Argh.... car thieves

[ch0l0man]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

They may not, but the people they are selling to may.

It is possible that these thieves aren't your average crackhead, but actually technical thieves looking for data.

I used to work at the DC located at 7th and Grand, their parking structure is located right behind the DC. Sometimes I would go outside and hear a car alarm going off and the cops would never show up.

[not5150]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

I used to work at the DC located at 7th and Grand, their parking structure is located right behind the DC.

Small world... this would be the lot :)

[streaker69]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

They may not, but the people they are selling to may.

It is possible that these thieves aren't your average crackhead, but actually technical thieves looking for data.

I used to work at the DC located at 7th and Grand, their parking structure is located right behind the DC. Sometimes I would go outside and hear a car alarm going off and the cops would never show up.

When the big push for car alarms hit in the late 80's to early 90's too many people installed them with the sensitivity cranked through the roof so the beating wings of a moth would set them off. This of course conditioned people to ignore them completely. Most people don't even hear them anymore, kind of like living along the landing route to an airport. It's sad how people are so easily Pavlovian conditioned.

Most thieves know that no one is going to respond to a car alarm, plus they know that it's going to take 2-3 minutes for anyone to get there, so for what they want inside before cracking the window. They grab the stuff and run.

More cars should have the James Bond method of deterrent as in the movie Octopussy, someone breaks the window and the car blows up.

[ch0l0man]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

Small world... this would be the lot :)

That it is. :)
The lot was always rather decent and I can't remember many thefts being reported during my time there. Now granted this was about two years ago when the economy was doing OK. During lunch or break I would head up to the roof to talk on the phone and only saw once did I see a questionable person up there.

When the big push for car alarms hit in the late 80's to early 90's too many people installed them with the sensitivity cranked through the roof so the beating wings of a moth would set them off. This of course conditioned people to ignore them completely. Most people don't even hear them anymore, kind of like living along the landing route to an airport. It's sad how people are so easily Pavlovian conditioned.

Most thieves know that no one is going to respond to a car alarm, plus they know that it's going to take 2-3 minutes for anyone to get there, so for what they want inside before cracking the window. They grab the stuff and run.

More cars should have the James Bond method of deterrent as in the movie Octopussy, someone breaks the window and the car blows up.

I totally remember those days! People really believed the more sensitive the better, until they had to go outside every 5 minutes because of the wind.

I agree, the average auto burglar only wants to spend 45-60 seconds from the time the window pops to leaving with the goods.

In LA cars would be blowing up every other minute if that was the case. Personally I would just rather cut the thief's hand off once he is caught.

[Thorn]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

The car in RoboCop was much more practical. It electrocuted the thief.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT03pSTzhdM

[streaker69]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

The car in RoboCop was much more practical. It electrocuted the thief.

I was going to recommend and ED-209 to be stationed near their cars, but figured it would be hard to get the spare parts for maintenance.

[[Syntax]]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

I saw a study the other day that reported 1 in 8 laptops are stolen each year..
thats a pretty good amount of stolen laptops out there.

[valanx]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

Surveillance cameras do nothing to deter crime, criminals generally ignore them, so there's no point in suggesting that placing them there will keep someone from stealing.

They deter some crime they don't obliterate crime. And this isn't London, where everyone is used to being filmed no matter what. Yeah, some people ignore them. Others don't, or they just go somewhere else.

Cameras may also serve to remind others of a risk for getting their shit stolen and think to lock it up. Or it may not. But I don't think saying there is no point to having them visible is valid.

[Thorn]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

They deter some crime they don't obliterate crime. And this isn't London, where everyone is used to being filmed no matter what. Yeah, some people ignore them. Others don't, or they just go somewhere else.

Cameras may also serve to remind others of a risk for getting their shit stolen and think to lock it up. Or it may not. But I don't think saying there is no point to having them visible is valid.

About 5 years ago I looked into surveillance camera statistics as part of a presentation I gave at Shmoocon. According to the UK stats, they do not deter crime, as statistically, criminal activity such as robbery and assault is the same whether or not cameras are present. The only positive effect in the UK is that assault victims get an ambulance response about 1 minute quicker.

In the UK at least, they're pretty useless.

True this isn't the UK, but I'd like to see whether the stats in US cities are changing dramatically for those cities where street cameras are present. From looking at the UK stats, I'd bet that one of three effects are taking place:
1) There is no change in criminal activiy.
2) The activity drops in the immediate range of the camera, but increases out of the camera's view.
3) There is a temporary dip in criminal acts, but the criminal activity resumes prior levels as soon as the crooks realize that the cameras aren't actually increasing police response.

[streaker69]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

1) There is no change in criminal activiy.
2) The activity drops in the immediate range of the camera, but increases out of the camera's view.
3) There is a temporary dip in criminal acts, but the criminal activity resumes prior levels as soon as the crooks realize that the cameras aren't actually increasing police response.

After reading the article in the LA times about the cameras that were placed downtown here, I can attest that:

1) Violent criminal activity has increased dramatically over the past two years, although, drinking beer in parks has fallen off.

2) Since the cameras only cover the areas of downtown where the businesses are, and are not anywhere close to where crime is taking place, crime probably has fallen off.

3) While our officers do respond to most calls in a timely manner, the lack of regular street patrols in the worst areas of the city contribute more to crime than anything else.

I guess the good thing of the cameras is what you said, when you become a victim of a violent crime downtown, the police will be there quickly to write a report over your body.

[Lexicon]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

Recommendation of public transportation? Carpool?

All these tech suggestions are nice, but criminals do pick their battles and they still win. If you really cared about your tech or cars, then you wouldn't leave it in your car to be stolen. Especially not in plain sight, either. I had my car broken into a few years ago on my own property in what everyone knows as being a nice neighborhood.

My wife comes home and dressed like a incredibly well seasoned businesswomen. She made the ONE mistake of leaving an cheap EMPTY business looking bag on the passenger seat of our car and her sister's CD binder on the backseat. My theory is that she was being watched and targeted solely because she dressed incredibly well in designer businesswomen suits. The next morning, she walks out the door and comes back in to tell me the Truck's side cab window was broken and pulled completely off the frame of the car.

We paid $198 just for the window. Thankfully, my father in law was able to take the new window and put it on like new for us. The point is that someone broke the window and stole an empty bag and my sister in law's CD binder of Christian music.

Also, someone else that is obvious that we all should be aware of. Make extra sure to lock all your doors. Back when I used to live in some apartments, I came home very late night and parked my car. Sat there for a few minutes, got out and had a smoke. I saw a guy walking through each parking space attempting to just open every door hoping that someone forgot to lock it. I saw him do this to about 5 cars and he found one unlocked. I actually stepped out and yelled out at him and boy did that dude run in a hurry.

Anyway, I hope some of my comments have given any sort of insight or help. Just leave nothing in the car, and lock everything. Don't bring your Lexus to work.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: Argh.... car thieves

some of the people whom i know that drive around with a lot of hardware (typical, we're talking lethal hardware) in their vehicles have opted to install heavy steel plate behind their rear seats, making their trunk a relatively secure lock box. granted, this only applies to well-made vehicles where you can't easily crowbar the trunk lid or make a jiggler attack on the keyway back there... but it sure is a good way to roll.

in my CJ (which essentially never has the top or doors on it in a serious way) i simply removed the rear seat, bolted in a 6" tall lock box that runs through most of the bed, and mounted the rear seat on top of that. now i can flip the rear seats up or padlock the whole affair closed and never have to worry much about taking the Jeep anywhere (except when i'm traveling with long arms)