The Case of the Rampaging Llama

In the security industry you’ll see the occasional police report regarding a break-in or a 911 call, but you don’t often see a 911 call discussing a rampaging llama or kids not sharing the play ground equipment (Really? 911? Seriously?). In the business of security, the relationship between law enforcement and the security company is critical — and sometimes it is easy to take for granted all the calls police officers have to take. Somehow, I think some of these humorous, “non-emergency” calls might seem like the hardest ones to handle at times. I doubt I could keep a straight face on some of them.

If you want to be amused, go check out www.funnypolicereports.com.  This website, developed by the Humor Research Lab at the University of Colorado, pulls from newspapers and online police blotters to list the most ridiculous police reports ever logged.

It’s all part of the lab’s research efforts to figure out what exactly makes things funny. The research in the lab is built on a theory of humor called the Benign Violation Theory, which proposes that humor occurs when something seems wrong or unsettling (i.e., a violation) but simultaneously seems okay or acceptable (i.e., benign).

Wrong, but okay — apparently rampaging llamas and unfair possession of playground equipment both fall into that category. You’ll have to check out the reports to see if you agree.