Police in Griffith, IN, need a morale boost

[Leo]

I lived in Griffith years ago. I had a little house at 715 N. Renseler st. Just a few blocks from Central park. Considering the problems just east of town limits, I though the little town did a pretty good job. I was there when a lot of problems we happening in Central park after midnight, the park had signs telling the hour when the park was closed. When the cops started chasing the troublemakers from the park, there started to be a lot of vandalism. Curfew violation enforcement was started, and the politicians from the high crime areas east of Griffith threw a fit, claiming all sorts of racial nonsense.
I really liked living there, I am told that lots has changed in the last 20 something years.

 

[Denny347]

I don't do raids.

Raiding the fridge.

 

[NYFelon]

Did they seriously flash bang and SWAT a house over 2 1/4 oz of weed? Holy Shnikees that must be a quiet little backwater.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Raiding the fridge.

Ok, so I do one kind of raid.

 

[jedi]

Did they seriously flash bang and SWAT a house over 2 1/4 oz of weed? Holy Shnikees that must be a quiet little backwater.

Have to be able to questify the existance of LAKE County SWAT, all the full autos they have, why they need additional money, and off course officer chompie's food/medical bill.

This was done for the children. Too keep them safe. Are you no concerned for the children? What kind of barbarian, souless, gut nut are you? We need more tax money to keep the children safe.

 

[NYFelon]

Have to be able to questify the existance of LAKE County SWAT, all the full autos they have, why they need additional money, and off course officer chompie's food/medical bill.

This was done for the children. Too keep them safe. Are you no concerned for the children? What kind of barbarian, souless, gut nut are you? We need more tax money to keep the children safe.

Ha! I'm not all that familiar with the geography of your state, but I figured it was safe to assume that a SWAT raid for an amount of marijuana that would get you a fine here must be a sleepy little place.

 

[griffin]

nothing personal, I'm in college to be a LEO, so it just kind of irks me when people get attitudes and poke fun toward police without a solid basis for those attitudes and comments.

Oh, some of us have a solid basis for what we say.

You're too young to remember, but there was a time when Highland Police used to do "random" stops. Except they weren't really doing random stops, they were profiling young drivers in Chargers and Barracudas and Camaros and such. They just called them random, yet if they were truly random it would be one-in-ten cars or something, not just the random ones they wanted to check. They were made to stop that.

There were also some high-profile officers in the area that were pretty notorious for their shenanigans. I remember this one from Dyer...

 

[Birds Away]

Overused? seriously?

FYI the Regional SWAT team hardly ever gets used around here, that's why it's regional and not town by town. I personally have only heard of 2 uses in this past year. I'm sure there were a couple more, but definately not overused in any stretch of the word. And the whole thing about funding, this SWAT team is spread out and is made up of officers from numerous different towns in the region, so the idea that they are over funded is an assumption at best.

Also in my lifetime I have never heard (personal experience here, don't go looking for facts) of the Regional SWAT team being used in that town, but I have talked with LEOs who have said that there are parts of that town that they respond to on a nightly basis. There is a real big problem in that town.

the reason they did this is because they have a rising crime rep and their department is falling apart. what better way to say to criminals than to advertise that their police force isn't even organized anymore. this was a statement to show that they will continue to be strong and they will not fall victim to neighboring cities criminals depsite their publicized problems. they did not do this because they decided to overuse the power they had. they don't even have a chief, what makes you think they could organize a raid themselves to tackle one of their biggest problems? this was proactive policing through and through.

Honestly if you guys don't have experience with that town and are not aware of the very real problems they have, what makes it okay for you to bash what they did?

Umm????

 

[griffin]

I'm still shocked that 48 states haven't seen a small, but noticeable increase in transfer students to universities in two states out west.

Just a few miles north here in MI marijuana is legal. Just get a MM card. Eighteen states and D.C. have legalized medical marijuana and there are three states with pending legislation to legalize marijuana.

However, a MM card might disqualify you from getting a carry license.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

Calumet Township. They pour constant funding into the township and they get nothing for it. They have an influx of crime stemming from the neighboring towns (not Highland). Their chief was taken out due to "gross negligence". they had to put in an interim chief to help figure out what the heck was happening.

The town as a whole just isn't great. I go their all the time because of my girlfriend, and I have seen tons of teenagers from that town, and the majority of them share a genuinely crappy attitude.

Crappy attitudes? OK. Go ahead and kick down the doors and flashbang all of them. We'll show them what a crappy attitude will get them!

Those little bastages!

 

[hornadylnl]

Did they seriously flash bang and SWAT a house over 2 1/4 oz of weed? Holy Shnikees that must be a quiet little backwater.

Have to be able to questify the existance of LAKE County SWAT, all the full autos they have, why they need additional money, and off course officer chompie's food/medical bill.

This was done for the children. Too keep them safe. Are you no concerned for the children? What kind of barbarian, souless, gut nut are you? We need more tax money to keep the children safe.

What's great about government action is that it doesn't require real world economics. A department gets a budget of X. They conduct Y exorcise with some money from X. Should X not be enough, they just raise taxes. If the public throws a fit, they just threaten to cut officers so that the public capitulates out of fear. It doesn't matter that the X spent is 100 times the Z recovered from such a raid. Z is bonus money.

 

[jedi]

End of the world here yet?

 

[IncendiaryGunner]

Ha! I'm not all that familiar with the geography of your state, but I figured it was safe to assume that a SWAT raid for an amount of marijuana that would get you a fine here must be a sleepy little place.

The town in question is on the outskirts of Chicago.... Most would not consider the area "sleepy", which is another highlight of their incompetence.

Someone down the street probably sighed seeing them go to that house, and then laughed while continuing to package huge piles of narcotics.

 

[Ryno300]

I lived in Griffith years ago. I had a little house at 715 N. Renseler st. Just a few blocks from Central park. Considering the problems just east of town limits, I though the little town did a pretty good job. I was there when a lot of problems we happening in Central park after midnight, the park had signs telling the hour when the park was closed. When the cops started chasing the troublemakers from the park, there started to be a lot of vandalism. Curfew violation enforcement was started, and the politicians from the high crime areas east of Griffith threw a fit, claiming all sorts of racial nonsense.
I really liked living there, I am told that lots has changed in the last 20 something years.

Sounds like you and I might have lived there near the same time. I grew up on Jay Circle and graduated from high school in Griffith. The crime was coming in when I was in high school, but I've heard it's really gone down hill. I agree they did a pretty good job keeping things in order with limited resources and a small town. The Mansard Apartments (Arborgast and Ridge Road) used to be "the" place to live. I hear they are really rough now. I went back to my high school after college and substitute taught - only made it about a month. I told the principle the kids had no respect and were saying things in 7th grade I hadn't learned until college. Sad really.

I drive back by my old house every few years and it just doesn't look like the same place.

 

[griffin]

End of the world here yet?

Friday. Wear sun screen.

 

[Bollorollo]

Griffith has a BIG PROBLEM with gangs moving in to the Mansards apartments since chicago closed down all the projects. Hell use to be a great place to live but now it is drugs, shootings and killings going on in a nice town and the police are over whelmed.

 

[trad78]

Besides Hammond, EC and Gary, The Mansards are the armpit of NWI. If I remember, all of the tenants are section 8. I believe that was also the same place where tenants were taking pot shots at firefighters trying to put out a fire started by someone grilling in their bathtub in the middle of winter.
There are some nice places left here, for now.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Besides Hammond, EC and Gary, The Mansards are the armpit of NWI. If I remember, all of the tenants are section 8. I believe that was also the same place where tenants were taking pot shots at firefighters trying to put out a fire started by someone grilling in their bathtub in the middle of winter.
There are some nice places left here, for now.

No big surprise in the case of a non-resident landlord. You have to factor in a greater than average maintenance budget, but the rent is high and is paid on time every time.

 

[jedi]

Friday. Wear sun screen.

Yes!!!!! But I was hoping it would have been death by lava like in the movie 2012.
I demand a do-over!

As for griffith, they do keep the crime on the down low as it's not reported online that Ican find.

 

[griffin]

Besides Hammond, EC and Gary, The Mansards are the armpit of NWI.

Like some others here, I remember when the Mansards were nice and the Kennedy Apartments in Highland were the armpit.

And going back to this (huge) drug bust, if the SWAT team needs something to do, they can raid Willie Nelson's tour bus next time he plays the Star Plaza Theater in Merrillville and probably get ten times as much drugs as this girl had.