Have you lived in the rural USA? If someone is a minor the cops are still allowed to scare the hell out of them and shame them. Yes, if they are a minor, they might escape something on their record that will destroy their life, but we'd rather they learn then end up with a dead end life.
I have found urban cops to be less responsive and more prone to take a police report over the phone (for insurance purposes) then to actually deal with robbery or other "minor" offenses. Had my car broken into in a underground parking lot with cameras and video of the person who did it (portable drills are wonderful things). Didn't show up but we got a case # for insurance.
Had the exact thing happen in Encino neighborhood of LA (fairly nice part, on the expensive side) and guards even caught one of them. Police took hours to arrive and they only bothered with the person caught.
When I asked if they wanted to examine my damaged car, they cop looked at me as if I'm asking him something stupid, told me to stop by the station and file the report for insurance. When I asked if they are going after the others, he told me "you have insurance, don't you? Then what are you worried about?". So much for going after crime...
I have found urban cops to be less responsive and more prone to take a police report over the phone (for insurance purposes) then to actually deal with robbery or other "minor" offenses. Had my car broken into in a underground parking lot with cameras and video of the person who did it (portable drills are wonderful things). Didn't show up but we got a case # for insurance.