Information Inquiry [Weazel News]

[Nathaniel Ford]

1. CONTACT INFORMATION

• Full Name: Nathaniel Ford
  Phone Number: 489-1818
  E-Mail Address: [email protected]
  Position in Agency: Junior Journalist

2. REQUEST INFORMATION

• Detailed information of your request:
  • To whom this may concern,
    
    While scrolling the government website, it has come to my attention that LSPD Officers have reported their firearms as stolen recently.
    
    Please view Police Lieutenant II Jonathan Willowick’s Stolen Firearm report as well as Police Commander Elizabeth Sanchez’s Stolen Firearm report
    
    The citizens of Los Santos have the option to obtain a firearms permit through the LSPD’s own Firearms Licensing Division, in order to do so they have to fill out an application to prove they can handle and safely store a firearm. There is one question in particular I would like to point out, “B2. How do you plan on storing your personal firearm(s) when they are not on your person?” This is a question that about 50% of people get wrong on the first try. Mostly because they give the answer “In my car’s glovebox/trunk” since some people don’t have a house or apartment. They then get met with a response along the lines of “B2. Please read Beginner Guide to Owning a Firearm and amend accordingly.” It is obviously shown that a Police Lieutenant II (Supervisor) and a Police Commander (Command) did not follow these regulations. Is there a reason why they are allowed to store their personal firearms in their personal vehicles while on duty especially in a public accessible parking lot? Considering (to my knowledge) Police Lieutenant II is one of the highest ranks a supervisor can reach if not the highest and a Police Commander which is one rank down from a Staff Officer committed a careless action by leaving their firearm in their personal vehicle. Is there any disciplinary actions happening as now there are 2 firearms in the hands of a alleged criminal that could be used in harmful ways to the citizens of San Andreas.
    
    Any and all comments on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I am also more than happy to schedule a meeting and talk in person!

[Dezzy Bala]

Los Santos Police Department "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE"

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• Re: Information Inquiry [Weazel News]
  
  Dear Mr. Ford,
  
  Thank you for your inquiry into the stolen firearms of Commander Elizabeth Sanchez and Lieutenant Jonathan Willowick. I'd first like to assure you and the general public that employees of the Los Santos Police Department take their firearm security extremely seriously, both while on-duty and off it as well.
  
  The Mission Row Police Department building is in addition to being architecturally magnificent and well-designed, one, if not the most, secure buildings in the State and to not to put too finer a point on it, filled with heavily armed Police Officers. Simply put, these personal firearms were located inside a locked vehicle which was also inside a Police Parking Lot.
  
  As the foremost authority on Firearm Licensing in the State, I am satisfied not just in my capacity as a superior officer of theirs but as that authority that there were stored in a manner that is within regulation. There were no less safe in that moment than they would be if stored in a residence, for example. If the vehicle was parked on a side street elsewhere, I could take your point but this department does not deal in theories or abstracts, but in the absolute fact.
  
  Unfortunately, you cannot legislate for criminals of obviously low-intelligence who have a desire to see the inside of police cell, breaking into secure locations to commit crimes such as these. You can rest assured that our employees will be reminded on the importance of firearm security but given their occupation, they have my full trust and support when it comes to deciding for themselves whether or not their property is secure.
  

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  Respectfully,
  
  Deputy Chief Dezzy Bala
  Bureau Commanding Officer, Administrative Services Bureau
  Los Santos Police Department

[Nathaniel Ford]

Weazel Entertainment News Network Information Inquiry "Reporting The Right News - EST. 2005"

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• Thank you so much for the response Deputy Chief Bala,
  
  I do have some more questions if you do not mind answering them.
  
  Recently another officers firearm was reported stolen, by the name of Detective I Dale Ashcroft. Please find the report here: SEE ATTACHMENT Seeing another officer especially a detective getting their firearm stolen raises more concerns. Please see below:
  • How many officers firearms were stolen in this mass rave of lock picking?
  • Is the Detective Bureau actively looking for the criminals and should the public be worried about leaving their vehicles in the public?
  • You mentioned in your statement “The Mission Row Police Department building is in addition to being architecturally magnificent and well-designed, one, if not the most, secure buildings in the State and to not to put too finer a point on it, filled with heavily armed Police Officers.” While most of this I can believe to be true one statement from this caught my eye. “filled with heavily armed Police Officers“ From personal experience I have needed to talk with officers at Mission Row and needless to say me and members of the public find it difficult to find any officers in mission row. Citizens have had to as far and use government hotlines such as 911 to attempt to get an officer to Mission Row. Still most of the time it is unsuccessful. So Deputy Chief is this really a true statement?
  • We’re all of the break-ins all at once or over a period of time?
  • How come no officers noticed that at least at least3 cars were getting broken into, inside the parking lot?

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• Again Thank you so much,
  
  Nathaniel Ford - Junior Journalist
  Weazel News

[Dezzy Bala]

Los Santos Police Department "TO PROTECT AND TO SERVE"

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• Re: Information Inquiry [Weazel News]
  
  Dear Mr. Ford,
  
  I'll go another round, if for no other reason, than to ensure there isn't any spread of misinformation regarding this matter as is sometimes customary when dealing with Weazel News.
  
  First and foremost, there is no mass rave, these are what we in the business consider to be statistical aberrations and not indicative of any particular pattern of criminality. As of writing this, I can only say with certainty that three instances have occurred, of which, two have already been brought up in your first inquiry. I say with certainty, because the officers have reported the weapons stolen. While in theory, it could be more, but that would only be speculative and we deal in the facts.
  
  The Detective Bureau and particularly the Major Crimes Division are always actively taking an interest in these kinds of matters but in a city as large as ours, the simple reality is that there is a lot of crime to tackle. While we'd like to prevent crime from happening, we are a responsive department.
  
  I would not go so far as to tell the public they should be worried but they should of course, be vigilant, especially at night as to where they choose to park their vehicles. A lot of the crime that happens, as you've seen with the thefts from vehicles at Mission Row, is opportunistic so without giving these criminals the opportunity, it's a lot less likely to happen. Parking in public areas is an excellent deterrent. Ensuring your vehicles are locked and the engine is switched off, makes it more difficult for an auto theft to take place.
  
  With regards to the availability of staff to the front desk, the simple fact is that our Officers are not paid to do nothing. If they are available for calls, they're out in the city. Not just dealing with 911 calls but attending the impound or in a number of cases, covering for the Medical Department when it comes to helping injured civilians. That said, there are a number of officers, at any one time that are inside Mission Row doing paper-work. Whether that's duty reports or arrest reports or anything of that nature. There are always individuals at Mission Row, they just aren't always available to come to the front desk. That said, if people want to start trying to break into vehicles at Mission Row, it's a different priority than answering the front desk.
  
  The vehicle break-ins have taken place over the last week and the simple fact is, regardless of any and all measures that we take aside from not using a parking lot for parking our vehicles, there will always be crime. I don't consider three incidents within a week to be excessive.
  
  I'd like to also state that we will be putting out an internal notice regarding our vehicles at Mission Row this weekend, to lower the opportunity for any further thefts of this nature to occur.
  
  Hopefully, that is everything you need.
  

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  Respectfully,
  
  Deputy Chief Dezzy Bala
  Bureau Commanding Officer, Administrative Services Bureau
  Los Santos Police Department

[Rija Luigi]

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