tenant moved out today and stole some of my property. called the law and they wont do anything?

Question

the tenant has caused me so much frustration she stole an a/c unit, a mini fridge and all in the same day she caused malicious injury to my vehicle, tried breaking into my workshop cut my clothes line i mean who does this? the law has been out here 5 times in 2 days. i informed the police officer that she was trying to steal the a/c unit after i saw her try and take it out the window the officer said to stay on my side of the property i own the whole property i have a right to see if shes stealing my stuff. so anyways the officer leaves and not 20 mins after the tenant left i go to check and she took the a/c anyways left the place a shithole and come to find out she stole the minifridge too? i call the law again and they say take her to small claims court? why didnt they take action in the first place? south carolina law is b.s. they let her get away with stealing my stuff yet they were so ready to arrest me for harassment? harassment cos im pissed she damaged my vehicle? pissed she tried breaking and entering? what kind of bullshit?

Artemis Agrotera · Accepted Answer

Anytime there is a potential ownership dispute the police can't get involved.

In a landlord/tenant dispute, it is fairly common that a landlord will claim property belongs to him while the tenant might claim it belongs to her.  Unfortunately for you, it is not the function of police officers to figure out who owns what.  This is a function of the courts.

You are actually lucky the officer didn't arrest you for harassment - especially if the police were called out there that many times over property issues.  It is the sad reality, but landlords really have to step back and adopt a "wait and see" attitude.  You really hurt your position (definitely with the police but potentially with a future small claims court judge who is NOT going to be impressed with you repeatedly calling the police or engaging in behavior that caused the tenant to call).

Ranger · Answer

Next call is to the patrol sergeant. If he won't do his job, make your third call to his supervisor, and continue up the chain of command to the city manager and mayor. Advise them if they are not doing their jobs your next stop will be the news media saying you were the victim of a theft and they won't investigate or get your property back.

Kat the Great · Answer

Insist on charging her for theft, but.. are you the only witness? She could just deny it, your word against hers. Always with-hold enough bond to cover your property if it is damaged or stolen.
The law doesn't do much about the guilty, but does to those who react to them.

tenant moved out today and stole some of my property. called the law and they wont do anything?

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