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Beware, Of Being Robbed


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Wilst caching in a relatively underdeveloped Park near a city in Indiana , my Ford Escape was broken into.

 

Not using my head and taking my fanny pack that contained all my Credit cards, check book, roughly 27 dollars cach and ID with us on the trails . I left it in the truck.

 

Upon our return to the truck , we discovered the window on the driver side had been smashed and the fanny pack gone. This was the only thing they took , if they had looked the truck over futher they could have gotten CD's , a digital camera , they left a caching pack in the back seat alone . They left the cell phone alone . They just smashed the window reached inside the truck grabbed the fanny pack and took off.

 

By the time I was able to return home , they had tried to use every card in my wallet . There was a message from one "Discover card" on my answering machine about suspisious activity . Yay Discover Card for being on top of things. As far as my bank card well they weren't so on top of things and they had used it for about 300 dollars worth of who knows what. I called the other card company's and they said that someone had tried to use them but were denied (probably thought to big with those as the balance on them are low, or they just couldnt figure out the pin number. Which thankfully wasnt in the wallet with the cards).

 

I now have a broken SUV window , no credit cards that are active , no way to access my money in the bank . They will be issuing me new account and new cards of course but for the next few days , there is nothing . Being as to how it was the weekend and of course after hours by the time the police arrived and took the report there was no being able to deal with my particular insurance company either . Thus I know have to drive round in my SUV with the window smashed out and plastic placed on it to keep out the rain should there be any.

 

I will be paying the price for my lack of intelligence on this one for a long time. Perhaps this will be a forewarning to you fellow cachers , to take your valuables with you always.

 

Well there is my tale, now you can all laugh and do whatever it is you are gonna do with this .

 

I am sad and angry with myself enough. Never trust that your things are safe , anywhere , ever.

 

Star

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Well there is my tale, now you can all laugh and do whatever it is you are gonna do with this .

Aw, shoot, even THIS crowd isn't going to do anything but give you sympathy and wish you well, TeamT. Thank goodness they didn't get much use out of your cards.

 

This is a dilemma I think about every time I go a-hunting. I used to take an "abbreviated" version of my wallet -- just my license and some cash -- but it was a pain taking everything out and putting it back in again. And my car is very elderly and likely to die under me one of these trips, so I decided I needed all my cards and everything in case I got into trouble. So now I take my whole huge wallet.

 

But...then what? Take it on the trail? What if I fall in the crick or drop it down a cliff? Leave it in the car? Well, there's no such thing as "locked" when you drive a ragtop.

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This is an issue in many areas. A park ranger told me some thieves watch for single hikers and break into the passenger side so the break-in isn't noticed until the driver gets home.

 

He also said they have been known to break into cars, write down credit card info and put everything back so the vicitm is none the wiser until he gets the bill.

 

I know some hikers who take all their valuables with them and leave the doors unlocked and the glove compartment opened. Saves them the cost of replacing broken windows.

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Was the fanny pack on the seat of the truck? Most thefts are ones of opportunity. He walked past your car, saw the fanny pack, broke the window, grabbed the pack and left. Time is generally against thieves, so he wouldn't take time to search the car. There was a good chance that your wallet would be in the fanny pack and slim chance that anything of real value would be in the cache bag (which I'm assuming is a backpack).

I also know someone who leaves their doors unlocked. But my concern would be someone vandalising the interior of the vehicle (I once came out of a store to discover that someone had dumped a milkshake on the seat of my motorcycle).

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Star, So sorry about the misfortune... :o ... Hopefully, you can get your stuff straighten out and the window fixed soon!

 

(I once came out of a store to discover that someone had dumped a milkshake on the seat of my motorcycle).

 

Richard, that happens when you leave your windows open!!! :(:)

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Well there is my tale, now you can all laugh and do whatever it is you are gonna do with this .

 

I am sad and angry with myself enough. Never trust that your things are safe , anywhere , ever.

 

Star

No laughing here! If it helps any, don't be angry with you - be angry with the (insert unfaimly friendly adjective) jerk who took it upon themselves to steal from you.

 

Sad? Sure.

 

Angry - you betcha, but not at yourself - at the perp.

 

I feel for ya..

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I too only want to offer my condolences. I am so overly concerned with theft that I take everything from my car. I don't leave spare change, my wallet, my cell phone, my iPod, cd cases, my GPSr or anything else sitting in it when I leave. Admitedly, it takes me a few minutes to collect everything when I park, but I feel better that way.

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Sorry to hear of your hardship Tigger :)

 

I've had my car broken into as well and know the empty helpless & frustrating feelings that occur at those times. You may want to waunder around the parking area and check inside nearby trash cans, a thief will often take his booty a short distance and go through the pack, keeping the good stuff he wants & tossing the rest into the trash can. Hey it's worth a shot and you might get some of your stuff back.

 

I bought a motorcycle a couple years ago, and initially thought it'd be wonderful to go 'caching with it. But, I just didn't feel comfortable parking it in remote spots & hiking out of sight of it for just the reason that happened to you.

 

Best of luck Tigger :o

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There is a parking area in Austin, TX under the loop 360 bridge that people are warned against frequently. It is an easy access point for the greenbelt trails, so it is a popular place to park. However, with the amount of broken glass in the area, it soon gets obvious that cars are broken into frequently there. Some of the caches on that trail warn AGAINST parking under that bridge for that point.

 

I am sorry for what happened to you... there are unfortunately a lot of people out there that don't respect other's property.

 

Malia

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I will be paying the price for my lack of intelligence on this one for a long time.  Perhaps this will be a forewarning to you fellow cachers , to take your valuables with you always.

 

Well there is my tale, now you can all laugh and do whatever it is you are gonna do with this .

 

I am sad and angry with myself enough.  Never trust that your things are safe , anywhere , ever.

 

Star

I'm not going to laugh at you, been there, done that, paid the price myself.

 

I AM going to use this to remind you of our prior discussions regarding personal protection. You just realized that your possessions are not safe any where, any place. A place you thought was safe wasn't. What if it was you, and not your SUV? People are killed every day for less then you had in that fanny pack. Women are raped. Sorry you lost your stuff, but it's just stuff. It will all be replaced eventually.

Lives are a different matter. They can never be replaced. No matter how safe you think you are, you can never trust that to be true; anyplace, anywhere.

The police's main job, as you saw, is to handle things after the fact. The chances of them being in the right place at the right time to protect you is somewhere between slim and none. We all need to stay aware of our surrounds at all times, and know how to protect ourselves and our loved ones if need be.

 

I'm truly sorry this happened to you (or anyone for that matter) but I hope you now have a slightly more realistic outlook on the world we live in, and will take steps to prevent something worse happening in the future.

Edited by Mopar
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Bummer. :) I will admit to be rather lax about such things myself. Crime is pretty low where I live (people here often still leave their homes unlocked and such) so I have at times ran into a store leaving my GPS and iPod etc sitting in the car. I have been trying to be better and remember to take them with me or lock them up, but sometimes forget. When caching, I sometimes just carry my id and some cash or one card with me. But again I get rather lax about it. This reminds me to be more careful.

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Hey Star,

 

You are not alone in your plight. Yesterday at 6pm in Burnsville, MN we were out geocaching in a city park (in plain sight of an interstate freeway) when the same thing happened to us. Ours was a passenger side window smashed...an XM Radio was stolen...along with my wife's purse (that was not in plain sight). The smash and grabs are far too common in today's world and if you get lulled into thinking you live in a low crime area so this couldn't happen...you're only being foolish in that thinking.

 

Had we returned to the car one minute sooner we would have caught the perps in the act. We walked up the hill on the trail when just before reaching the parking lot we heard them screech off. dadgum! We knew right away what had happened. Fortunately, our 8-year son did happen to see the vehicle to get a description for the police.

 

Within minutes they had used my wife's credit card to put gas on their vehicle at a station only a couple miles from our location. And within 1/2 hour they had somehow withdrawn money on an ATM. They operated fast...and when you are in the middle of all the excitement (talking to police, etc.) it's hard to know what to do or how to even cancel credit cards when you don't know who to call.

 

In our case we lost $24 cash, credit cards and a checkbook. What was actually worse about the situation is my wife is a diabetic and needs to check her blood sugars with her meter quite regularly. All of that was in the purse (along with her medications) and gone. We had to drive 80 miles home late on a Saturday night and try to purchase new diabetic equipment (when most drug stores are not open to replace equipment and insulin). Needless to say it made our caching experiences of the day a bit overshadowed by this incident.

 

Lessons learned...leave NOTHING in plain sight through windows that might interest an opportunistic thief. I'm sure in my case they were after the XM Radio (satalite radio)...but the dumb thieves didn't realize the radio has absolutely no value when stolen. I called and reported the radio as stolen and the service is permanently shut off on that unit (each radio has a serial number that is used to activate or deactivate). If anyone would attempt to restore the service they would be caught. I guess I knew all of this information...but would-be thieves are not that savvy about things...so they saw the radio as something valuable.

 

I guess if others could learn from our situation I would hope you would consider just how fast these smash and grab thefts occur. You may be only walking into a wooded area for 5 or 10 minutes...but that is ample time for thieves to take advantage of you. In just the past two weeks we had another situation where we walked out of the woods and found some kids mulling around our Explorer. This was at a very rural park where you would not expect such crime (as you would expect in the big cities). Anyhow, they immediately vacated the area before we could get back closer to the truck.

 

Have fun geocaching...but don't forget about being prudent with your belongings. A locked car door is NOTHING to someone who sees something inside that they want to steal. Leave your purses, billfolds and your credit cards, etc. at home when you are out in the woods. It makes life a whole lot easier...take it from us who have spent the past several hours on the phone trying to cancel credit cards, etc...and in general trying to put our life back together thanks to this terrible intrusion.

 

Jim7226

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Tigger, you have my sympathy, but unfortunately, your plight is fairly common. It's referred to as "car clout," and the most likely victims are folks who left something of possible value visible through the windows.

 

If you've stowed a camera or purse under the seat, be sure the cord or strap isn't sticking out. Better yet, take it with you. Never leave a pack in plain sight. Even if it's a ratty old one, it's fair game. Don't leave change in an open change holder. You'd be surprised how many people have had their windows broken out for a quarter. If you drive an SUV or other vehicle that has a fold-down seat, fold it down flat to show that you haven't got anything concealed. Don't leave a CD case visible. Make the car look as empty as possible if you plan on being away from it for any length of time.

 

Take the advice of an old NPS ranger, folks. Trailheads are prime spots for thieves.

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My car has been broken into CDs, little things taken; then outright stolen-right in my driveway. It was recovered, with no damage, say missing stereo, amp, etc.

 

It really makes me angry when I hear about this crap. I drive a truck, so I always throw anything that looks aluable under the seat, as to deter lookie-loos from the break and reach method. I also try and not take anything valuable when I plan on leaving my car in the boonies for extended periods. Certainly not my wallet. It's with me so they can ID my corpse should anything happen way out there.

 

Good luck with everything, and don't let it discourage you from caching!

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Sorry to hear of your misfortunes.

I'm in the Auto Glass business. And please, please, don't think I'm being mean. But most car breakins are the fault of the vehicle owner and not the theif.

 

Please let me explain. Most people have a false sense of security when they lock their car doors. The real problem lies in what the vehicle owner leaves in plain sight for everybody to see. Such as your fannypack being left in plain sight.

My company has replaced a lot of side windows that were busted out. Every time I go do a side window replacement I ask. What was stolen? And it is ALWAYS something that was left in sight for everyone who walks by the car to see. Cd, purses, cameras you name it. One individual told me that the only thing that was stolen was a 1/2 pack of cigarettes that he had in the cup holder.

 

And ladies. Those of you that think you can hide your purses under the seat, at least make sure the shoulder straps are also hidden under the seat. Also, don't think that it is safe to hide stuff under the floor mats. bad idea. The buldge underneath the floor mat is a great indication that something of value is hidden under there.

 

If you have nothing in sight when you park and leave your car, the chances are great that it will not be broken into. Not a 100%. Nothing is 100%. But the odds are good that your vehicle will not get broken into. That is because the perpetrator will not see anything that he/she can steal and be gone in just a few seconds.

 

Most car breakins work this way. The BAD person walks past your vehicle and SEES something that you left out in plain sight that they want. They smash your window, reach inside, grab the item and then take off. It happens just that quick.

 

My wife thinks I'm anal about hiding stuff when we leave the car. But you know what? I've replace way to many car side windows because people have left things in plain view. Even a half pack of cigarettes.

 

I'm really sorry to hear that you, or anybody else for that matter, got ripped off. Hopefully this post will help educate others in not leaving anything in sight when they leave their vehicles unattended. Not just things of value but ANYTHING.

 

You can learn more about Autoglass replacement at http://www.AtlantaWindshield.com

 

-Jeff

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But most car breakins are the fault of the vehicle owner and not the theif.

It is wise to leave valuables out of sight, or take them with you, but theft is always, completely and unequivocally the fault of the thief. The difference between failing to take precautions and taking on the karmic burden of a scumball parasite is a really, fundamentally important one.

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And please, please, don't think I'm being mean. But most car breakins are the fault of the vehicle owner and not the theif.

Sorry, Jeff, gotta disagree with ya on that statement. I don't care WHAT you leave in your car, the "fault" still lies with the vermin that broke in. Please, you're trying to say that if some mutant breaks into my car to steal a pack of smokes it's my fault? Why? Social pressure got him adicted to nicotine, so now society must support his habit?

I think not.

 

This is the same line of thinking that says it's woman's fault for getting raped because she's too pretty/sexy/whatever. No, badguys are defective human beings, there is nothing you can do except elimate the threat if it comes down to you or them.

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jeff if you read my entire post ... I do take responsibility for leaving the fanny pack in the vehicle. It was on the floor by the console, but as you said anyone looking hard enough into the vehicle could have seen it .

 

The Escape was in fact locked . We were off on the trails . We were the only vehicle in the parking lot. We beleive they drove by and seen the vehicle parked there and took a look and did perform a smash and grab , and took off as fast as they could because they had no idea of knowing how far away we were or how soon we would return.

 

Plus there was a person about 500 yards or so away from the parking area working in a garage , so he was also in and out . We asked but he seen nothing.

 

I have learned a lesson here, but I do not think that that vermin is not to blame. According to the officer that came to the scene it is a common practice for theives in the area to do such things. Its sad that someone would rather steal other peoples things instead of work for a living like the rest of us do.

 

Mopar thanks for your sympathy , but I just do not see how personal protection would have been a benefit for me in this case. Chances are even if I had said protection the theif would have got hold of that as well. At least I wasn't alone this day . I had the Wulf caching with me . Not that there is anything we could have done differently aside from clipping the fanny pack to my waist (like I should have done in the first place) .

 

If someone wants to steal from you they will. Plain and simple.

 

Star

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TTI,

 

My condolences on your loss. Don't beat yourself up too bad--you're supposed to be able to leave stuff in your car, and not worry about--and it could have been worse, eh?

 

I always keep my license, ID, and credit cards in my pocket. Cash is in a moneyclip in another pocket--just in case.

 

As for accessing your money in the bank, break out the old checkbook for a while.

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Mopar thanks for your sympathy , but I just do not see how personal protection would have been a benefit for me in this case. Chances are even if I had said protection the theif would have got hold of that as well. At least I wasn't alone this day . I had the Wulf caching with me . Not that there is anything we could have done differently aside from clipping the fanny pack to my waist (like I should have done in the first place) .

 

If someone wants to steal from you they will. Plain and simple.

 

Star

Star, I do not think there was much you could do in this case, but as someone else also mentioned, it could have been much worse. You could have been personally robbed on the trail. You could have come back why they were in the middle of robbing your car. A wild animal is unpredictable when cornered, and this type of "person" (i use the term person VERY loosely) is no different then an animal. They may have attacked you to keep from being identified. It's sad, but the truth is bad people kill nice people every day for less. :)

You now know that your car is not safe; crime can strike any time, any place. I would hope you might now understand that even in nice areas bad things sometimes happens. ]

 

I refuse to adhere to your statement "If someone wants to steal from you they will. Plain and simple." , and by extension if someone wants to harm you they will.

There are steps you can take to lessen the chances. In your case hiding potential valuables or taking them with you might have helped. In another case (of a personal assault) having you valuables with you might have been worse. I can not prevent morally deprived people from existing in the world, but there are plenty of steps I can take to minimize their impact on my life. One step is locking my car and home, and keeping valuables out of plain site. Another is paying attention to my surroundings and having the awareness, training and means to defend myself.

The old joke goes "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T out to get you". I drive defensively. I am always thinking "if that guy swerves and cuts me off, what will I do?" and stuff like that. If there is a fire in my home, I have a plan. The same thing with people. If I see someone on the trail, I think "if this guy does A, what is the best way to respond?"

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TTI,

 

My condolences on your loss. Don't beat yourself up too bad--you're supposed to be able to leave stuff in your car, and not worry about--and it could have been worse, eh?

 

I always keep my license, ID, and credit cards in my pocket. Cash is in a moneyclip in another pocket--just in case.

 

As for accessing your money in the bank, break out the old checkbook for a while.

They got the checkbook as well . .....

 

And yes things locked up inside your car are supposed to be safe , same as things locked up inside of your home. But they aren't .

 

I wonder if anything is safe ....

 

I know I know there are more good people then bad people , at least I would like to think so .

 

I understand what you are saying as well MoPar... (I am just not the kind of person that carries such protection ) Wulf on the other hand would very much like to ....

 

Star

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Hey Star,

 

You are not alone in your plight. Yesterday at 6pm in Burnsville, MN we were out geocaching in a city park (in plain sight of an interstate freeway) when the same thing happened to us. Ours was a passenger side window smashed...an XM Radio was stolen...along with my wife's purse (that was not in plain sight). The smash and grabs are far too common in today's world and if you get lulled into thinking you live in a low crime area so this couldn't happen...you're only being foolish in that thinking.

So sorry to hear that they got you as well . Must have been to nice a day and that brought out the lowlifes as well as the good people .

 

Star

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I understand what you are saying as well MoPar... (I am just not the kind of person that carries such protection ) Wulf on the other hand would very much like to ....

 

Star

I specifically did not mention a gun, because that's not the only option. Even if you have the legal and mental ability to carry one (I don't mean to imply someone is dumb, but you have to be of a certain mindset), there are often other means of personal protection. A gun is just one. It's major advantage is you can (hopefully) stay a safe distance away to keep from getting harmed yourself. Of course, you must balance the legal and moral implications of lethal force. Other options include knives, pepper spray, hiking sticks, and various hand-held options. You would be AMAZED what can be done with a hiking staff, small maglite, or keychain holder and a day or 2 of training.

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I understand what you are saying as well MoPar... (I am just not the kind of person that carries such protection ) Wulf on the other hand would very much like to ....

 

Star

I specifically did not mention a gun, because that's not the only option. Even if you have the legal and mental ability to carry one (I don't mean to imply someone is dumb, but you have to be of a certain mindset), there are often other means of personal protection. A gun is just one. It's major advantage is you can (hopefully) stay a safe distance away to keep from getting harmed yourself. Of course, you must balance the legal and moral implications of lethal force. Other options include knives, pepper spray, hiking sticks, and various hand-held options. You would be AMAZED what can be done with a hiking staff, small maglite, or keychain holder and a day or 2 of training.

Well we did indeed have a hiking stick with us and flashlights ... and a loaded backpack that would have packed a good hard blow if swung at a perp.

 

But these vermin didn't want to deal with people , they were snakes and made sure no one was watching.

 

Star

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That's really a shame, so sorry to hear it!

 

I worry now that I have a soft-top jeep that anyone can easily unzip my window, stick their arm in, and grab anything they want :) I take everything out when I leave, so I look like a human pack mule most of the time.

 

In the matter of avoiding vehicle thefts in general, my mom and I have operated under the assumption that -visibility breeds temptation- in regards to items left within plain sight in the vehicle.

We always carry something like a beach towel or big long-sleeved shirt in the backseat to throw over anything like backpacks or binoculars or cd cases (which all gets stowed on the floorboards in the backseat) when we leave the vehicle. Most things should go in the trunk (if ya got one!)

 

Of course we know theives are not brain dead (or some aren't :( ) but out of sight might hopefully equal out of mind in regards to stealing.....

Is this a "lady thing"? :o

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i had some idiot thief bust out my passenger window IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE and steal the faceplate to my stereo. bypassed the hundreds of $$ in tools in the van, and all the cd's etc.. fortunately, they were too inept to get the rest of the stereo out. so i had to spend the day completely emptying out my vehicle, including the rest of the stereo, so they couldn't get the victory.

i don't worry too much about parking at trailheads now, it's fairly obvious there's NOTHING left to steal at all.

i've learned to take a lot less stuff with me when out in the woods. small wallet, whatever else is needed that fits in the cache pack, that's it.. and a nice little note for any would be thieves pointing out that there's nothing left to steal in the vehicle.

sorry about your loss!

at least you notified your bank, etc quick, as id theft is a total pain in the butt...

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And please, please, don't think I'm being mean. But most car breakins are the fault of the vehicle owner and not the theif.

Sorry, Jeff, gotta disagree with ya on that statement. I don't care WHAT you leave in your car, the "fault" still lies with the vermin that broke in. Please, you're trying to say that if some mutant breaks into my car to steal a pack of smokes it's my fault? Why? Social pressure got him adicted to nicotine, so now society must support his habit?

I think not.

 

This is the same line of thinking that says it's woman's fault for getting raped because she's too pretty/sexy/whatever. No, badguys are defective human beings, there is nothing you can do except elimate the threat if it comes down to you or them.

Ok yes. You got me there. The fault is on the thief. However, I do believe the fault lies partially on the vehicle owner. This isn't the 1930's when no one had to really worry too much about bad people or break-ins. It is truely unfortunate that we live in a society where break-ins and thievery are, unfortunately, a commom occurance. More common than you realize. And when you leave stuff out in the open, your just asking for trouble.

That's just the cold hard facts.

 

This is the same line of thinking that says it's woman's fault for getting raped because she's too pretty/sexy/whatever.

 

What the hell is that all about? Your comparing someone getting thier car broken in with rape? And you also believe that only pretty or sexy girls get raped? If you think the two are the same' date=' your really sick. Rapists are sickos. They don't just prey on the pretty girls.

 

People are responsible for thier actions. Or at least they should be. When your a kid and you leave your bike up by the street or in front of your neighbors house and sometime over night it get's stolen sure it may be the fault of the bad kid who stole it. But arn't you partially responsible for not putting it away?

 

It would be wonderful if we all didn't have to worry about the bad things and the bad people that plague our society. But you know what? They are out there. And if we don't assume reponsibility for ourselves, we may just become the victims.

That whole thing you mentioned about rape is way off base? Only pretty girls get raped. Where the hell did you get that from?

 

All I'm saying is that if you don't put things [b']away and out of sight[/b] when you leave your vehicle, you may be asking for trouble. That won't entirely eliminate a break-in but it will sure put the odds in your favor.

Be responsible.

Star, I'm really sorry it happened to you. Not much else I can say.

 

-Jeff

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Jeff, I didn't say only pretty girls get raped. I said your same line of thinking (it's the victim's fault for not hiding her bag, locking his door, etc) HAS been used to defend rapists. "She asked for it because of the way she was dressed" has been used in court many many times (at one sad time in our history it sometimes even worked). Your logic is the bad guy couldn't help himself because the victim asked for it. That's flawed logic. If a normal person sees an unlocked car, we don't steal it. If we see a person on a dark street late at night, we don't rob them. If we see a GPS on a dashboard we don't smash a window and grab it.

 

Our household goes to greater then avg (I think) lengths to protect ourselves. Yet stuff can still happen (and has). I refuse to be at fault because I didn't add a THIRD lock onto our steel door. I'm not going to be at fault when someone dies of lead poisoning after trying to attack us. The bad guy is at fault, and that's squarely where the fault is going to stay.

Ohhhh, poor baby mutant bad guy! It's not his fault! We MADE him bad by working hard and buying nicer stuff then he has. BULL!

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People are responsible for thier actions.  Or at least they should be.  When your a kid and you leave your bike up by the street or in front of your neighbors house and sometime over night it get's stolen sure it may be the fault of the bad kid who stole it.  But arn't you partially responsible for not putting it away?

 

It would be wonderful if we all didn't have to worry about the bad things and the bad people that plague our society.  But you know what?  They are out there.  And if we don't assume reponsibility for ourselves, we may just become the victims.

 

Yes, all people are responsible for their actions. Including people who choose to take what is not theirs.

 

Because a kid leaves his bike out by street does <b>not</b> make it right or acceptable for someone to steel the bike. A law biding person respects other peoples property. Stop making criminals out to be victims!

 

Edit: changed HTML to BBcode.

Edited by Bushwhacked Glenn
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Your logic is the bad guy couldn't help himself because the victim asked for it. That's flawed logic. If a normal person sees an unlocked car, we don't steal it. If we see a person on a dark street late at night, we don't rob them. If we see a GPS on a dashboard we don't smash a window and grab it.

 

Our household goes to greater then avg (I think) lengths to protect ourselves. Yet stuff can still happen (and has). I refuse to be at fault because I didn't add a THIRD lock onto our steel door. I'm not going to be at fault when someone dies of lead poisoning after trying to attack us. The bad guy is at fault, and that's squarely where the fault is going to stay.

Ohhhh, poor baby mutant bad guy! It's not his fault! We MADE him bad by working hard and buying nicer stuff then he has. BULL!

My logic is NOT that the bad guy couldn't help himself because the victim asked for it. My logic is that you do your best NOT to give these opportunities to the creeps that will be more than happy to take advantage of you.

Your right, normal people such as yourself, myself, and hopefully everybody on this forum who sees an unlocked car, won't steal it. If we see a person on a dark street late at night, we don't rob them. If we see a GPS on a dashboard we don't smash a window and grab it. But not everybody is like this. That is WHY we (you, me, everybody) has to do what we can to try and prevent ourselves from becoming victims.

I'm not sticking up for the bad guy. No way. You or I wouldn't break into a car to steal something. But somebody else out there would.

 

As I said earlier, I've replaced a lot of car windows that were busted out because a thief saw something that he wanted so he smashed and grabbed. If you leave things in your car, make sure you completely hide them out of sight. Sure, nothing is foolproof but you still need to be responsible by not presenting such opportunities to a would be thief.

I'm not here to start fights with anyone. I'm just saying thieves will steal anything out of your car whether you think there valuable or not.

Remove a thief's opportunity and your less likely to become a victim.

Do you agree or dissagree?

enough said.

 

-Jeff

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And please, please, don't think I'm being mean.  But most car breakins are the fault of the vehicle owner and not the theif.

Sorry, Jeff, gotta disagree with ya on that statement. I don't care WHAT you leave in your car, the "fault" still lies with the vermin that broke in. ...

I agree with Mopar here. It's always the perps fault. Period. There are things you can do to make it less likely it happens to you. However they were looking to do the crime when they found your car or whatever they were seeking to do and if they pass you buy they will be looking at someone else soon enough.

 

Society can do things that tweak percentage points on the crime scale and society should pay attetnion to that to fix those types of problems. However at the individual level someone makes a decision that they have to live with whatever the outcome.

 

Edit: Looks like gpsjeep already said as much when I was typing my post.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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People are responsible for thier actions.  Or at least they should be.  When your a kid and you leave your bike up by the street or in front of your neighbors house and sometime over night it get's stolen sure it may be the fault of the bad kid who stole it.  But arn't you partially responsible for not putting it away?

 

It would be wonderful if we all didn't have to worry about the bad things and the bad people that plague our society.  But you know what?  They are out there.  And if we don't assume reponsibility for ourselves, we may just become the victims.

 

Yes, all people are responsible for their actions. Including people who choose to take what is not theirs.

 

Because a kid leaves his bike out by street does <b>not</b> make it right or acceptable for someone to steel the bike. A law biding person respects other peoples property. Stop making criminals out to be victims!

 

Edit: changed HTML to BBcode.

I'm not making criminals out to be the victim. No way. If you find the criminal, string his butt up. Leaving something out does not make it acceptable or right for someone to come along and steal it. But if your dumb enough to leave, say, a $100 bill on your curb by your mailbox over night and somebody walking along the street while your asleep finds your hundred bucks and swipes it. Your right, he's the criminal, the bad guy. And I say send his butt to jail if you can find him. But ultimately you, the victim, are now out of a hundred bucks because you gave opportunity for someone who is not a decent person to take something of value from you. No way does it make it right, but you left opportunity for some creep to take advantage of you. Nobody likes it. And it really feels horrible to be taken advantage of. I know because it has happened to me.

Do your best to remove the opportunity and you'll lessen your chances of getting ripped off.

The truth hurts. You give a rat the opportunity to steal the cheese and he will. Put the cheese away where the rat can't find it and chances are good you'll have something to put on your sandwich for lunch. Is that something you don't understand?

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Do your best to remove the opportunity and you'll lessen your chances of getting ripped off.

The truth hurts.  You give a rat the opportunity to steal the cheese and he will.  Put the cheese away where the rat can't find it and chances are good you'll have something to put on your sandwich for lunch.  Is that something you don't understand?

I think we all agree on this. It was your line about car break-ins being the fault of the vehicle owner and not the thief that ruffled a bunch of feathers. I think Star (as well as most people that have never been a victim of a crime) was maybe a bit naive, but it certainly was not her fault. I'm sorry anyone has to be victimized to see that no place on earth is 100% safe, but like I said in my first post; it was only stuff. She got off lucky, and hopefully she will now be more aware of the world we live in, and awareness is your most important form of protection.

Edited by Mopar
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Hi Mopar,

I didn't mean to ruffel the feathers.

Star, I hope I didn't offend you. It just really ticks me off when I hear about folks who are victims of crimes. Fortunately nothing happend to you physicaly and that you are safe.

I wish everybody well. Be safe. Lock up and hide your belongings.

-Jeff

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Hi Mopar,

I didn't mean to ruffel the feathers.

Star, I hope I didn't offend you. It just really ticks me off when I hear about folks who are victims of crimes. Fortunately nothing happend to you physicaly and that you are safe.

I wish everybody well. Be safe. Lock up and hide your belongings.

-Jeff

Once I was in a debate with a friend of mine over some topic or another. After half an hour or so it occured to me that we are talking about different sides of the same coin and that we actually agreed. It's just our angle on the subject was different enough to where we didn't see that right away.

 

Looks like a case of arguing both sides of the same coin here. I doubt any feathers were ruffled. I think you would need a very large stick to get Mopars attention (like that scene in Yellowbeard...)

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Hi Mopar,

I didn't mean to ruffel the feathers.

Star, I hope I didn't offend you. It just really ticks me off when I hear about folks who are victims of crimes. Fortunately nothing happend to you physicaly and that you are safe.

I wish everybody well. Be safe. Lock up and hide your belongings.

-Jeff

Not terribly offended by anyones comments here, just angry that someone would do this .

Its like when one leaves there home they lock the doors , and someone still breaks in and takes that which is not theirs .....

 

I was remiss in that I did not take the fanny pack on my person yes ... But the doors were locked thus things should have been safe.

 

Star

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"Car clouting" is a big deal here in Central Oregon with all the hiking trailheads, secluded camping spots, river "put in's and take out" spots, caves, isolated lakes, etc.

 

If you do some research on the web, you will find several companies that make lockable metal storage boxes that can be mounted under - behind the seats of just about any rig.

 

I seen a window sticker one time that said "Do you see anything in here worth DYING for? If you do, I am willing to KILL you to keep it."

 

Strong words? Maybe, but his windows where all originals.

 

When someone steals something from you they did not take just an "item".

 

They took the "time" it took you to earn the money to pay for that item.

 

They took the "time" it takes you to earn the money to replace that item.

 

"Items" can be replaced.

 

Time can't be.

 

A rancher friend of mine caught some people butchering one of her cows. She turned them in and they where arrested and cited.

 

She apperared in court for their hearing.

 

When the judge had passed sentence in a Dollar amount, She stood up and asked the Judge if you could have them WORK off the fine instead of just writing her a check. He thought it was a very good idea.

 

Building fence in the summer every weekend for 8 hours a day at $5.00 an hour until you have paid back $1,000 (the price of the cow plus future calves) per person (12 weekends, 3 summer months), Plus the 180 miles round trip drive every day, Plus the loss of their hunting weapons (Bows) and hunting / fishing privilege's for 5 years sunk in as a lesson that writing a check could never have done.

 

And it is never your fault someone steals from you. Period.

 

Logscaler.

Edited by logscaler & Red
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Within minutes they had used my wife's credit card to put gas on their vehicle at a station only a couple miles from our location.

 

I wonder if they were doing it to actually buy gas, or to check to see if the card was still good. (Well, ultimately it might have been both). Credit card at a gas station is supposedly a pretty common way of testing to see if you've cancelled the card already before it gets sold off.

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Since it was my cache that you were after when this happened I would like to publicly say "I'm Sorry". The park has always been empty when I've been there. I've never actually seen another car in the parking lot. I guess break-ins weren't on my mind when I placed the cache. I hope you did enjoy the park and the cache though, but nothing can make up for the trouble.

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