Just finished watching the presser earlier today. Found it irritating and painful to watch. Purpose: limited, IMO. I did think the press asked some really good questions. They weren't given any answers (surprise), but at least they asked the right questions. MT's dad impressed me so much: what a strong and gracious man.
I need to ask: did anyone else want to hurl heavy objects at their screen when Ms. What's-Her-Face from the Iowa Missing and Endangered blah, blah, blah agency strode up to the podium and starting throwing out statistics and speaking in glittering generalities about Iowa's statewide missing persons data, or it just me?
I don't know why I had such a negative, visceral response to that presentation, aside from the fact that I was thinking to myself the whole time, "This pc is not about numbers and your useless state statistics. It is about one individual, Mollie Tibbetts, whose parents happen to be standing right behind you, lady." If I were one of her parents, it would have taken every ounce of energy in my body not to have lost it and screamed, "My daughter is not a statistic!"
Ariadne's_Thread - I am right there with you! When ptanddj set me straight today about Mr. Winkler/Winker being notihing but an Iowa's Public Safety's Public Affairs guy my perception about what was going on turned on a dime!
Today the State press agent said the buck stops with the Sheriffs. They are the one who are responsible for each missing person case and they send the information about their work directly to NCIC (FBI). And the State of Iowa's PUBLIC SAFETY DEPT (just the name of the dept irritates me today!) churns out an annual report in which they don't mirror the categories used by NCIC and their report is vague on specifics. But no matter how you view it - there are folks in IOWA who view missing people as numbers and one of them is the manager of the IOWA MISSING PERSON CLEARINGHOUSE. (also detest that name - several states adopted that title years ago. Morphed from Centers or Bureaus to Clearinghouse. That all seem to just be repositories where cases go to collect dust. There is rarely any updates to reflect anyone has even looked at some cases for decades!
IOWA State dept of public safety (URGH just writing it makes me irritated) are putting folks up there to project an image and nothing more imo. That is why that poorly constructed pdf 2018 missing person annual report was attached with notice of the first PC. And then today to get that Manager there to say something that is not actually in that report- I wish someone had challenged her to find the word RUNAWAY as a category in that report. Wonder if she wrote it? Using that term in this case feels irrresponsible. And with the family standing right there. CRUEL! Honestly why brag or bring up such sloppy work and pitiful numbers even if they are "inline with historical data"
I go back far enough when most all teens and young adults were labeled runaways! Come to find out many of those old cases were just wrong and these people were killed. I don't trust the stats on missing persons because for a long time localities didn't do reports at all, passed the case to a different jurisdiction, didn't consider them a big priority - hence the not being able to actually tell what category they belong, and didn't send all cases to the NCIC - they hand picked what would go and what would not.
We should be better than that now! And the folks who work in any dept called PUBLIC SAFETY should care about PEOPLE. The look on the family's faces as these two spoke today pained me.
I can one up you I think.
I reached a point today where I am wondering why in 2018 the SHERIFF and COUNTY COMMISSIONERS of Poweshiek County didn't make sure their towns were safe for girls like Mollie? It is that simple for me.
Our Government is supposed to take steps to ensure our public safety. I fully appreciate they can't preempt EVIL but they sure can put in place a system of checks and balances to aid LE in cases like this. I am way past the point where another person has to die before common sense measures force a change. We don't need another bill/law with memorializing another victim! Why aren't we proactive?
I can't think of any good reason for a town who can raise $52,000 to make an old house into a museum couldn't have realized cameras were a good thing, especially since there is no municipal police force.
Why not teach your children and community to LOCK your doors? Good Grief. This town sits right off two main road systems and only a few hours from one of the most crime infected cities in our country, Chicago - that is cause enough to make sure you have cameras in place to the city limit imo. Think about that for a moment. There is a tower directly across the street from the house where Mollie was staying. A camera could be mounted right there. And there could be one mounted where 170 or whatever that numbered gravel road that takes one to Route 6. Police Depts or Civic groups could offer home security systems like Fire Depts offer smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The last time I checked Dalton's home is inside the City of Brooklyn. It may be on the line but it is inside. Not sure if those young men were being double taxed as we are where we live because we are in a municipality, but I personally think the City and County dropped the ball.
I truly believe public safety belongs on the front burner! And this case proves it doesn't matter how tiny a town is.
Just my opinion.
