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Why crime pays - 8/17/2011 7:34:27 PM

Termyn8or

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I have a couple things posted on craigslist, well one right now at least so I do look at it. In fact I look at the free stuff alot. At least it is in my price range LOL. So I run across this :

"I WAS ROBBED TODAY SOMEONE BROKE IN MY HOUSE AND STOLE A 42" FLATSCREEN (INSIGNIA) AND 32" FLATSCREEN !! IF YOU COME ACROSS THESE PLEASE CONTACT THE POLICE!"

Now let's lay this out. If he is on craigslist with it he probably already called the law and I know exactly what they told him. If he had insurance he can collect it, because he needs a police report to do that. If he had insurance he would not waste his time on craigslist. So it is a foregone conclusion that he did not have insurance, whether homeowner's or renter's. Very few people arond here have renter's insurance and many, once they pay off a house drop the insurance, especially in certain areas, the ones that used to be redlined. But the cops will not even hint that they will make the slightest effort to recover your stolen items. And they won't

What's more if I found some crackhead on the street selling what he described and called the police, they would put me on hold overnight because they just don't care. And I don't blame them, they got plenty of people to bust. What's more the poster did not give a location, or any serial numbers which would be an absolute MINIMUM requirement for ANYONE to even look into it, or anything. In fact he has the usual anonymized email through craigslist, which means nobody can get even who the fuck he is without a court order, unless he replies to a response.

That means if I want to know who he is I could see if he responds to me from his actual email, go through the hacking and shit (which I cannot do) and find out who he is, to find out if his TVs showed up............. WHERE ? At some bar ? And if they did show up at some bar they got sold for fifty bucks by some crackheads to drunks who know gaddamn well that they bougfht something hot and are never going to say a thing about it, in fact they would most likely buy them for someone else, like a cutie they're sweet on or something, adding another layer of anonymity to the chain.

I had a gun stolen, I didn't even bother calling. I had a nice laptop stolen, I didn't even bother calling. There is no point unless you get beyond your insurance deductible. Like filing taxes long form, if you can't get enough deductions to get ahead of the standard deduction for your filing class, don't bother. Shit, two of the Women in my family been audited, they both won, but that's not the point. Last year we talked about them filing and decided that one thing was not worth it, and they would've beat the office anyway, it just wasn't worth the trouble. Put things in perspective..

So in the public service portion of this message from the Terminal, remember that you cannot stop anyone from taking your shit, all you can do is to slow them down. This is not bullshit. If there is any gold left in Fort Knox, the reason someone doesn't try to steal it is because it is too fucking hard. It can be done. It is just too much fucking trouble.

As such, make it take too much time. For private Citizens to use deadly force, which would be a hell of a deterrent for those who can use it, it is not for the commoner. What's more there is usually not enough to lose to make it worth it. Most people, anyone with a brain goes in their house they don't see a damn thing worth stealing. Those TVs the dude lost, they are going to be sold for about fifty bucks apiece if that. Bunch of junk.

Now if you are stacking precious metals, first of all you don't want to do that until you own property. If you must then use a safety deposit box, in fact several of them. But if you stack you get a safe, and you embed chain into cement in a hole in your house, basement actually. Somehow. Make them crack the safe there. If they can take the safe you are fucked. When they get it to their house they got all week to bust it open. Make them do it where it sits. Mine is not chained to concrete, but it is in a certain spot where it would be so hard to remove that it just ain't worth it. Let them sit here with hammers and shit for hours and hours and see where that gets them.

You can never stop them, you just slow them down. Remember that. And if crime didn't pay, there would be a hell of alot less people doing it. And living in a "good" neighborhood means shit. I fact sometimes it makes you more of a target. They think you got something. But the demographics have changed a bit, people in town do have nice shit. The boosters have caught on to that and now, we are not quite safe. But then down here, neither are they.

Sure, if I run across a 32" or 42" TV for sale I will be sure to call the police. I'm sure a full investigation and a tri state manhunt will ensue LOL. See you on the evening news.

T^T

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 9:40:13 AM

DesFIP

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Actually, I think he would have done better to wait until a craigslist ad for these items went up, and then told the police. Around here, they would certainly have done a quick sting operation and caught the thief.

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 2:23:36 PM

Termyn8or

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If they would do anything to hunt down a TV set that is pretty good city services. Damn good in fact. In many places they won't even come out.

But even that presupposes that it goes for sale in a public venue like CL, rather than a backdoor deal at a hole in the wall bar. What's more the guy might not even have the serial numbers. Hell, I don't even know the serial numbers to my guns !. And no they are not filed off :-). But people generally don't keep that kind of records, so even with a sting the guy can't prove anything is his most likely.

But all of this added it up is why, like I said, crime pays. And the odds of getting caught are slim. Everybody watches CSI and thinks every criminal gets caught. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Even armed robbers on camera don't always get caught, unless they got a long rap sheet and someone can pick them out of a mug book or something. What's more with a little bit of brains an alibi can be established anywhere that does not require ID. I could have someone else walk into a police station and report a fake minor robbery at my house and not show ID. This while I go rob a bank. Not that I would, but I could. I could let someone use my ATM card miles away. Or use my cellphone. Any number of things, and that's without really thinking about it, there are millions of ways.

People are lucky I don't take to it. I have been quite tempted at times.

T^T

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 2:30:18 PM

LadyConstanze

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There was something in the news today about one of the looters in the riots, apparently made off with a damned expensive and very professional camera, the guy called up the manufacturer and said he hasn't got a manual and where can he buy one, the lady on the phone twigged and asked for the serial number - came up as stolen, gave him a story that part of the service is actually that somebody comes and shows you how to handle it, explains the manual and gives you a demo, all included in the price and just good customer service - the idiot gave his address and was surprised when the cops turned up...

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 2:33:36 PM

Muttling

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyConstanze

There was something in the news today about one of the looters in the riots, apparently made off with a damned expensive and very professional camera, the guy called up the manufacturer and said he hasn't got a manual and where can he buy one, the lady on the phone twigged and asked for the serial number - came up as stolen, gave him a story that part of the service is actually that somebody comes and shows you how to handle it, explains the manual and gives you a demo, all included in the price and just good customer service - the idiot gave his address and was surprised when the cops turned up...

There's a LOT of high end gear that they trace by serial number. They usually ask for a serial number when you try to get customer support, part of it is making sure they know the version they're talking about and part of it is looking to stolen loot.

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 2:40:46 PM

Termyn8or

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What that guy had was not high end gear. a 32" and a 42" ? I don't think so. However in high end stuff there are less of them produced and they skip serial numbers. They use a checksum which is not revealed. But TVs are el cheapo Chinese mass market junk and the last four digits don't even matter. Just change one digit of the last four.

T^T

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 2:45:20 PM

DomImus

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ORIGINAL: Termyn8or
If he had insurance he would not waste his time on Craigslist.

Not necessarily. I've seen people who have had guitars ripped off and they still post about it on Craigslist in hopes of finding the instrument even after insurance has made restitution. In the case of the guy with the television sets maybe you are right but it's not always the case.

You can never stop them, you just slow them down.

No argument. Like trying to stop a swarm of fucking locusts.

And living in a "good" neighborhood means shit.

I gotta disagree with this. The key is finding an unattractive target in a nicer neighborhood. My apartment was broken into last year. I looked around at dozens of new places to live before I found the perfect spot. An old, somewhat beaten down farmhouse surrounded by nicer homes in a fairly nice area. Very burglar unfriendly terrain. Burglars are stupid and lazy. I focused on the lazy part. It's going to take work to rip me off this time. People to lazy to get a job won't be up to the task.

Sure, if I run across a 32" or 42" TV for sale I will be sure to call the police. I'm sure a full investigation and a tri state manhunt will ensue LOL. See you on the evening news.

If someone takes one of those televisions and hits a cop over the head and kills him then you'll see plenty of action. Seems like the only crime that really lights a fire under their ass these days.

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 3:20:02 PM

LadyConstanze

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DomImus

Not necessarily. I've seen people who have had guitars ripped off and they still post about it on Craigslist in hopes of finding the instrument even after insurance has made restitution. In the case of the guy with the television sets maybe you are right but it's not always the case.

Guitars are a different issue, each and every guitar player I know has a rather tight relationship with his guitars, and apparently they all feel and play a bit differently, so if you're used to play one, you can't just replace it with another one, even if it's the same make and model, the way the frets feel after use apparently changes, plus most people won't name their TVs but they all seem to name their guitars.

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 5:02:43 PM

tiggerspoohbear

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There was a news story in either Ottawa or Toronto last week. The woman had her bicycle stolen. It was pretty distinctive because she'd done a lot of custom work to it. She did report the theft to the police and then started searching Craigslist. She did this for about a month and had just about given up when she gave it one last try. There was her $5,000 bike advertised for sale. She contacted police again, they ran a sting on the guy and VOILA she got it back. Repairs needed of course, it'd been damaged, but she didn't mind that. Her custom-made ride was back home where it belonged. And she says she'll now be investing in more than a few heavy duty locks for it.

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RE: Why crime pays - 8/18/2011 5:50:49 PM

WinsomeDefiance

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I have insurance. It is pretty inexpensive, I think I pay maybe $16/mo for it thanks to multiple policy discounts. Anyway, even if I had a check from my insurance company and was able to replace everything taken, I'd still want to find the bazturd who stole from me. Maybe I'm just vindictive that way, but if someone comes unwelcomed into my home and steals from me - I want that person prosecuted. Hell yes, I'd be posting on craigslist and even putting up flyers if I thought it would help! When my son's bike was stolen, I had pictures of it plastered all over town on flyers. Someone saw the guy who stole it riding around on it, and the bike was returned to my son.

When my home was broken into in the past, about 5 years ago or so, we knew who did it (it was a homeless young man who was a friend of my son's that I had let stay with us for a while) but we couldn't prove it. The police came out, took my statement, dusted for prints etc. but never did gather enough evidence to prosecute. The guy ended up getting beat up and put in the hospital (vigilante justice - not something I asked for and I wasn't happy about it).

If my house was broken into now, I'd call the police and make a report. Not just because I'd need it to get compensated from the insurance company, but because I'd rather justice was achieved legally. It is nice to be loved, but it scares me sometimes just how protective some of these young guys are that I've helped out over the years.

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