This morning we got word of not one, but two cars being stolen.  Owners left them running to warm up and someone took off with them  They were in two different cities (Meridian and Boise) so odds are they weren't related.

My first thought was to get descriptions of the cars and broadcast them to you. So I called the non-emergency dispatch figuring they would have the information I needed. Boy was I wrong. I got told to call the media line.

I called the media line and got a call back, but they didn't have any information on the cars.  Come to find out there is no real reporting to one source for this kind of stuff.  If something happens like a hit and run or a stolen car, there is no way to get the info unless you call whatever town it happened in, get to the watch commander and that person has the info.

With all the things that can happen in the morning, we need information without having to dig for it.  In the case this morning, if the cars were stolen, a simple call from the police department to our hot line would have gotten information out to more people than any other form. Odds are someone listening would see the car, report it and it would be retrieved with the person who stole it being arrested. But there isn't any sort of protocol to deal with these kind of things.

I will be calling the different authorities from each town, give them our hot line number and make some sort of arrangement to get the info when things happen. Until that time, if you get your car stolen or are involved in a hit and run, after you call 911, give us a call in the morning between 5:30 and 10, at 383-1079, I will answer the phone and we will do our best to help.

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