Black Van Life

[TrainChaser]

bLEEp:  "... if more action was wanted by the victims the police should have been called..."

Here's a rude awakening for you:  The police wouldn't have done anything.  Like it?  Here's how it goes:

Officer:  "Did he rape you or otherwise harm you?"  Victim:  "No, he reached in where I was sleeping and grabbed my ankle."

Officer:  "That's all?  He just touched you?"  Victim:  "He reached into my van and grabbed my ankle.  I was asleep.  I didn't invite him."

Officer:  "Ma'am, we can't arrest someone who didn't do anything."  Victim:  "He did the same thing as breaking into my house, didn't he?  Wouldn't he have been arrested for that?"

Officer:  "He didn't break in, you just had a screen over the door.  Even if he intended to do something, he didn't do it, and we don't arrest people for intent."  Victim:  "He did it to three of us, and all of us were in our own vans, and none of us invited him."

Officer:  "Well, I've got to be going now.  They have a 24-hour Dunkin Donuts in town, and a fresh batch should be hitting the counter right about now.  Close your windows and lock your doors."  Victim:  "It's still 102 degrees!"

Officer:  "I can't help that.  If you want to keep guys away, you'll have to endure a little discomfort."  Victim:  "Okay, suppose I go around and poke some of the guys with a stick?"

Officer:  "Then I'll have to come back and arrest you for assault, Ma'am.  Good night.  Have a nice evening."

Although things are a tiny bit better than they were back in the 60s and 70s. If you were raped then, every on-duty officer who wasn't in a shootout with a perp would be parked in front of your house, and every single one of them would ask you to describe the rape to him (individually). They wouldn't be making a report, they were just getting their jollies and would laugh and joke about it when they got together at the donut shop or met back at the dept or at a bar after their shift. REALLY.