What's in a name? Are 'Puffers' an extremely rare species of bird under protection by Colorado Department of Wildlife, a slang term for those groups of lonely and desperate people who stand outside of office buildings in a cloud of smoke, devious gang members selling a totally new kind of recreational drug, or even an unusual medical condition affecting the upper respiratory system which makes the patient wheeze like a harmonica?

None of these! A 'Puffer' is a term invented by Aurora Police to describe an individual who leaves their car open and running whilst they go off to perform, what they believe to an essential task. Puffing is a serious crime says Aurora police Sgt. Dan Mark, and only takes a split second for a lurker (another contemporary criminal activity) to take advantage of an opportunity to steal an unattended vehicle, then use it to commit other yet to be realized illegal activities.

Between 6am to 10am last Tuesday Aurora Police operated a sting to capture violators, and they enthusiastically ticketed about 60 Puffers in 4 hours with fines ranging between $75 and $105. It sounded like a crap-shoot on the first day of hunting season, the poor ducks didn't know where to fly so they just stood there and took it; Adrian Rascon Almada left his Dodge Neon wide open as he ran into a 7-Eleven for a cup of joe, only gone a few minutes but he was nabbed and slapped with the appropriate ordinance. This might be the right course of action to reduce auto insurance claims (and this is where the financial crunch comes from) but who is checking the cops who do the same sort of thing outside of Dunkin Donuts. And what is the money collected from Puffer fines being directed toward?

Maybe some of it could go toward protecting criminal evidence; between June 2000 and August 2002 $6,381 mysteriously disappeared from 24 envelopes in the Aurora Police Department property room. A lot of people would like to believe in this age of hi-tech criminal investigation that the culprit was quickly apprehended and dealt with appropriately, but not so! The most likely suspect conveniently resigned from work at the Department and a criminal inquiry was never entered into because of 'lack of evidence.' It all becomes highly suspect and intriguing when Police Chief Dan Oates writes it off as "human beings with human frailties who are subject to temptation" and "I am confident that our business practice of handling evidence are fine" together with a comment from Division Chief Ken Murphy "There was a strong indication of theft, but we couldn't prove it, we're never going to find the money."

Back home in Britain my Grandmother always told me in a stern tone that 'crime never pays.' In the old days people were executed for as little as stealing a loaf of bread, but even in modern times a criminal will be thrown into a 150 year old Victorian jail and share a cell and small latrine with three others. Lucky are they that are given 30 minutes of exercise a day, providing of course that the key to the cell can be located after being thrown into the local river! But here in America I discovered that crime can be profitable, and a whole dysfunctional system has been created that perpetuates it; whether you are a Police Officer, lawyer, Judge or plain thief there seems to be a career pattern that pays dividends. Unfortunately the ones that lose out are those not savvy with the legal system and its ever increasing developments, changes and jargon. Those ordinary, hardworking citizens who are probably in dire need of relevant education are instead being preyed upon and labeled as accessories.