Marty
05-05-2008, 08:28 PM
Omaha,NE,USA -- Police often offer cash rewards to bring in tips to solve crimes, up to $1,000. If you call in a tip about dog fighting, that reward could be as much as $10,000. Does that mean we view crimes against animals as more important than crimes against people?
"It appears that there's a disparity, but people love animals and people love children,” says Camp Fire USA Executive Director Penny Parker. “I think just as a society, we really just need to state some equal priorities."
"Do we consider crimes against children and the poverty rate here in Omaha and homicides and things like that more important than dog fighting?” asks Mark Langan of the Nebraska Humane Society.
“Sure we do. In no way do we consider crimes against animals more important than those issues there. However, it's our job to investigate those crimes. That's why we've gone out in the community. We have a large number of donors that are animal lovers. They consider these crimes terrible crimes against animals and they've put up this reward money for dog fighting."
Langan says that reward money is crucial to finding and breaking up dog fights.
“We know we're not going to get into the dog fighting world without people calling us and telling us about it. It's a very cloistered type of environment and we know these people aren't going to call us unless we put money in their pocket. And for them to call us we have to put a lot of money in their pocket, which is why we have gone to the extremes that we have."
Large private donations have also boosted rewards in some high-profile cases against people. A $25,000 reward is still on the table to help solve the March murders of 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman in Omaha’s Dundee neighborhood.
All reward money, either through the police department or the Nebraska Humane Society
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/18664334.html#
"It appears that there's a disparity, but people love animals and people love children,” says Camp Fire USA Executive Director Penny Parker. “I think just as a society, we really just need to state some equal priorities."
"Do we consider crimes against children and the poverty rate here in Omaha and homicides and things like that more important than dog fighting?” asks Mark Langan of the Nebraska Humane Society.
“Sure we do. In no way do we consider crimes against animals more important than those issues there. However, it's our job to investigate those crimes. That's why we've gone out in the community. We have a large number of donors that are animal lovers. They consider these crimes terrible crimes against animals and they've put up this reward money for dog fighting."
Langan says that reward money is crucial to finding and breaking up dog fights.
“We know we're not going to get into the dog fighting world without people calling us and telling us about it. It's a very cloistered type of environment and we know these people aren't going to call us unless we put money in their pocket. And for them to call us we have to put a lot of money in their pocket, which is why we have gone to the extremes that we have."
Large private donations have also boosted rewards in some high-profile cases against people. A $25,000 reward is still on the table to help solve the March murders of 11-year-old Thomas Hunter and 57-year-old Shirlee Sherman in Omaha’s Dundee neighborhood.
All reward money, either through the police department or the Nebraska Humane Society
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/18664334.html#