37 replies to this topic

[Algordo1100]

Signs that say : "Police notice: Be aware- thieves operate in this area" . Signs that say: "Lock up your valuables". . TV adverts that say: . "Don't give them an easy ride" . . And posts on Forums like the O.P's

Now don't get me wrong, Danm is entirely correct in what he has said. . But my question would be,- why should we have to suffer because of scum? . Those signs should say . : "Thieves!- we will find you" . And those TV ads should say:: " Criminals.. We are coming for you. Prepare to face justice" .
....And instead of Being scared what to share with our friends on forums such as this, where people with a shared interest come to cat and discuss. We would be posting what we want, .whilst assuring the criminal scum that their actions will be dealt with extremely harshly.

Now I know we don't live in a Utopia, far from it. .But why should WE the law abiding majority, have to change or desist in those activities which we enjoy, in fear of activity from a criminal minority? . It is not right.

We shouldn't have to be afraid. .Alas we do.

Al

Where I'm from, a lot of parking garages in the downtown area have bait cars parked in them that locks the thieves inside. There are also posters of convicted car thieves' mug shots imposed behind jail bars with caption that reads: Don't be this guy. And there are Banksy styled graffiti of policemen with K9s barking on a leash spray painted on parking lot walls. Their studies show scums are deathly afraid of dogs apparently. They don't ask you to put your hands in the air, they just bite your face off.

Statistics in my city show car thefts are getting quite rare and insurance premiums are declining as a result (state run car insurance).

That is what I mean. Don't go after the victims of crime and tell them how to make it more of a challenge for the criminals. .Go after the perpetrators of crime and tell them whats going to happen to hem if they offend. .Its not my fault if I get burgled. Its the fault of the burglar, who living though he does in a society that offers him such help as he will not starve, or freeze, or even be without health care!. still decided to take from another for his own personal, selfish gain.

The criminals need to be afraid, not us. .It is they who are wrong.

But unfortunately thats not the world we live in here in the raped and ruined U.K.

Al

[littlemissmagic]

UV marking expensive parts with unique codes and trackers is the way to go in my opinion.

I am currently rebuilding my mini and for this exact reason I don't make a build thread or post too much about my mini the best I can but no matter how careful you can be people always forget and slip (I know I've done it several times). And as previously said, we shouldnt have to be worried and paranoid about what we say.

The thing is with a tracker at least you have a higher chance of getting it back AND in the same way minimarco said about bait cars, we could at least start to catch out some of these bastards. I know that when my 2 are finishedI am going to be hiding a tracker in somewhere so if anyone EVER touches my mini I will hunt them down!

[minimarco]

Where I'm from, a lot of parking garages in the downtown area have bait cars parked in them that locks the thieves inside. There are also posters of convicted car thieves' mug shots imposed behind jail bars with caption that reads: Don't be this guy. And there are Banksy styled graffiti of policemen with K9s barking on a leash spray painted on parking lot walls. Their studies show scums are deathly afraid of dogs apparently. They don't ask you to put your hands in the air, they just bite your face off.

Statistics in my city show car thefts are getting quite rare and insurance premiums are declining as a result (state run car insurance).

Ah, found the picture.

[ChrisCityE]

I know Mini owners who are probably on this site, they regularly post on Facebook "off to xxx for a few days" and log themselves into places so they're tagged 10 miles from their home. At the same time, they accept event invites and say they are going to x y and z.

It's stupid. Firstly, I don't give a damn if you're at a pub, a supermarket or wherever. Secondly, why leave yourself so open to that?

I know I will get a response saying "but your friends won't rob you" - how many Facebook friends do you truly know? People on my list have 400 friends, some nearly 1000.

When I had my Mini in my Facebook pic I used to get a friend invite every week from other Mini owners that I didn't know.

[Dave S1]

In Australia valuables[of any description can be tagged with "MICRO_DOTS"...tagged ID chips....sprayed onto anything with clear coat or glue. ...readable through a microscope.

Also the different State Auto Associations will sandblast an owners licence number on selected car parts.

All my tools...spanners/ workshop equipment etc.is engrave with my Drivers Licence number.

[Black.Ghost]

My job is in security and I have to say it is very easy to get information these days. Social media sites are horrendous security black holes, like has been mentioned with the tagging and advertising where you are all the time. However, its not just physical items that are stolen - people often put enough information on to the internet that ID fraud is not that hard.

The other thing I will point out is no physical security measure is ever designed to stop someone from stealing it, even with the high value military stuff. It is designed to alert someone or delay someone enough that something that can be done to stop it, be that a car alarm (how many people ignore car alarms these days though?) or a lock. No measures in the world are enough to the determined thief. You have to weigh up the value of the item against the amount of security you put on it.

I agree with the points about we shouldn't have to hide anything and we should go after the criminals, however the realities of this are the complete opposite. You won't stop theft, so we need to give as much advice to people as possible to try and reduce it.

The other thing that gets me is often on here, people have talked about the security on their cars, advertising exactly what they do and don't have. That's a big no no really - again why make things easier.

Its a real shame that we live in a world where this is such an issue.

[miniman24]

Exactly the reason Ive made my location on here a bit more vague - and Ill never take pictures of my Mini (when I get my next one!) where it is kept overnight, or of any it in the area around where I live. Sad that we have to do this but you cant police the Internet

[GTIAlex06]

Have you got a foil hat on while typing this?