Police must be available at all times

In recent months, Pittsburgh has become the unwilling host to approximately 15 home invasions…. In recent months, Pittsburgh has become the unwilling host to approximately 15 home invasions. In many cases, the criminals entered victims’ homes by posing as utility workers or surveyors. Once they were admitted, they bound the homeowners and ransacked their houses.

On Monday, Allegheny County police hosted an information-swapping session that gathered 50 officers together to discuss the incidents. At this point, with the perpetrators still at large, it is important for area residents to be able to rely on the police.

But on Saturday, some information that could have helped with the search was unnecessarily lost. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a New Brighton man called the paper saying he had seen four men in a pick-up truck who matched composite drawings of the suspects. In response, a reporter from the Post-Gazette contacted state police in Washington County, but was told that no one was available to take the information.

Police officers are entrusted with the public’s safety, and there must always be someone there to take the information. Tracking dangerous criminals requires constant vigilance – weekends included.

One week ago, Shannon Dale, 90, and his wife, Freda Dale, 89 were bound and gagged by four men posing as gas company workers. Freda Dale died of a heart attack while watching the men beat her husband, breaking his nose and a rib. On Monday, Shannon Dale attended his wife’s funeral with his face badly bruised from the incident.

Also on Monday, a 63-year-old Ligonier woman was found in her bedroom with her ankles and wrists bound with duct tape. She was attacked at about 4 a.m., awakened by a man who she had let into her house twice Sunday afternoon when he identified himself as a detective. He first entered between 2 and 3 p.m. and abruptly left. He returned between 5:30 and 6 p.m., asking to use the bathroom. After entering her house Monday morning, he accosted her with a knife, tied her up and ransacked her house.

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Ken Fulton has encouraged anyone who sees something suspicious to call the police, which obviously, they should. But if tips from the public are to be effective, there must be someone there to take the information.