Car break-ins. Advice needed.

[Lurp]

First off sorry for the long post, but I am trying to give you the best description of the recent events.


Let me start off with a little background information regarding my current situation. I live in an apartment complex that is mainly populated by college students along with the surrounding area being mainly college students. The area I live in is relatively nice, but borders on an area that some would consider being a not so nice. My town, Austin, is known to have a very low violent crime rate (for its size), but a high property crime rate (typical for a large college town).
My area and especially my apartment complex seem to be a hot spot for car break-ins ever since I have lived in this area (about 3 years). My old roommate had his car broken into twice along with his car stolen, as has one of my good friends. Being as college students are relatively naïve and leave high value items in their vehicles I see why this is a target spot. Now my apartment is on the second floor and overlooks a large area of our parking lot and happens to be in at a good vantage point, which will come into play in a moment. I am also fortunate enough to be awake at odd hours due to my college schedule and attribute my accounts to these awkward hours.

Last March I was lying in bed at 2:15am reading when I heard the sound of glass being broken outside my window. I turned off my lights and looked out my windows to see 3 males breaking into cars. I immediately dialed 911 and described the situation, giving full descriptions and a play by play as I watched them. After about 3 minutes I hung up with the operator who told me the police were on their way. While waiting I continued to watch and saw all three males leave the area after breaking into 4 cars and stealing their stereos and contents. I decided to go outside and see if any damage had been done to my truck and to await the arrival of the officers. As I was going outside a car drove by with its windows down and I recognized the men in the car as those responsible for the car break ins. When they saw me they floored it and sped away, but I was able to get part of their license plate, which was a handicap plate, along with the make and model of the car.

Well as I round the corner and go to look at my truck I hear movement next to my truck so I held back and waited for a moment when all of a sudden someone comes running out and takes off sprinting with a car stereo in his hand. I jogged after him, not to pursue, but to see which direction he was running so as to tell the responding officers. As he was running away I saw the responding officers and flagged them down with my flashlight and gave them the direction of the suspect. To make a long story short, they caught the one male of foot and had to shoot him with a tazer as he was resisting arrest. I went and ID’ed the suspect and gave my account of what happened to the detective.

Well after this incident the car break-ins stopped for about 6 months until this week… This week alone there has been about 6 more car break-ins. I was fortunate to witness one last Sunday evening at about 2:45am when again I heard the sound of breaking glass and a car alarm going off and watched the male suspect take off running, to which I proceeded to call 911 and give my account. The police showed up about 20 minutes later and I pointed out the car and told them what happened.
Since then there have been even more car break-ins and theft, with one or two more broken windows every night. From what I have observed the break-ins seems to happen on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights between the hours of 2am and 3am when most people are likely to be asleep. They almost never happen on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights since in an area like this which is predominantly college students there is almost someone always awake on those nights. The thieves seem to be getting bolder and bolder as more and more break-ins are happening every week.

I personally know several of these people who have had their vehicles broken into and lost several hundred dollars worth of possessions along with having to get their window replaced. It is already hard enough for some college students to get by, but when you’re working to pay for your tuition along with your rent and then get hit with a $500 loss because of car thieves is can really ruin your day.


I am looking to THR for advice on this situation as it is obvious that the police do not have much interest in stopping these thieves. I feel it would be easy for the police to set up a sting or observe these thieves as they are not very professional, but I have seen no effort to do so. A car left with a high value item inside and observed by police from a secure location would be easily broken into, allowing for the capture of these thieves. I would even go as far as to offer my own vehicle for this purpose. The slow response time and general disinterest in this by Austin PD has me wondering if there are any alternative options or suggestions you all may have. I cannot permanently alter the property and do not want to take vigilante action, but am willing to stake out the area and watch as to notify authorities. I am planning to write a letter to the Austin PD this week concerning my troubles. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your suggestions.

 

[lebowski]

IMO there's not much you can do other than keep an eye out and report descriptions and license plates when you can. Continue complaining to the PD and encourage others to do the same, but I doubt this will ever be a priority to them.

Having lived in apartments myself and having once been a victim of a similar crime (wheels and tires were stolen off my truck, I woke up on a Sunday morning to find it on jackstands) in my case I determined the only solution was to move into a house or townhouse with a private garage. I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but honestly IMO the only way to protect your car is to park in a private garage, until you can do that don't drive expensive cars and don't leave valuables in it.

 

[Lurp]

Thank you for the suggestions lebowski. My vehicle has not been broken into yet and I attribute that to the fact that I never leave anything valuable in my vehicle and I do not have any flashy upgrades on it either.

I agree the police will likely not take much interest in this as I know of many many cases that have been reported to the authorities (over 20 by myself and close friends), yet they seem to do nothing. I would imagine that since their is little preponderance of violent crime that they would actually try and crack down on the property crime. I wonder what they actually do sometimes...

I have a feeling that it is the same bunch of guys responsible as when one of them was initially caught last March due to my call, the break-ins stopped. Now that things have cooled off I feel they're back.

Property crime like this is something I hate with a passion and will always continue with the lax laws for it. Last time I heard their was a homeless man in this areas who had been arrested about 30 something times for slashing tires, one of whom happenes to be my best friends, and is suspected of over 200 accounts. They keep releasing him because they are "petty" offenses with damage of a small monetary value.

 

[lebowski]

Have you complained to the apartment mgmt to install cameras?

 

[Spirit 1]

I agree with a camera, great idea, but not the video camera for a couple of reasons. First, it can take a bit of preparation to shoot, depending on model. Also being borrowed you're liable for damage or theft of it!

But much more, you're undoubtedly in a realtively low light situation here. No camera in the world takes good pictures in the dark. Pretty hard to stand there with a strobe light shooting video and have the thieves cooperate.

Seems to me a digital camera with a good lense and a flash attachment could do all you want to do. If you get one good picture the flash will also tend to scare off these guys, and followup shots are easy enough if desired. Also a single flash picture would make it harder for the punks to locate which house snitched them out with a photo.

Possibility that just the action of your flash picture would scare these guys off for good? They probably would not want to risk a follow-up burglary, at least not at your place.

 

[bigfatdave]

Well, you seem to be ahead of the game with a crummy car and no easily stolen/fenced valuables in it. Do NOT leave valuables in your vehicle, especially firearms! It might be time to not wash your truck for a while, as well.
A camera might help, it couldn't hurt.
Shooting at petty thieves is not generally advised, which you know ... but pepper spray might be in order if you intend to be in the lot at all.

Perhaps get public about the high incidence of break-ins, and thus get the PD motivated? An open letter or inviting the local news over might be more effective than amateur surveillance.

As far as suggestions to move, ignore them, that is YOUR neighborhood, don't let some punk wannabe thugs run you out.

 

[Kevin77]

You can buy a spotlight with 2-3 million candle power for $30. When you hear glass breaking shine the light at them and command them in your best police voice to get down on the ground and stay there. Then call the police. It would be best if you video taped it as well. Don't say your the police just tell them to lay down and don't move. Even if they just run away at least you put a good scare in them and they may choose another complex. At the very least it will be very funny.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

I agree with bigfatdave, call up some local newspapers, they will probably run the story and that will get the PD's attention.

 

[Lurp]

Well, you seem to be ahead of the game with a crummy car and no easily stolen/fenced valuables in it

Hey, who said I had a crummy car It's a 2007 Tacoma, I just don't have anything flashy on it and it hasn't been washed in over a year

Good point about contacting the media. I'm going to write a letter to the police cheif and see if I can get a response. If that doesn't work I'm definitely open to going to the media.

Although I feel it is justified and would not lose any sleep over it, I would never shoot the theives based on their theft actions due to the legal recourse. I do have a CHL though and am always armed when outside of my apartment.

I do have a spot light and a "panic" button on my truck remote which I will keep by my window, just in case they're needed.

Thanks for all of the good advice so far.

 

[bigfatdave]

Honestly, you might want to downgrade to a crappier vehicle, these idiots will eventually work their way down to your Tacoma.

One polite letter direct to the PD would be appropriate. After that (assuming no action), an open letter to the PD and the local papers. Get the locals and geezers interested, at present it is just "those darn college kids getting ripped off", not "thugs on our doorsteps at night" ... at least in the minds of the local population.

Hitting the "panic button" on your truck might lead to a smashed window out of spite on the way out. Think on that before using it, you get a direct reason to ride the PD ... but you get to repair vandalism as well.

Spreading a rumor about booby-trapped cars? ... never mind, I can't think of a way to spread the rumor to the thieves.

 

[ChaoSS]

Calling 911 a whole bunch of times is not worthwhile. It would be much more effective to get a hold of a detective that handles this sort of thing, and start calling regularly to find out what is going to be done about it.

 

[Shadow 7D]

If you have a camera you might want to set it up on a tripod that way you can get footage for the media, also park your car where you can see it from you place.

Either they live in walking distance or drive, try to identify the car they use, that would give you a heads up they are in the area.

 

[yachky]

Car alarm or park it in the garage.

 

[mountainpharm]

I agree with lebowski -- this seems to be a security issue for the apartment management company to deal with. If they aren't willing to take action, change your address.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

trail cam

 

[YaNi]

I can relate to your situation, and I would not rely on the federales to catch these scum.

I went to the University of Toledo for two years, which is on the edge of the hood in an already not so fantastic city. Almost weekly gangs, or general scum would vandalize and/or break into cars. This ranged from someone walking down the street and breaking everyones mirrors to gang initiations that sometimes meant breakins of a dozen cars in a night. My car was parked on campus the unfortunate night of a gang initiation. They went through the student parking lot and broke into 15-20 cars in a night (where were the police or security?). They stole my mp3 player, which was out of sight in my center console. They left my cds and my tool box in the trunk. I replaced the window with a junkyard replacement in the middle of December.

Overall I lost a Christmas gift and $40 for the window (not terrible in the grand scheme of things). I was just ENRAGED that one can be so helpless. The police had no hope of catching the thugs; they are more concerned with arresting drunks/ breaking up parties. I would look into some form of video footage. You seem to have the location, days, and time worked out. Most modern video cameras have >30x optical zoom capability (Ive seem 60x optical and low light/ night vision for around $300 now). Borrow one, or even rent one (student audio/video, rent-a-center). If you can't get a good view of their faces, is there some foliage that you can hide in that you are far enough away to NOT be noticed? I would also be carrying if I was on a stakeout...
Good luck, stop the scum.

 

[scottaschultz]

I decided to go outside and see if any damage had been done to my truck and to await the arrival of the officers.

I jogged after him, not to pursue, but to see which direction he was running so as to tell the responding officers. As he was running away I saw the responding officers and flagged them down with my flashlight...

So the cops show up in response to a 911 call for vandalism and there you are running around outside with a flashlight! That seems like a really quick way to get grass stains on the front of your shirt (and possibly brown stains somewhere else!). The cops won't know you from the BG's running around with flashlights. The better choice probably would have been to at least wait until the cops showed up before going outside.

Scott

 

[Neocode]

Car alarm or park it in the garage.

Did you read his post? He lives in an apartment complex, which usually means large parking lots, and from his post, that is the case here. Hence no garage. As for alarms, he never said anything about not having one, only thing he mentioned was a panic button. Not conclusive one way or the other as to the OP having an alarm or not.

So the cops show up in response to a 911 call for vandalism and there you are running around outside with a flashlight! That seems like a really quick way to get grass stains on the front of your shirt (and possibly brown stains somewhere else!). The cops won't know you from the BG's running around with flashlights. The better choice probably would have been to at least wait until the cops showed up before going outside.

Read his post again... he flagged them down... most BG's aren't going to flag down the officer... and I highly doubt they are running around with flashlights.

To the OP: I wish I had better advice for you, but it seems like you are doing all you can. Only thing I can suggest is maybe a neighborhood watch type thing, with parking lot patrols. More presence and eyes, might deter the thieves.

 

[Lurp]

ChaoSS, good idea. I will check to see who is in charge of this sort of thing and try to get in contact with them.

yachky, no alarm as of now, but may be something to look into in the future. Garage is not an option as there are none at my complex.

mountainpharm, no good, my lease doesn't end for another year and after that I'll be graduated and hopefully on my way to Montana

YaNi, funny thing is that this is not a bad area, but these thieves seem to come in from other locations and commit these crimes. When they arrested the thief last March after my call I believe he was from Houston. My feeling is that they come in for a week or so every month and hit a bunch of major apartment complexes, then return to their hometown to sell and live off their loot. When time gets hard on the boulevard there, back here again. I am almost positive this is the same crew who was responsible for the thefts back in March as once one of them was arrested the break-ins stopped in our area.

On a side note, I know what you mean about the police being more interested in giving out MIP and PI tickets along with breaking up parties. Problem is arresting the thieves only costs the city money to prosecute and jail them, while driving around hitting poor college students with $200 tickets for victimless crimes brings in much more revenue...at least that’s my theory

So the cops show up in response to a 911 call for vandalism and there you are running around outside with a flashlight! That seems like a really quick way to get grass stains on the front of your shirt (and possibly brown stains somewhere else!). The cops won't know you from the BG's running around with flashlights. The better choice probably would have been to at least wait until the cops showed up before going outside.

Scott

I don't see where I said I was running around with a flashlight...I flagged them down by flashing it at the officers. Not sure many car thieves wait around and flash flashlights at police, but then again I'm not a thief so I wouldn't know...

I've been keeping track of all of the vehicles that have been vandalized so far by writing down their make, model and plates just in case I need to get more people involved as I feel they would be the most anxious to participate. I will keep a lookout as I normally do and have been studying with my windows open for better hearing. Going to try and borrow a friend’s camera also.

I plan to write and format my letter tomorrow after I get done with a test that’s been taking up all of my time. I will mail it off Thursday and see what kind of response I get. After that I may go to the media if the Austin PD shows no interest.

 

[rbohm]

start your letter writing with the austin pd, but then move up to yourlocal councilman, the mayor, the media, etc. get as many of the people who got ripped off to write letters also. if you can get video of these guys doing the crimes, and document everything, the time and the day of the week it happens, pd response time, etc. talk to the apartment managers about getting a security guard to walk the property at night, might have them get two if possible. get the residents involved also as part of a neighborhood watch program for the complex to augment security, all of them armed with digital video cameras.

 

[SFB]

Lurp - I read your first post but I haven't read any of the others as I don't have the time right now. Hope this hasn't been covered but here are some tips I have learned. I have had my vehicle broken into many times, one time even catching the perp in the act and ripping him out of my vehicle (not a good idea in hind-sight as I was unarmed at the time but it all worked out). I just recently had my truck broken into and had lots of stuff stolen from it. Lessons learned:

KEEP YOUR DOORS LOCKED!

If you have a truck with a sliding rear window either replace it with solid glass or drive screws or place metal into the sliding tracks to keep that window from being opened. That is the easiest way to break into a truck.

Do not leave ANYTHING of ANY value in plain sight. I just recently bought a duffel bag and EVERYTHING of value that I carry in my truck goes into it when I park my truck for the night and the bag comes inside with me. It might be a pain in the ass but I won't have my GPS, Radar Detector, iPod, Jumper Cables, etc... stolen again.

Along with not leaving anything of value in your vehicle, do not lock your glove box. One less thing that will be broken if thieves do strike.

Buy a stereo with a detachable face, and ALWAYS remove the face when you park, no matter what. My stereo is utterly useless without the face as Kenwood will not provide a new faceplate without the stereo unit itself. It also has a 4 digit PIN number that must be entered if it is removed from battery power. It won't do me any good if it's stolen but just the satisfaction that no one can use my stereo is nice.

If possible park under a street light or as close to an apartment window as possible. Criminals like to hide in the darkness and are less likely to smash your window if your car is very well lit and 10 feet from an apartment with lights on inside.

Get an alarm. They can be had relatively cheap. They may not prevent your car from being broken into but criminals hate noise and if you get one with a remote that will go off when your alarm does it can alert you of a possible break in.

If you are worried about your vehicle being stolen put a hidden kill switch in your car. They are pretty easy to do and can be hidden up under the dash.

As far as keeping your windows from being broken... The only thing I can think of is to go against my first rule and leave your doors unlocked.

I hope some of those tips help you out. Best of luck to you.

 

[JellyJar]

Here are a few ideas.

Start a petition demanding more protection from the police. Have everyone possible in the complex to sign it and turn it in during a City Council meeting or County Council meeting.

Start a watch program in your complex and have people call the police whenever they see suspicious people. Carry cameras and also be discretely and legally armed. Don't try to interfere with the crimes, just use the weapons for defense if necessary.

 

[AKElroy]

Have everyone possible in the complex to sign it and turn it in during a City Council meeting or County Council meeting.

Just call your council person. They are you most local representative, and they will not want this going on in their district. Ditto the mayor, DA, and police chief. Believe it or not, they actually listen on occasion.

 

[mongo4567]

I haven't seen wide spread vandalism like that before...certainly repeatedly. People start watching out more when it hits their bank accounts. Are you in a rough area like east Oltorf, north Lamar or something? There is a lot of affordable student housing that should be safer.

I'm sorry, but I would probably confront the theives the next time I heard breaking glass, try to get a license plate. I would be armed of course. Theft and vandalism of that scale is a felony.

 

[Lurp]

mongo4567, I'm right near Airport and 45th. The vandalism and theft is not isolated to my apartment complex as I've said I used to live in another complex near by that had similar problems. It's more of a north and west campus problem. The high density of students that live here make for prime targets since they generally tend to be less careful and more naive. I think that by the time people smarten up, they've already graduated and left this area, allowing the next set of victims to come in...

Will definitely look into writing a letter to my council man also. Thanks.