I have a few unrelated questions listed in decreasing order of importance. They range from the rather serious to the very silly. I am most interested in Question #1, but would enjoy reading responses to any of the questions.
Thanks much for any input regarding any or all questions.
1.)
Suppose I want to provide an anonymous tip to law enforcement, either to the local police or to the FBI. Does that mean law enforcement does not know who I am or how to reach me? What is the best way to provide such an anonymous tip to ensure I really do remain anonymous? The best way I can think of is to use a pay phone or to go to the trouble of typing and mailing an unsigned letter while wearing gloves. My fingerprints are on file since I have worked for the federal government. Do the police take these kinds of anonymous tips seriously? Or does “anonymous†mean the police know exactly who I am and how to reach me, and they keep that information secret? If I sent the tip via an anonymous email could my identity be determined via my IP address or via some other technique? The Akron Ohio Police Department, for example, has a webpage for sending in tips. The tipster need not provide any contact information. However, can their identity be determined somehow via their IP address? The FBI also has a webpage for sending in tips, but that site requests a lot of contact information.
2.)
How do the police feel about strangers on the street waving, “Hello� Does it make you feel appreciated, or do you wonder if the person is trying to flag you down over some emergency? Would you rather the person just not acknowledge you at all? I waved to a (male) cop at a red light as I was crossing in the crosswalk, and afterwards I wondered if my unexpected hand motion had “freaked him out†especially since I had something metallic in one hand (my keys).
3.)
This question might antagonize, but it is asked strictly out of curiosity. Once during a 3 month period I drove through D.C. at 2:00AM every day on my way to work. Almost every night at one particular spot I would pass a group of ladies of the night. It got me thinking that if I knew these ladies were there virtually every night the police probably did too. Indeed, it seemed as if this spot was not real far from a police precinct. Is stopping that sort of activity harder than the public might think, or is it just a low priority? Perhaps stopping it requires constant "sting" or undercover operations? I’ve heard stories of some ladies being arrested dozens of times, so maybe it is literally impossible to stop once a local gathering place has been established.
4.)
Once a mechanic put some new license plates on my vehicle for me and he put the front one on upside down. I drove around with the plate like that for quite an extended period of time without any police officers ever saying anything about it. Could I have received a citation for that? Would you have given me a citation?
5.)
Similarly, once the DMV randomly handed me license plates with a rather suggestive and marginally offensive alpha-numeric sequence. They were not vanity plates. This question is even sillier than Question 4, but do states maintain a set of alpha-numeric sequences that they simply will refuse to allow on a vanity plate because those sequences are deemed too socially inappropriate?
Thanks again, sincerely, for any comments or replies. I am most interested in Question #1, but would enjoy reading responses to any of the questions.
Thanks much for any input regarding any or all questions.
1.)
Suppose I want to provide an anonymous tip to law enforcement, either to the local police or to the FBI. Does that mean law enforcement does not know who I am or how to reach me? What is the best way to provide such an anonymous tip to ensure I really do remain anonymous? The best way I can think of is to use a pay phone or to go to the trouble of typing and mailing an unsigned letter while wearing gloves. My fingerprints are on file since I have worked for the federal government. Do the police take these kinds of anonymous tips seriously? Or does “anonymous†mean the police know exactly who I am and how to reach me, and they keep that information secret? If I sent the tip via an anonymous email could my identity be determined via my IP address or via some other technique? The Akron Ohio Police Department, for example, has a webpage for sending in tips. The tipster need not provide any contact information. However, can their identity be determined somehow via their IP address? The FBI also has a webpage for sending in tips, but that site requests a lot of contact information.
2.)
How do the police feel about strangers on the street waving, “Hello� Does it make you feel appreciated, or do you wonder if the person is trying to flag you down over some emergency? Would you rather the person just not acknowledge you at all? I waved to a (male) cop at a red light as I was crossing in the crosswalk, and afterwards I wondered if my unexpected hand motion had “freaked him out†especially since I had something metallic in one hand (my keys).
3.)
This question might antagonize, but it is asked strictly out of curiosity. Once during a 3 month period I drove through D.C. at 2:00AM every day on my way to work. Almost every night at one particular spot I would pass a group of ladies of the night. It got me thinking that if I knew these ladies were there virtually every night the police probably did too. Indeed, it seemed as if this spot was not real far from a police precinct. Is stopping that sort of activity harder than the public might think, or is it just a low priority? Perhaps stopping it requires constant "sting" or undercover operations? I’ve heard stories of some ladies being arrested dozens of times, so maybe it is literally impossible to stop once a local gathering place has been established.
4.)
Once a mechanic put some new license plates on my vehicle for me and he put the front one on upside down. I drove around with the plate like that for quite an extended period of time without any police officers ever saying anything about it. Could I have received a citation for that? Would you have given me a citation?
5.)
Similarly, once the DMV randomly handed me license plates with a rather suggestive and marginally offensive alpha-numeric sequence. They were not vanity plates. This question is even sillier than Question 4, but do states maintain a set of alpha-numeric sequences that they simply will refuse to allow on a vanity plate because those sequences are deemed too socially inappropriate?
Thanks again, sincerely, for any comments or replies. I am most interested in Question #1, but would enjoy reading responses to any of the questions.
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