Trashing the LAPD?

It's not that I can't find enough strange things about LA that strike me as blogworthy. It's more that the sheer number of absurdities fight eachother for dominance in my head, and making the tough decision of where to start is such a battle that I end up not starting anywhere.

But this one piece of information clawed its way right into my typing fingers, bypassing my brain's selection process and, therefore, winning a spotlight in my blogging efforts.

During a smoke break at work today, I was chatting with a woman from another office, and she spilled some golden LA trivia on me. Apparently, her and her husband were having a little neighbohood issue that required some legal intervention. When her husband contacted the police, they bestowed upon him a surprising statistic. It incensed her to such a degree that she disposed of usual trivialities of smokers conversation (wow, it's nice out here...I'm absolutely swamped at work...thank god it's almost Friday...) and went right into it. She asked me if I knew the three things the LAPD's Pacific Division is called upon to investigate most often. I made a few reasonable guesses before she could contain her excitement no longer and blurted the answer out.

1. Guns (well, yeah).
2. Drugs (another Duh. I mean, that's probably what any law enforcement agency in a major U.S. city has to contend with).

But number three?


Wait for it...


Trash Can Violations!!!!

Apparently this includes people who serially block driveways with their trash cans; those who leave their trash out on non-designated days; and people who claim prime parking real estate by strategically placing cans so that neighbors can't park in front of their house -- even when they themselves don't need the space.

Now I know that the west side of LA consists of a helluva lot of swanky areas; gated communities, untouchable beach-front property, bazillion-dollar estates... But can crimes of the 'Can really be at the top of the biggest problems LA's finest have to content with? And if so, why aren't other petty grievances further up on the list, like toy poodle-knapping or soy latte counterfeiting?

Sigh.