LPD Should Do A Porch Pirate Sting Operation

The lowest form of petty crime might just be your average, everyday porch pirate. The people that stroll through neighborhoods and take packages off of porches. It's the kind of person Dante had in mind when he wrote his epic on the seventh layer of hell. Why people keep having things delivered to their homes I'll never understand... Have stuff shipped to your work, or to a friends place of business, get a POBox at the post office or a UPS Store. That way, when you go to get your package, it'll be there.

That being said, there seems to be a perfect opportunity for Lawton's finest to do a little fun work... Every cop movie ever describes a stakeout as fun. Sting operations are what they live for. Sure, traffic enforcement is cool and all, but nobody complains about getting to work in record time. People complain about getting robbed, granted, they shouldn't just assume their porch is a safe place for boxes. It's like any old game show... nobody picks door number one, there could be anything in that box and they're going to take it. What's worse, odds are they'll discover whatever lame trinket your bought and just toss it later.

"But we can't afford to just pay cops to sit there and wait..." might have been the old adage for why there are so few officers on the clock at any given time, but with that renewed CIP money, the city is flush with cash and ready to do projects. I'm sure they'll make good on the same road promises every politician has made in the past........ but porch pirates are a thing we can nail now. They might not catch them immediately, and it won't put a stop to it altogether, but once the word gets out, the popularity of this easy crime might just take a dive. The whole reason people do this is because they know they won't get caught.

If 52nd Street is any indicator, then redoing Lee Blvd will be a twenty-ish year project. We can live with that roller-coaster for another year and move that money to our boys in blue for a little meaningful fun. It's time to release the hounds.