My Second, First
I had my California State Private Investigators license for maybe a month when my dad called me. I was marketing my business and did not have any clients as of yet. I was very anxious to put my talents to work. And so one day staring at the phone. Yes, one tends to do that when starting out. Suddenly the phone rang. I answered it with the acronym “M P I” (Menzies’ Private Investigations). I was used to answering the phone that way because in the Army as a Military Police Investigator we answered our phones, “M P I” (Military Police Investigations. So the acronym would roll of my tongue like I had been saying it for years. In reality I had. MPI had a cool ring to it. In fact the acronym was also a popular Private Investigator TV program, Magnum, PI. This was of course one of my favorite TV shows. Anyway, the voice on the other end was my dad’s. Him calling me on the business line made my heart thump. Wondering what was wrong. I asked him with concern, “Hi Dad, how are you doing”? Dad told me that his check book had been stolen and a check for about $800 had been cashed, over-drafting his account. I lost my breath, my heart started to pound, anger mixed with sadness started to rise within me. My dad is a victim of a crime. What a horrible thought. The sadness that a family member was violated by some excrement of society and the extreme anger that it happened to my DAD!! I asked what happened restraining my anger and he told me that while he was at a service call in a certain community he had parked his van in a parking lot. After the service call he returned to the van and found that the vehicle had been broken into. He took inventory of the valuables that was in the van and found that the check-book had been taken. He of course called the Sheriff’s Department of that area and he made a report. Later he received notice from the bank that his account was over drawn. I asked him what the Sheriff’s Department was doing and he told me that there has not been any investigative activity. He also mentioned that the bank gave him the original check that caused the over draft. He told the bank that the check was forged. I told my dad to send me the check.
When I received the check I looked it over for anything that would lead to the identity of the perpetrator of the forgery of the check. I noticed on the back of the check a military i.d. card number. Also on the back of the check, the teller had written down that the person cashing the check was in the U.S. Navy. There were several Naval Bases in the Bay Area. With my vast knowledge of military procedures concerning personnel deployment and utilizing investigative techniques I determined where the Sailor that cashed the check was stationed. I then called the base and determined to what unit he was assigned. Now I had a dilemma. Was I going to drive to this Naval base and talk to this individual or what? Believe you me, I desperately wanted to go to the base and “interview” this individual. The problem I felt was, 1- Would I be able to get on base and 2- Will the unit give me the opportunity to interview this Sailor? 3- Was there available time for me to travel to the base? I finally decided to let the Sheriff’s Department Detectives handle the matter. That was a humongous mistake! I should have never called the Sheriff’s Detectives.
Now here is where everything gets really interesting and why I have no faith in the typical investigative standards of any law enforcement agency. The one investigator who will not allow an ego to barricade their intelligence is a rarity. I commend those who for the sake of justice will do their job no matter what. To find the truth of the matter. To Use every bit of information at their disposal to lead them to the identification and arrest of a suspect, To not just sweep things under the rug because they just want to get rid of a case they feel is not worth their time. Or too low on the crime stats to win them their next promotion or atta-boy. As a former member of the Military I have a vast knowledge of Military Procedure and wished to impart this information to the Detective so they would have a successful end to this case. I informed the “Detective” that I located the suspect. I first mentioned that on the rear of the check was written the unique military I.D. card number and that the suspect should be asked for his military I.D. to compare the numbers. Anticipating that the suspect would indicate that his military I.D. was either lost or stolen and someone else used it, I advised the “Detective” of the particulars of the military when it comes to an either lost or stolen military I.D. If the suspect indicated that his military I.D. was either lost or stolen ask for a Military Police Report concerning the lost or stolen military I.D. The military I.D. is a controlled item, meaning that the I.D. card is a sensitive item and has to be reported before a new one may be issued. The Sailor would then need to carry the Police Report on his person until the I.D. was replaced to show why the card was not in his possession or being carried. The report would be filed at the Military Police Station and in the Military Personnel Office, so if the suspect says he threw out the report, the report can still be obtained. Then the interrogation can move forward from there.
The response that I was now receiving was cold if not chilling. When a person does not want to hear what you are saying or feels that the information you are providing is a waste of their time they respond with a tone of acknowledgement that says, “Yah I heard you” but in reality what they are hearing is what you heard when the adults in a Charlie Brown show say’ “Whah Whaaah Whah Whaaah Wha Whah Whaaah Whah Whaaah Wha”. Unfortunately a lot of this type of feeling is prominent in the Law Enforcement Arena. Everybody wants the News Paper headline case. To be in print showing you caught the serial killer. To be put in a level above your peers as the greatest detective. In reality this was a minor crime as compared to others in its category. One suspect, forgery of a check, eight hundred stolen from a bank account. Not high on the priority list. I wonder how high on the list it would get if the situation happened to one of them?
A couple of days later I received a telephone call from the “Detectives” who stated that they did not feel that the suspect committed the forgery. I asked if his I.D was checked. The answer was no. They just interviewed him and he seemed to not be involved in the matter. They talked with him for about 15 minutes. Man, was I mad. The pride and arrogance of the “Detectives” prevented them from using the information that I provided to them. Why? I was just a “civilian”, they are the cops. They know all. They knew of my Military Police background, they knew I was a Private Investigator because when I provided them with the information they asked how did I know about this information and I told them about my background and current status. So it shows you that there is not justice in this world. People tout how they want tighter laws and such. But how effective are the laws when law enforcement shows a “I don’t care” attitude for even the simplest of crimes. In the Army I received an Army Commendation Medal for the highest solve rate in my section. You will not see my name in the newspaper headlines. I solved some pretty difficult cases. I also solved cases that were minor offenses too. See, at the time I was an Investigator, anything that was called into the MP Station or our office that was ANY sort of crime I was responsible to respond to. I could not “Blow off” a case. I had to go through the basic investigative steps. Show that I exhausted all investigative avenues and if nothing came of the information then close the case. To me, an identification of a subject to a crime was one for the pursuit of justice. And it wasn’t just a matter to identify a subject. It was a matter to gather so much against them to where the trial was a “slam dunk” for a conviction.
So this was really my first case as a P.I. and my first taste of the response and type of co-operation I would receive from Law Enforcement. Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of excellent investigators out there who deserve our honor and respect. Who pursue justice at any and all cost! Who have engrained in their hearts the motto of the Canadian Mounties, “We always get our man”. These are the ones who looked down upon by their peers for “beating a dead horse” as was once told to me by my peers. Who stick with it, using every technique in solving even the smallest of crimes? For is this not the duty we swore to?
