[Cambium]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Why is it odd? I don't have anything valuable in my car. I'd rather someone open the door of an unlocked car to learn there's nothing inside rather than smash a window. I live on a private lane and my neighbors on the lane are retired, home all the time, and watch everything like a hawk.

Still.. a $20-30,000 investment (or whatever the cost of your vehicle is) is something to protect even if there's nothing "valuable" inside it. Doesn't matter where you live, these low lives will go anywhere..

[AntonioR]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

If I were living in standard suburbia, sure. My house is down a private lane invisible from the town street. Surrounding me, I have a 14 acre cemetery, 10 acres of unbuildable swamp/wetlands, 4 acres of former wood schoolhouse that is now the school department administrative offices, and a church with 5 acres of grounds. There aren't a heck of a lot of single family homes and there are zero teens. Marauding teenagers with a raging beer buzz aren't going to be in my driveway. There aren't any teens who live anywhere near me.



My big risk is my boat and my inflatable dinghy. I'm way more likely to have some teen joy riding the harbor in my dinghy or popping the lock on the sailboat looking for anything to steal. My car? Unlikely.

Your street is not visible in Google Earth?

Imagine what would happen if those guys scan your town on Google Earth, decide that your street looks interesting and safe enough to find unlocked cars with the keys inside? Its only a matter of figuring out the best route to access the street and a peaceful night to do it.

Nothing escapes Google Earth.

Avoid future lamentations and press the lock button, plus take the keys inside. It will be your loss if they hit your street and stumble upon your car(s).

[7express]

This happened in Trumbull a month or so ago. There's a park in my backyard surrounded by 2 businesses, so the police caught 1 idiot right in my backyard that had stolen a car a couple streets down. Got home from basketball, walked around my porch to see what was going on since there were a bunch of police cars in 1 of the business' parking lots and got confronted by the police, so that was pretty fun. They apprehended idiot number 2 near the movie theater a few minutes later.

[WouldLoveTo]

I rarely lock my old car but I never leave the keys in it. Like GeoffD, I'd be more upset to find my glass broken than to discover they stole $5 in change. It's not easy to find parts for 30+ year old cars these days unless they are collectibles.

1) Thing is, the car is blocked in so they'd have to get 1-2 locked and armed cars out of the way first
2) It's a POS (yet I love it)
3) The door handles are wonky and 99.9% of people who try to open a door think it's locked anyway
4) I'm short, seat is forward, no tilt wheel and high bolsters on a sport driving seat. Many a guy has complained about the pain of getting in and out of that car. Something about speaking octaves higher than they used to.
5a) It's a stick
5b) The shifter bushings are so worn I'd actually want to applaud if they got through 1-5a and were able to find first gear. Chances are they'd think it was in neutral, hot wire it and smash into whatever's behind it as it's normally in reverse.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Marauding teenagers with a raging beer buzz aren't going to be in my driveway. There aren't any teens who live anywhere near me.

I’m not sure where you live, but in CT (where this thread is referring to), the teens are already hardened criminals in their short time on earth. They are usually armed, almost always have a violent criminal history, and will do whatever it takes to escape.

If you don’t live in CT, I’m not sure why we’re even discussing your habits and the neighborhood you live in.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I’m not sure where you live, but in CT (where this thread is referring to), the teens are already hardened criminals in their short time on earth. They are usually armed, almost always have a violent criminal history, and will do whatever it takes to escape.

If you don’t live in CT, I’m not sure why we’re even discussing your habits and the neighborhood you live in.

I don't live in Connecticut, which was kind of the whole point of my comment. There are also plenty of places in Connecticut where you're not going to have armed teenage thugs marauding through your neighborhood.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I don't live in Connecticut, which was kind of the whole point of my comment. There are also plenty of places in Connecticut where you're not going to have armed teenage thugs marauding through your neighborhood.

Maybe the extreme rural sections of Litchfield or Windham County. Other than that, it’s very widespread.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Maybe the extreme rural sections of Litchfield or Windham County. Other than that, it’s very widespread.

It is? I have not seen this on the streets of Glastonbury and we live very near that dreaded crime-ridden town of East Hartford (note the tone of deep sarcasm).

Several years ago, there was a series of similar incidents in town (someone going through cars at night and taking things). The kids were caught trying to return newly purchased items from a local store and it turned out to be a group of local kids out for joy rides at night. One of the kids was my neighbor who we are friends with. We were all shocked because he was a good kid. They all supposedly were. All were from affluent middle class families. None of them were armed. My neighbors son got off with a slap on the wrist but it cost his parents a pretty penny to get him out of it without serious consequences. The most ironic part of this is that this is the same neighbor who had her purse taken from her car overnight TWICE. Jay

[HumpDay]

I've only had my car broken into once and I live in the West End of Hartford. It seems that most of the car thefts and break ins are more prevalent in wealthier quiet towns like South Windsor and Avon. The chances of being seen by other drivers, pedestrians, and cameras are less than urban areas like Hartford at 3-4am. Countless times when I picked up my wife (whose a nurse) and drove her home 1-2am, I've noticed an endless row of houses with all lights off, cars in the driveway, and the streets dead like it's a ghost town. The probabilities of being caught are very slim in smaller towns because there's less cops patrolling the streets and larger area to patrol. I know South Windsor Police caught a group of teenagers just wandering in a neighborhood at 2am on a cold January night with no jacket and stuffed pockets. I would advocate for law enforcement officers to use unmarked cars and park in people's driveways with their permission in certain times of the night, or park on a side street and walk around because the sound of the car will be make the areas mute. They can just approach and observe people that are acting suspicious...

The issue is everyone is sleeping and won't know until the following morning. I bet the vast majority of people are unaware that their car was targeted unless they keep track of every little thing they keep in their car. Just use common sense and bring everything inside. Car alarms work too, but are not as common. If you want to decrease your car from being stolen, make sure your car is standard because kids are likely not to know how it works LOL.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It is? I have not seen this on the streets of Glastonbury and we live very near that dreaded crime-ridden town of East Hartford (note the tone of deep sarcasm).

Several years ago, there was a series of similar incidents in town (someone going through cars at night and taking things). The kids were caught trying to return newly purchased items from a local store and it turned out to be a group of local kids out for joy rides at night. One of the kids was my neighbor who we are friends with. We were all shocked because he was a good kid. They all supposedly were. All were from affluent middle class families. None of them were armed. My neighbors son got off with a slap on the wrist but it cost his parents a pretty penny to get him out of it without serious consequences. The most ironic part of this is that this is the same neighbor who had her purse taken from her car overnight TWICE. Jay

It is, and statistics show its 2-3x what it was even 5 years ago. If you know any police officers, prosecutors or judges, they’ll tell you the exact same thing. Most of the kids doing this today, as I’ve stated, are all from Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven. This is a fact and a simple search of news articles will prove this to be true. None lately were from affluent towns and ALL have been known to be armed. Sorry but anyone who downplays this clearly does not have a clue what is really going on.