Cops wake you up if you leave stuff in your car

faethor

faethor

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"Recently, the Richmond, Virgina Police Department has adopted a new initiative in an attempt to curb vehicle break-ins. Officers on the night shift now check vehicles for valuables left in plain sight, and when they find them, the police stop by the vehicle's owner's home for a little chat. All of these "wake up calls" are most likely to occur between midnight and 4:00 a.m. in order to teach car owners a lesson about protecting themselves from crime."
http://www.nbc12.com/category/19597...=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv

While it may possibly be a dumb idea to leave stuff in your car in plain sight if it's not illegal the police should bugger off.
 
While it may possibly be a dumb idea to leave stuff in your car in plain sight if it's not illegal the police should bugger off.
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Yeah, really. I usually leave my car unlocked, as I rarely leave anything in it worth more than the cost of a replacement window. (And if someone wants to steal the whole car, a locked door isn't exactly going to influence their decision very much. And, honestly, I don't particularly care, since it's insured, anyhow.)

But if an officer woke me up to tell me something was in my car... I'd really give him an earful about this procedure. Doubly so if he woke up my son. If the goal is to educate, there's no reason they couldn't just stick a flyer in your mailbox. But, honestly, if the local force has no greater worries than trying to prevent that sort of petty theft... I'd venture that they may be a bit overstaffed or have some priorities out of line.
 
They could just leave a little note on your car.
 
They could just leave a little note on your car.
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They could just bust your window and take your stuff. That would teach you. :)
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Yeah... Those are basically the same. The note is a handy flag for the potential criminal. :lol:
 
that's why it's good to have a garage.
 
that's why it's good to have a garage.
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Indeed. But that's where the spoiled and pampered FUN car lives! The boring, terrible commuter car gets to sit on the street and suffer my complete indignation every time I have to drive it.
 
Leave something risque, like dildos, and sue for invasion of privacy for the cop coming on your property and peeking in the car.
 
ilwrath said:
Indeed. But that's where the spoiled and pampered FUN car lives! The boring, terrible commuter car gets to sit on the street and suffer my complete indignation every time I have to drive it.
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oh, you're one of THOSE people with more than one car!
well, Boo Hoo

:lol:
 
oh, you're one of THOSE people with more than one car!
well, Boo Hoo
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:D What can I say? I'm from Detroit. It's in my blood. My grandpa worked at Ford his whole life. My cousin worked at Chrysler her whole life. I've done IT contracts for Ford, Visteon, GM, and EDS. I currently work for a supplier that has metal fasteners on most American assembled vehicles. The song of the V8 engine sings to my roots.

And, believe it or not, it's cheaper to own two cars than one around here. The multi-car discount on insurance on the fun car drops by more than the cost of insuring the commuter. How this makes sense, I'm not totally sure. But it works out for me, as now I have a family spare car (no needing to rent one) and a vehicle that doesn't stick out while parked in the middle of Detroit. And trust me, there are plenty of areas you want to be low-key in around here. And that's probably another good anti-crime method, in general. Don't flag yourself as a target, and you'll have a lot less problems.
 
In a timely but unfortunate coincidence a neighbour was being visited by his father just the other day when, over night, someone broke into his father's truck and ...

stole his laptop!

Doh!
 
ilwrath said:
:D The song of the V8 engine sings to my roots.
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:lol: You know you're in love when you make poetry.

And, believe it or not, it's cheaper to own two cars than one around here. The multi-car discount on insurance on the fun car drops by more than the cost of insuring the commuter. How this makes sense, I'm not totally sure. But it works out for me, as now I have a family spare car (no needing to rent one) and a vehicle that doesn't stick out while parked in the middle of Detroit. And trust me, there are plenty of areas you want to be low-key in around here. And that's probably another good anti-crime method, in general. Don't flag yourself as a target, and you'll have a lot less problems.
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makes sense. My mom likes to keep all her cars as unobtrusive as possible.
Although she does have one of those 'keep christ in christmas' magnets. Of course, no one is going to target a car with religious symbols on it. Which is another slap to that silly 'war on christmas' bullshit. But that's another topic

:D
 
ilwrath said:
And, believe it or not, it's cheaper to own two cars than one around here. The multi-car discount on insurance on the fun car drops by more than the cost of insuring the commuter. How this makes sense, I'm not totally sure.
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When I had my new 99 Ford Mustang Cobra I found the cost of insurance went down when I included a 70s IH Scout II on the same policy. My agent said that one can't drive them both at the same time so they reduced the rate of 100% from the Cobra down to closer to 70%. The IH Scout II was thought to be driven 30% of the time. (Actually a fairly good estimate by those accuaries.)

On the negative side my IH Scout II was broken into. On the further negative side I never frickin' locked the vehicle. The one door didn't lock correctly and was therefore a pain to unlock. It appears the theives didn't bother to just try the door as they instead broke the little triangle window out. Which on the further negative side was twice as expensive as it would have been had they broken the big window right next to it. On the positive side someone found my stolen jacket and the stolen wallet was still in the jacket and it still had all it's $125 cash and all credit cards. --- I don't get this shody thief.
 
cecilia said:
makes sense. My mom likes to keep all her cars as unobtrusive as possible.
Although she does have one of those 'keep christ in christmas' magnets. Of course, no one is going to target a car with religious symbols on it. Which is another slap to that silly 'war on christmas' bullshit. But that's another topic
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Perhaps related?

Yesterday I passed a white panel van with a Michelle Bachmann for President sticker. (oops I guess they couldn't have faced the loss and just removed it.) It also had a sticker 'Honk if you don't pay enough taxes'... My honk was loud, long, and the guy didn't bother to wave back. How rude ask me to do something then can't be polite about it!
 
@faethor
Hey cool! Another SVT owner here? My fun car in question is a 2001 Mustang SVT Cobra coupe. :)

Speelgoedmannetje said:
I got more than one bicycle :oops:
My legs are my V8 :D
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Hehe! I don't know if you'd laugh or cry knowing this... but when I actually want to ride my bike, I usually end up needing to throw it in the back of my truck and take it somewhere, as this subdivision is so insanely bike unfriendly. :P I'm not usually overconcerned with danger, but you'd have to be nuts to ride a pushbike around here. The streets have been widened to improve traffic, but at the cost of traffic being right at the curbs. Absolutely no room for a bike.
 
cecilia said:
and I bet they are sexy as all heck!! :banana:
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Pretty much athletic yes...

And hairy ;)
ilwrath said:
Hehe! I don't know if you'd laugh or cry knowing this... but when I actually want to ride my bike, I usually end up needing to throw it in the back of my truck and take it somewhere, as this subdivision is so insanely bike unfriendly. :p I'm not usually overconcerned with danger, but you'd have to be nuts to ride a pushbike around here. The streets have been widened to improve traffic, but at the cost of traffic being right at the curbs. Absolutely no room for a bike.
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Pity really. Driving in the US seemed to me so relaxed, so open, having a clear view all the time. With that much space it can and should be made pretty safe for cyclists.
Last year I actually was hit by a car in the city, it drove over my left arm (somehow my arm was only bruised - the car had a life-sized dent and scratches all over). It happened that the driver was drunk but I kept on asking myself whether I made an error or not. People around me at that time kept on stating it wasn't my fault. I don't trust drivers anymore. But I still am cycling to my work every day, because cycling here means freedom.
 
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