At around 5 a.m. on February 5, a thief broke into a Korean restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, Los Angeles, making off with the entire cash drawer containing $3,000.
According to surveillance footage released by the restaurant’s owner, the thief spent 15 minutes smashing a key box outside the restaurant before casually opening the door. The thief then headed to the cash register and tried to open the cash drawer with a pointed tool, but when that didn’t work, he ran away with the entire cash drawer. It took him only 15 seconds from breaking in to running away.
“The hassle outweighs the benefits, so I won’t report it to the police,” said the restaurant owner. This is because reporting the crime to the police rarely results in an arrest, and having to deal with police investigations and requests for evidence is a hassle that rarely solves anything.
The reality is that victims of theft do not expect the police to arrest the perpetrators and restore their property. The decline in trust in the police is largely due to the complacent attitude of the police.