Crooks

[Coolduckboy]

Last week, I left my range back, along with my rig for shooting, in the front seat of the car in front of my apartment. I forgot to bring it in since all i was thinking about was sleep the night before. I get to my car next morning, 5 hours after going to bet, and find that my doors are unlocked and only the rig was lying there on the seat. *Damn*.....Called the cops, filed police report, went to local gunshops and see if they saw anything, Nothing came about. Called insurance and gave them the list of items in the bag and totalled to $1,125. What boggles my mind is the guy had balls enough to get into my car which was in the middle of the who apartment complex surround by windows and cars and of course no one saw anything. Luckily, got a check from insurance for $625. This is just a complete mess. luckily the gun wasn't in the bag.

So this is what it takes for me to learn my lesson but still i hate these people.

[dcarter]

Sadly, this happens to a lot of good people. The problem is not that your car was unlocked. The problem is that you left it out in the open for someone to see. It was a crime of opportunity. We live and learn from mistakes we make. The only thing you can do at this point is to tell your friends and family and anyone else who will listen. We have a real bad time with car break-ins at the Zoo. These people come in from out of town and try to save a few bucks by parking on the street. They leave cel phones, purses, bags and even money laying in plain sight in the car. We get the call for the report after 4 hrs of the crime wondering if they will ever get the stuff back. The answer, of course, is no. I have never taken a report for a theft from a vehicle from Zoo parking lots but people just don't know any better. The other sad note is that most of these crimes of opportunity are commited by juveniles who, even if they do get caught, will never get anything out of it. We as officers can only stand back and say "sorry" and take the heat from the people that got ripped off by the criminal and then by the system. So here is mine "Sorry".

[open17]

Last week, I left my range back, along with my rig for shooting, in the front seat of the car in front of my apartment. I forgot to bring it in since all i was thinking about was sleep the night before. I get to my car next morning, 5 hours after going to bet, and find that my doors are unlocked and only the rig was lying there on the seat. *So this is what it takes for me to learn my lesson but still i hate these people.

Bummer. You need any gear to get by until you replace the lost stuff? Let me know.

Bill

[John2A]

Yep had a similair thing happen to me - left my car un-locked in my driveway over night and came out the next morning to get the paper and saw the door open just a crack thought HMMM that is odd looked inside and noticed nothing out of place. Got ready for work, left had a call that morning reached in the center console and TADA no cell phone. The funny thing was my Stream lite flash light, car holster, and oakleys were not messed with.

The officer that took my statement said they are not called dumb criminals for nothing.

Left my cell active and two days later with the help of the cell company the young kids were caught arrested and prosecuted. Got my cell back in two months. I truly hope they learned a lesson but I am afraid not.

Like what was said earlier we all learn by our mistakes.

[Nik Habicht]

I'll throw in a couple of tips from a 14 year news photography career, where the gear in my car was often worth 8-15 times what the car was worth:

If you're going to leave your car someplace for a few hours, make sure that you stash everything you're leaving behind out of sight at the stop before the one where you're parking.

Assemble the stuff that you're taking so that you can retrieve it quickly and smoothly. (If it's in bags or cases that don't scream photogear or gun gear, that's even better.)

As you approach your destination and again as you approach your parking place, scan the area. Circle the block a couple of times if you're not comfortable with they type of people moving through the area. When it's reasonably clear, park, grab your stuff, lock the car and walk away briskly. The idea is to quickly break the association between you and the car.

Refrain from having any bumper stickers, window stickers, personalized license plates or anything else that makes your car stand out. Anonymity is your friend.

A number of my colleagues had their gear stolen more than once; another significant number never got hit. The ones who got hit --- flashed their gear/occupation around, or parked, spent a while selecting cameras and lenses to take, and then walked away. The ones who never got hit, had the anonymity/get away from the car quickly thing down pat....

Last but not least -- when you get home haul your gear in. I remember what a pain in the ass that was (5 cases coming in most nights, and going out again in the morning) but the only time I didn't do it was when I had an alarmed truck parked in an alarmed garage.

[JKSNIPER]

The only reason we have property crime is we're all basically lazy people(myself included).

Its a real royal sized PITA to constantly haul gear into and out of our vehicles.

I've taken a LOT of reports from people that left quite expensive and important items in their cars only to return to their vehicles to find the items gone.

Don't leave things in your car. Take them with you and if you anticipate not being able to carry stuff into a store or other place then LEAVE THEM HOME.

No area is immune to property crime.

Looking at the area is nice and do try to be aware of people lingering or loitering with no apparent purpose. If you see someone like that calling their presence tot he attention of L.E. is not a bad idea.

All cops worth their salt will have a "sh**head" book where they have kept track of their frequent flyers for that area.

If that guy is ne of those you may have just saved yourself and others from being a victim of crime through notifying L.E.

If you're attending a match and then going out to eat or someplace where you can't carry your weapon on your belt in a holster concealed then carry it in a bag of some type preferably one that does not scream out that "THERS A GUN INSIDE THIS BAG!"

The police can only do so much to prevent crime and we're (sorry to say) mostly a reactive force. Not much consolation to a victim.

The best prevention force for crime is the people themselves being more aware of their surroundings and being aware of their potential for being a victim of different types of crime and taking actions themselves to prevent their becoming a victim.

Sorry for your loss.

JK

[HoMiE]

That sucks, I have gear you can borrow if needed as well.

[Coolduckboy]

I found my doors were unlocked. I had my passenger side window barely cracked and they forced it down and unlocked it by hand and had to open the door with the inside latch. (outside latch doesn't work)

thanks guys for the tips and support. This is definetly a wake up call and I will do the nesseccary pre-cautions to make sure this doesn't happen again. As for shooting, I am going to put it on hold for awhile. Going to take care of some other things first and then probably buy my magazines again and start back up.

Thanks a lot.

[bberkley]

Stephan, I have gear you can borrow.

[HighVelocity]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Bad people see things and just take them like they're free. No conscience.

Get your windows tinted (if not already) and buy a blanket that's the same color as your interior. Hidden in plain sight.

[dajarrel]

Another thought. Tell your wives or girlfriends not to leave their purses in the car....even for a short trip inside a convenience store. Shooting buddy of mine's wife had her purse stolen in a hospital parking lot. Lost a gun in the deal.

I had to fuss at my wife today. She and I went in Home Despot today and I asked her where her purse was. "I left it in the truck". Fortunately, it was still there when we got back but it was sitting in plain view in the floor of the passenger seat. We were lucky.

fwiw

dj

[Coolduckboy]

Yeah it is weird how they view certain things as value and others not. My $120 leatherman was on the front console and they didn't take that. They could've easily taken the holster/belt that i had on top of the bag. I also had a sega genisis and some other things that had some value to them but NO they take my freakin Range bag.

Now, i do make sure nothing of value is in the car, unless it has to be there. My car is a real POS and not worth forking over my money in getting windows tinted at this point but i do think my next vehicle i will do that. Also, never thought of the blanket tactic for stuff that needs to be in the car at the moment.

Thanks again.

[Jeff686]

I'm going to TCGC for Sunday's match. Let me know if you need to borrow anything.

[Coolduckboy]

Well thanks, I am not going to shoot for awhile and take care of some things here. I really thank everyone for their support and might just take you guys up on it one of these days.