I received the phone call just before midnight on Sunday while at work. It was my brother in the Bay Area. The ambulance just left my parents’ house; Dad was being taken to Washington Hospital.

So as not to disturb my co-workers, and since there was some static in the phone line, I stepped out the back door into the parking lot. As my brother continued to apprise me about what’s going on with Dad, I glanced at my car which was parked closest to the door about a mere three steps away. As I continued to look, I noticed something unusual in the front passenger window. Are those rain drops glistening on the glass pane looking like a beehive cluster? One of my co-workers’ car which was parked next to mine was light silver, which further enhanced the eerie spectacle that I was not able to immediately ascertain.

Then it hit me like a brick between my eyes. Someone had broken into my car by smashing the window on the passenger side! Immediately I knew why. After hastily explaining what I just discovered, I quickly wrapped up my conversation with my brother and told him I’ll call back as soon as I found out what happened.

I knew right away what was missing in my car. About a couple of hours earlier, I got back to the office after a quick break. Lulled by a false sense of security, made clear to me on hindsight, I did not bring my Canon camera inside with me. Instead, I placed it in the cardboard box that I had on the floor of the passenger seat. I do not, as a rule, do that. But I figured, what could happen to it in the short period of time before it was time for me to go home? Besides, I quickly rationalized to myself, the parking lot was well lit and there were other cars parked even farther from the door.

Somehow, all the common-sense advice I’ve given to others myself, never to leave anything of value inside your car that anybody walking by can easily eyeball, flew out the window.  Offer the temptation and someone will likely be tempted. It was the perfect recipe for a crime of opportunity. And this time, I was the victim.

My big-hearted co-worker, Amy, immediately suggested that I call the police and file a report. I was glad when she said that because my brain was still stuck in a mental inventory of what else could have been taken besides my camera. But once I quickly noted that all the doors were still locked – the windows also were all closed – I did just that while wondering, at the same time, what happened to my car’s alarm.

I learned a few things about the latest in reporting such crimes to police that night. When I reached the Manteca Police Department and explained why I was calling, I was asked a few questions. After responding to each one, I was advised to file a report online.

These were the questions asked, which is on the police department’s Online Reporting System:

•This is not an emergency?

•This incident occurred within the Manteca City limits?

•There are no known suspects?

•This did not occur on a State Freeway?

If you answer “yes” to all four questions, you can file your report online, the police dispatcher told me.

Just to digress a little bit. When you log on to the online police reporting web site, the first thing you read is the title of the web page: “Manteca The Family City” (the first line in red letters), and below it are the words “Police Department.” I saw the irony of it all. This is supposed to be The Family City. Yet here I am reporting a crime.

The police Online Reporting System is not really complicated. I was able to finish it in just a few minutes. With the city’s budget crisis, like everyone else, it is easy to understand the value of this reporting system.

You are also informed about the following while filling out the report:

•All cases filed online will be reviewed.

•Upon review, if further investigation of your case is needed, you may be contacted.

•Filing a false police report is a crime.

After filing an online report, you are initially given a temporary report number. If there are any problems in your report, the Online Officer will contact you about there.

As soon as your report is approved, it will be issued a case number after which you will be sent via e-mail with a PDF copy attached. This happens “within approximately five business days.”

While I was greatly disappointed at the loss of my work-horse camera, in the grand scheme of things, it was infinitesimal compared to my Dad’s medical condition. I breathed a sigh of relief when, a few hours later, I learned that he was doing much better, thanks to the capable staff of Washington Hospital.