Working overtime to stop crime.

Everybody's heard the saying, "He was a one-man crime wave," but a father and son in Birmingham, Alabama, seem to be trying to create a new saying: "They were a two-man wave of justice."

Bill Borklund, the father, and Joshua Borklund, the son, have made it a point to interfere in the plans of criminals, even going so far as to chase down petty thieves and armed robbers.

The Borklunds have had more than their share of run-ins with criminals because of their work at a gasoline station. Bill owned the station for about five years before leasing it; Joshua works for the new owner. The elder Borklund has a saying about criminals, which he shared with the Tuscaloosa News: "Once [a criminal] lets his guard down, he better have life insurance because I'm going to end his career." He has gone to great pains to stop criminals: he installed 15 cameras in and around the store; he once chased a man "134 miles to Troy for stealing $20 worth of gasoline"; he has posted pictures of criminals on his gas pumps; and he has signed hundreds of arrest warrants for people who write bad checks.

Joshua is taking up where his father left off. When the store was robbed on September 11 by an armed man who threatened him and a co-worker, Joshua grabbed his gun and pursued the criminal to a getaway car. The robber noticed Joshua and took several potshots at him as he fled, prompting Joshua to shoot back. Both men missed. The suspect got away.

Police have indicated that when the robber fled, he no longer presented a danger to Joshua, and so it was not legal to shoot the man. But as soon as the robber fired at Joshua outside the store, the man became a legitimate target, meaning that Joshua will not face charges in the incident.