.

I used to think I lived in a pretty nice area. It's a small-ish city with a population of 100,000. Half of them work at Boeing, Microsoft or Amazon, so it's not an impoverished area.  I live in one of the nicer parts of town, where home ownership is high, lawns are well-maintained, and on the surface it looks like any well-established suburb.
 
But I've come to find out that property crime in my city is twice the national average. The chances of being a victim in Everett, Washington is 1 in 15. There are, on average, 50 (reported) burglaries per day here. State-wide, Washington has the highest rate of property crimes in the country. Surprisingly, this comes as a surprise to me.
 
And the cops don't have a very good track record. There's about a 16% chance of an arrest being made. Victims have a 0.3% chance of ever seeing their stolen items again. (Apparently, that includes those who've located their stuff on their own, without the help of the police.)
 
So the bottom line is: we're on our own in this dog-eat-dog culture.
 
Trying to formulate my next move...I didn't make it to the GC this weekend, but I'll try to stop by there today and have a talk with the store manager. He'd previously told me he couldn't discuss it except through the police intermediary, but now that the case is officially closed he shouldn't have any such prohibitions.
 
Unless, of course, it's GC corporate policy to sweep these matters under the rug. What I gather is that GC does not have a company-wide policy, and each store does only whatever local law requires them to do. Some have a 30-day "police hold", while others put used gear on the floor for immediate sale. Something to be aware of - imagine buying a used guitar from them, only to be informed later that it's not yours after all. 

Voda La Void
If Bitflipper was smoking a doobie on camera in Guitar Center, he would be in jail right now with a case brought against him with full cooperation from GC.  

Actually, recreational use of marijuana is legal in this state.
 
Smoking indoors, however, is a serious crime.
 

For some unknown reason I always thought the the USA had a more robust law enforcment than the UK but it seems things are pretty much the same.
 
In the UK the police are just part of the issue, its the whole criminal justice system that is weighted in favour of the criminal. Add to that management by objectives (ie statistical targets) which distort priorites. Sometime the police may think they have a case but will the CPS will refuse to bring it to court.
 
As a result business often have to resort to civil recovery cases in an attempt to get justice and to attempt to deter theft.
 
 

Not defending the cops in this particular case, but ...
 
In a recent year I served a 6 month term performing a civic duty that got me very close to the state and local law enforcement folks, and the "elements" they deal with on a daily basis.  The kind of "elements" that are way more numerous than we want to believe -and assume are in small numbers- unless/until we come into contact with them.  Even then we want to believe that what happens to us is infrequent.
 
I came away from that experience with a much higher level of respect for CJ/LE people in our community.  They don't spend their time with us, the normal, well-adjusted members of society.  99% of their time is spent with people we wouldn't choose to spend our own time with.
 
Only desperation would get me to do their jobs even at 3 or 4 times what most of them make.  That's not to say that having your case shoved aside is right.  I would be pissed off to the point of drawing my own set of charges if it dragged on long enough.
 
Hopefully you can chip your way thru to somebody capable of reasoning.
 

Catching perps through investigation requires problem-solving skills. Those are not high on the requirement list for new police officers, many of whom now are ex-military (as am I), whose skills training was in other areas. In a typical police department of a smaller community (let's use Dave's 100,000 residents), you'd be lucky to have a few active, successful detectives who still give a crap, in spite of the overwhelming workload.
 
I was on a Chicago suburb city council back in the 80s. Small community wedged between four large ones. We didn't have a single detective that had the position on merit and not a department need to fill the position.
 
It is VERY difficult to keep good detectives in small communities. I know one here in Flagstaff (about 70,000 peeps, plus the students at NAU). He can't wait to get down to Phoenix where he can earn another $20K/year...and I can't blame him.
 
I feel really bad for Dave's loss. Physical things can be replaced, but creative work? That had to be really, really gut-wrenching. Makes ME sick thinking about it.
 
The one real lesson I learned from all of this?
 
REGULARLY MAINTAINED OFF-SITE BACKUPS.
 
Get a safe deposit box at your bank. They're cheap. Get a good backup utility, and use it. Determine how much work you can, or are willing to lose. Create an appropriate backup schedule (more often (up to daily) the more professional you are (from a pay-my-bills income perspective)) and rotate the backups through the safe deposit box.

Man, I would be going ballistic after getting that note!
 
Ironically, I've discovered the best way not to get robbed:  Don't have anything. *Sigh...* 
 
 

Craig, that's my plan too.  I took a vow of poverty.

bitflipper
I used to think I lived in a pretty nice area.
 
So the bottom line is: we're on our own in this dog-eat-dog culture.
 
Trying to formulate my next move...
 

Nice areas are the targets.
 
I grew up learning that (dog eat dog) and have managed to live long enough to learn it's not only that way on the streets.
 
The old saying Dave; "Money rides and BS walks" isn't always true so next moves can be accomplished and depends.
 
If vengeance, satisfaction and a story to have published is worth the money then a private investigator can be a very good next move.
 
Another very good move that I've used; Call the Attorney Generals office. Have your thoughts and records in order.
They will probably ask you two basic things; What has happened and what resolution(s) are you seeking. They have a lot of power and can make things happen if they decide to back you.
 
If possible, both of these may be your best next moves. They have worked for me in the past when hitting the streets was not going to resolve the issue.
 
Now the insurance/security/software...all issues we must handle best we can and I understand loosing focus when one suffers the loss of a loved one. Again, good luck Dave and hope this may help you.

Nevermind..............