I talked to deputy chief of the Dallas Police Northeast Division Jan Easterling about bait cars for a column in our April issue.
She explained why bait cars and other clandestine police operations are successful. I’m all for the idea — use bait cars and publicize it heavily. It might stop someone from stealing my car. Plus, the bait cars have helped police catch and arrest hundreds of crooks. In the same column, though, Easterling shared her frustration about how little time said captured crooks spend behind bars.
The DPD is facing scrutiny after a man stealing a bait car hit and killed an 85-year-old woman Monday. The bait cars are equipped with a “kill switch” but police don’t activate that switch until they have the stolen car in their sight, for obvious safety reasons. In this case there was some sort of delay in between spotting the car and disabling its engine that turned tragic. There was no chase. The crook apparently saw a squad car, got spooked and gunned it, barreling into the woman at an intersection.
There’s an investigation ongoing as to why the bait car was not disabled in time to prevent the accident. But I would hate to see this accident blamed on the “bait” program — it’s an effective program. What’s not working? Continuously letting habitual criminals back on the street. The car thief Eddie Ramirez, 28, had just days before the accident been released on parole following a previous bait-car theft arrest. And no, that wasn’t his first time — his criminal history includes convictions for evading arrest, burglary of a vehicle, burglary of a habitation, theft and drug possession. This scum needs to be spending years in prison — not going through a revolving door in and out of county jail. That’s no way to break a criminal’s habit.
A crime doesn’t usually carry serious time if it isn’t labeled “violent” or “aggravated” but with a creep like Ramirez, it was only a matter of time before an innocent person got in his way. Habits like robbing our homes and stealing our stuff don’t stop — they only escalate. When a judge decides to let someone out on parole they should consider above all else what level of threat the candidate is to the community — this guy is obviously a parasite and has been for a long time. It’s too bad he had to kill someone before facing any real punishment. Now he’s facing murder charges.
Easterling also indicated that putting just one thief behind bars often eliminates a bulk of crimes in the neighborhood surrounding the arrest— at least during the days or weeks that criminal is actually locked up.
Now that the bait program is suspended indefinitely, I’m going to get one of those ugly Club things for my car.
