When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton replied, "Because that's where the money is."
If someone were to ask a cop why he conducts patrol checks of motel parking lots, he might very well reply, "Because that's where the dirtbags are."
One of the most widely recognized banes of the job among good cops is other cops’ inability or unwillingness to do their jobs. And nowhere is that inability and unwillingness more manifest than in that age-old ritual known as the "kiss off."
There are times when the information provided is too simplistic. While descending on a suspect who was hellbent on taking out his girlfriend and her family with an AK-47, we were advised that the suspect was "on the right side of the girlfriend’s house." Without a "You Are Here" marker painted on the street, we couldn't tell if it was the right side when facing the house or the right side when looking out of it.
Auto burglary and auto theft make up a huge portion of an officer's report writing time. Anyone who has ever worked dayshift knows how many of these calls come in as soon as people wake up and check on their vehicles (or where their vehicle was the night before). While taking these reports, we get to hear the "obvious" ways victims made their car look like a glowing beacon at night to burglars.