, you can sue THEM. But, you don't have an insurance company with 'deep pockets' to sue. So, if the 'biker' doesn't have anything, you're gonna get - wait for it - NOTHING!

Anyways, back to the original question - Where do YOU draw the line at reporting a crime? Do you pick & choose which ones YOU feel are crimes? Just askin'!!

Oct 11, 2013, 5:32pm Permalink
Bob Harker

Howard? Didn't I see your truck in the Penny's parking lot with you out looking at windshields?

Must have been a a slow scanner day and you needed something to report?

Heeheeheehee!

Oct 11, 2013, 5:45pm Permalink
Bob Price

I wonder if it's same vehicle I saw a while back that still had a RED inspection sticker on it. I bet the owner of the vehicle w/ expired sticker ticked off the person that called the police......

Oct 11, 2013, 6:57pm Permalink
Billie Owens

Well, it wasn't me Bob. Whether it's a slow scanner day or not, I must do my duty to inform our readers of the picayune and the important and I do that by listening to the scanner, something Howard only does when he's not running around. I don't have the time or inclination to be scouting about for expired inspection stickers.

Oct 11, 2013, 7:02pm Permalink
John Simmons

I must admit that I always lock my doors when I leave my cars/trucks in a parking lot somewhere because years ago, some loser peeled my NEW NYSI sticker off the inside of the windshield & I got a ticket for no inspection.. A few months later the cops found it because it had expired & the inspection station owner turned it in & told DMV what car it was on because it was a customer that he had for a few weeks & he found out his checks bounced a lot, so he turned him in! I eventually had my fine money back & the owner of the vehicle that went for an inspecton did 6 months in the county lockup.. THAT only happens once in a lifetime though, so NOW I lock everything up when I go somewhere except my doors at my house & outbuildings.. The property is protected by hidden camera's & a sensor pad buried in the 1800 foot long driveway (That starts the video rolling inside my house & calls the State Police) that is the ONLY way IN or OUT of the property unless you can float your vehicle across a 30 foot wide, 12 foot deep drainage ditch OR drive over a farmers field rock collection in the hedgerows bordering my boundary lines.. IMHO, The O'bomma faux government has turned the everyday common, run of the mill neighbor into a Nazi Germany Tattle-Tale on everyone they know & don't know!

Oct 12, 2013, 3:31am Permalink

Authentically Local