Gentlemen thieves?

[RoySwkr]

Or, to phrase the question another way, how much greater is the risk when leaving a car at a trail head over night?

Depends on the thief. Several years ago there was a rash of thefts from the Wilderness Trail around noon on weekdays, the police suspected out-of-state construction workers on their lunch break.

 

[DougPaul]

It's not the volts, it's the amps. Yes, it hurts! (And I never fail to disconnect the battery terminals when working on cars now, despite indication of a dead battery!)

The human skin, even when wet, has too much resistance for dangerous currents from a 12V source*. However shorting a car battery can result in very high currents with effects potentially including vaporized metal, red hot wires, etc.

* However, 12V can be very dangerous if it is directly connected to internal tissues and fluids. (For instance, a wounded soldier wearing close-fitting electronics.)

Anyway, I think/hope TCD was kidding around, but who knows who's reading this stuff. :\

I hope so too, but people do think of all sorts of booby traps. This one could be more dangerous to the car than to the thief.

Doug

 

[TCD]

I'm kidding about the electricity, but I'm serious about the cameras (my original post on this thread). And there is no point in trying to "deter" these criminals; you just send them to another parking lot. What's needed is: 1. Loudly announced, but fake, cameras at several lots, to "herd" these guys toward where you are going to catch them; 2. Unannounced, well hidden, real cameras in the lots targeted by the herding process; 3. Long prison terms.

This requires some planning, not just mindlessly parking a police car at the "problem lot" for a few weeks, which just allows the perps to go back underground for a while, and then re-emerge later. Parking a police car at the problem lot is almost part of the conspiracy: "OK perps, hide for a while, while we make the public feel like we're doing something. Then you can come back out and steal again."

I have a REAL problem with people who think they should take something that belongs to someone else. I give plenty to charity; and if one of these guys said "hey, I really need $5 to get a ride home" or something like that, I'd hand the $5 to him. But instead they want to vandalize my car. There is NO excuse for that.

 

[David Metsky]

What's needed is: 1. Loudly announced, but fake, cameras at several lots, to "herd" these guys toward where you are going to catch them; 2. Unannounced, well hidden, real cameras in the lots targeted by the herding process; 3. Long prison terms.

They've caught and convicted several bands of thieves over the years. There's no indication that this acts as a long term deterrent. A new crop pops up soon after.

 

[CrazySage]

So it was my catalytic converter that was stolen a week and 1/2 ago. We had parked at Rocky Branch Trailhead overnight (left at 10 am on saturday 11/13, returned at 10 am on sunday 11/14). I did report it to the Jackson police, and I gotta tell you that the officer that I spoke to seemed pretty blase about the whole thing, including forgeting to ask what kind of car I had! All is fixed now and I'm ready for another backpack (did I just tempt fate?)
The Nationwide website linked to earlier talks about engraving your license plate number onto the converter to make it traceable. OK, how does one do that?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

...The Nationwide website linked to earlier talks about engraving your license plate number onto the converter to make it traceable. OK, how does one do that?

If you want to go to the trouble, you can buy an engraver for $10-20, like this one at Wal-Mart. You use it much like a pencil, and move the tip slowly over the metal surface. You might first write the license plate # (and don't forget the state) on the surface with a magic marker, and then trace that with the engraver.

In this case, of course, you'd be lying on your back doing it, unless you can convince your local garage to put it up on a hoist. You might be able to get the fellow who changes your oil to do it for a small $$.

 

[RoySwkr]

The Nationwide website linked to earlier talks about engraving your license plate number onto the converter to make it traceable. OK, how does one do that?

They used to suggest engraving IDs onto computers, TVs, etc and many police depts and community groups had engraving tools to lend out. The power version costs a few bucks but you can buy a carbide-tip stylus for a buck or so. If they can saw off your CC you can probably crawl under to write but clever parking makes it easier.

This may get it returned if they happen to find it after it is no longer needed as evidence, but you have probably already installed a new non-returnable one on your car :-(

 

[MichaelJ]

This may get it returned if they happen to find it after it is no longer needed as evidence, but you have probably already installed a new non-returnable one on your car :-(

It also may help snare the thieves if they try to take it to a reputable scrap dealer. One would think they'd know better than to do that, but there are a lot of dumb thieves out there.

 

[TCD]

Buy your own camo game camera (you can find them for under $100) and hang it on a tree in a disguised location when you leave the lot. If you are lucky (and if the camera doesn't get stolen), you might have some worthwhile pics (although you'll have a lot of pics of ordinary hikers coming and going).

Sadly, it appears that the sense of this thread is that being a pathetic victim is inevitable, and there's no point in even trying to stop the folks that are harming other people. So protect yourself as well as you can within the bounds of the law.

Where is the closest police station to these parking lots? Another option is to buy a junker bicycle, park your car at the police station, and ride the junker bike to the trailhead. That's a pathetic option, but it appears that we've "given up" on trying to stop this type of crime.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

... but it appears that we've "given up" on trying to stop this type of crime.

It's human nature to take things from others. Always has been, always will. Acknowledging that, and finding ways to cope with it is not "giving up" - it's just recognizing reality.

There's plenty of stuff to turn yourself inside out over. But for me, this isn't one of them.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

It would seem, and my own personal experience supports this, that the police have other, higher priority items to concern themselves with. The two times I've had my car broken into ($1500 worth of fishing gear once, and my bike rack ripped off the roof the second time - no problems at trailheads) the police basically said "OK, you're reported it now you can call your insurance company and make a claim."

That is not to say categorically that police never care, or that we don't care, but reality is it is simply a "cost of doing business".

My one other legal / police issue involved being a victim of identity fraud and it was a huge hassle for me (with zero compensation for my time as nobody was ever found or convicted) to clear up the debts. Given the time investment I would much rather you broke into my car, helped yourself to whatever you liked, and I paid the $500 deductible (assuming it was worth well over $500...)

Tim

 

[Raymond]

I didn’t feel I was getting the brush-off from the Carroll patrolman with whom I spoke. He seemed genuinely interested and concerned; gave me his business card so I can contact him again.

 

[MichaelJ]

Welcome, Crazysage! Sorry about your car. Back in this thread there was a lot of speculation about high vs. low ground clearance cars, whether someone would take the time to jack a car to try to get under it to get to the converter, or just go for the pickup truck, etc. What do you think happened in your case? Would someone have been able to just crawl under your car or do you think they had to go through the effort to jack it up?

My feeling is that breaking into a car at a trailhead could be a random, spontaneous, even drunkenly stupid act. Stealing a catalytic converter, however ... that has to be premeditated.

 

[TEO]

Buy your own camo game camera (you can find them for under $100) and hang it on a tree in a disguised location when you leave the lot. If you are lucky (and if the camera doesn't get stolen), you might have some worthwhile pics (although you'll have a lot of pics of ordinary hikers coming and going).

Sadly, it appears that the sense of this thread is that being a pathetic victim is inevitable, and there's no point in even trying to stop the folks that are harming other people. So protect yourself as well as you can within the bounds of the law.

Where is the closest police station to these parking lots? Another option is to buy a junker bicycle, park your car at the police station, and ride the junker bike to the trailhead. That's a pathetic option, but it appears that we've "given up" on trying to stop this type of crime.

Just because we don't want cameras recording our every movement doesn't mean that we've given up.

Do I want the police to have video of me changing or answering nature's call? What will they start doing when they realize that some people enjoy a post-hike beer?

 

[Craig]

Perhaps a car alarm would resolve the issue for most folks. I think you can get them installed for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[CrazySage]

Welcome, Crazysage! Sorry about your car. Back in this thread there was a lot of speculation about high vs. low ground clearance cars, whether someone would take the time to jack a car to try to get under it to get to the converter, or just go for the pickup truck, etc. What do you think happened in your case? Would someone have been able to just crawl under your car or do you think they had to go through the effort to jack it up?

I have an Subaru Outback, which is pretty far off of the ground. After we discovered what happened, a friend of mine and I crawled under to wire up the rear exhaust pipe so it wouldn't dislodge and cause further damage. We had little problem reaching the pipe. So, I'm thinking that the thieves didn't need to jack up the car. If they're slight-of-build they could have just shimmied under, maybe used some kind of handheld mini power saw and cut it out in a minute or two. Should I be grateful that they didn't saw thru anything else?

Oh, and I do have an alarm, which did not seem to be set off.

 

[RoySwkr]

Should I be grateful that they didn't saw thru anything else?

Brake lines or gas line could have been nasty.

Oh, and I do have an alarm, which did not seem to be set off.

Who would have heard it?

 

[Maddy]

I have no intention of shooting anyone for breaking into my vehicle.

But, that's just me.

And yes, I own guns. Several. And yes, I've had my vehicle broken into.

Still not going to shoot someone over it.

I agree...but I think it's a great idea to let them think you are going to. Keep 'em guessing!

 

[BobC]

I agree...but I think it's a great idea to let them think you are going to. Keep 'em guessing!

Thus the intent of the original comment by New Hampshire.

 

[RoySwkr]

Santa Fe police have arrested a suspect in stealing more than 100 catalytic converters since November off older Toyota trucks, which contain more platinum and rhodium than those on other vehicles hence are more valuable as scrap.

Now my sister can use the old 4Runner again