View Full Version : Hoodlums
My car got broken into last night, I was parking in the underground parking of my building. Apparently 4-5 total got broken into last night (and that was only what was reported at 8:30am this morning). I am SO frustrated and angry. Car is in getting fixed now (front passenger window was smashed in and in the process they smashed the shit out of the door frame around the window) and I'm working on putting my lost property claim together (two cameras and an ipod that I know of so far...I need to run through in my head to be sure nothing else is missing). Insurance will cover it with no increase in car premiums and a minor ($53/yr for three years) increase in my home policy...but I have to pay a $500 deductible. In the end, going through insurance was the cheapest route but still...I'm so mad I have to pay $659 because some jackass(es) decided to break into my car. I blame their parents...people who don't parent properly are now costing me money and it's pissing me off.
Great parents can have shit kids.
As hard as it is, it's a lesson well learned...don't leave valuables in your car. I learned thatin L.A.
Professur
9/25/09, 10:19pm
not to mention that your parents had a kid stupid enough to go to LA in the first place.
Valuables or not I still would have had a busted window and a smashed door frame. You couldn't SEE the valuables. They got one camera out of the pocket of a hoodie on the back seat, they got the ipod out of a black bag on the floor of the back seat and the second camera was in a black bag under a pile of shoes.
You're right, you shouldn't have a busted anything. Unless you get lucky, nobody will ever be caught & prosecuted. The cops are too busy to bother with minor vandalism.
not to mention that your parents had a kid stupid enough to go to LA in the first place.
beats Toronto
Professur
9/26/09, 12:48am
that's like saying ground zero at Hiroshima beats ground zero at Nagasaki.
Maybe we ought to help Les & Paul escape Toronto.
that's like saying ground zero at Hiroshima beats ground zero at Nagasaki.
:lol:
ThorsFoundry
9/26/09, 11:45am
it's why I leave my shit unlocked. fucking body work is too expensive. course i got security measures - they just ain't "conventional". probably not even legal, but i don't care. i'm waiting for the poor bastard who tries it, as i'm too scared to check it out on myself....
surveillance hardware around here is worth every penny.
Then there's the treating neighborhood people right.
You're right, you shouldn't have a busted anything. Unless you get lucky, nobody will ever be caught & prosecuted. The cops are too busy to bother with minor vandalism.
Yup, I know. It's ridiculous. At least the cops here put on a little bit better front of pretending to care than the cops in Ont when my brother's car was broken into in Aug.
randomJACKASS
9/27/09, 07:52am
I have an army of dogs on my side. The karmic backlash would not be nice!
Difference is I live in the city. Jerry rigged security systems, "treating people right" and big vicious dogs either aren't allowed or don't do shit. I'm also not interested in breaking the law MYSELF to protect my material possessions. I'd rather have my actual car stolen than end up in jail because some "security system" I rigged up caused serious injury or death to the person trying to steal the car.
What really gets me is that they KNEW not to open the door to my car. This wasn't some group of teenagers looking for some quick cash to buy some booze or something. These people had done this before. The glass in my car isn't alarmed but all the doors are. They couldn't have opened the doors without setting the alarm off, someone had to crawl into the car through the open window, go through my things, take what they wanted and crawl back out.
I'd rather have my actual car stolen than end up in jail because some "security system" I rigged up caused serious injury or death to the person trying to steal the car.
A couple dozen of those & watch property crime drop precipitously
randomJACKASS
9/27/09, 07:41pm
A couple dozen of those & watch property crime drop precipitously
Bullshit.
ThorsFoundry
9/27/09, 08:24pm
A couple dozen of those & watch property crime drop precipitously
ha! (at least around MY truck!) LOL
tis not bullshit. Try it - you'll like it!
I can be 1500 miles away and see who's there. All silent, all hidden. NON-conventional places - designed by yours truly. Also have some other totally (ok, 90%) non-lethal devices in some areas. Not deterrents - they are traps.
randomJACKASS
9/27/09, 09:39pm
Negative reinforcement may or may not work on it's victims, but unless someone dies a horrible death, or suffers painful debilitation, it does nothing to deter other would be criminals. If I was to rig a home made surprise I would try and rig up a taser to taze someone when they sat down, yet two problems with it, what if I forgot, or loaned the car and forgot, and what if it kills someone? Just get a good loud alarm that covers the windows too is your best bet.
I have studied this kind of thing in a scholarly and professional way, and the best evidence IS actually on my side here.
ThorsFoundry
9/27/09, 11:11pm
Negative reinforcement may or may not work on it's victims, but unless someone dies a horrible death, or suffers painful debilitation, it does nothing to deter other would be criminals. If I was to rig a home made surprise I would try and rig up a taser to taze someone when they sat down, yet two problems with it, what if I forgot, or loaned the car and forgot, and what if it kills someone? Just get a good loud alarm that covers the windows too is your best bet.
I have studied this kind of thing in a scholarly and professional way, and the best evidence IS actually on my side here.
ok. :la:
You can buy alarms that can hit 140dbls and rig them inside the car instead of outside. Strobe lights are interesting too. Personally, I like the hidden camera idea of rJA. Get the evidence and hand it to the Police.
You can also fake an alarm system cheaply.
Better yet...park in visible spots..and preferably close to more expensive looking cars. :)
Get the evidence and hand it to the Police.
I've known people who tried that. The cops won't even look at it.
I've known people who tried that. The cops won't even look at it.
then you turn to the media
You can buy alarms that can hit 140dbls and rig them inside the car instead of outside. Strobe lights are interesting too. Personally, I like the hidden camera idea of rJA. Get the evidence and hand it to the Police.
You can also fake an alarm system cheaply.
Better yet...park in visible spots..and preferably close to more expensive looking cars. :)
I HAVE an alarm system. However, the glass is not alarmed (I imagine that would be terribly expensive). They didn't open the doors, otherwise the alarm would have went off.
I have to park where I park, it's assigned parking in the underground garage here. A restricted access underground garage at that...
Better yet...park in visible spots..and preferably close to more expensive looking cars. :)
I don't know how car theft works over there, but over here the most common cars (not necessarily the most expensive) are the ones that get stolen the most.
E.g. if you drive a VW Bora and park it near a Ferrari you're in fact giving protection to the Ferrari.
I HAVE an alarm system. However, the glass is not alarmed (I imagine that would be terribly expensive). They didn't open the doors, otherwise the alarm would have went off.
I have to park where I park, it's assigned parking in the underground garage here. A restricted access underground garage at that...
Motion alarm... the kind that sometimes goes off close to heavy fireworks. You can set it so that it doesn't go off if a heavy truck goes by f'r instance..but it will if the body gets rocked by a fender-bender or someone walking across the hood, or someone crawling inside looking for goodies.
**
Make a complaint to the building re: their weak security. Mention protecting it's clients v. several potential crimes.
I don't know how car theft works over there, but over here the most common cars (not necessarily the most expensive) are the ones that get stolen the most.
E.g. if you drive a VW Bora and park it near a Ferrari you're in fact giving protection to the Ferrari.
Cars get stolen for parts all the time (which is why I've got etched parts, windows etc...).. but this wasn't a case of a car being grabbed for parts or even a joy-ride. It was a quick smash n'grab.
Expensive cars have expensive radios, GPS systems, better electronic toys lying around inside - look for suction-cup marks on the windshield or dash-board, plugs for laptops and iPods sticking out of cigarette-lighter plugs etc...
There are often a lot of clues as to what people have in their car. Even with no immedaite evidence and a limited amount of time to work with..you have better odds of getting something good in a Beemer than you would in a K-car :D
Motion alarm... the kind that sometimes goes off close to heavy fireworks. You can set it so that it doesn't go off if a heavy truck goes by f'r instance..but it will if the body gets rocked by a fender-bender or someone walking across the hood, or someone crawling inside looking for goodies.
**
Make a complaint to the building re: their weak security. Mention protecting it's clients v. several potential crimes.
The building is aware, they just don't give a shit.
I totally forgot about the topic.
I'm sorry to hear that Nixy, things like that should never happen. You didn't only lose your stuff, but also some money to pay the deductible. That's a bitch.
Last year I got to my car and it had the left rear view mirror broken, I didn't call the insurance company as it was more expensive to pay the deductible than to pay for the new mirror. I ended up paying USD$150 for that when I could have spent it on ANYTHING else for my own benefit.
vBulletin® v3.6.8, Copyright ©2000-2012, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.