Cars Stolen/Broken Into

[Rusty Shackleford]

My apartment complex has a multiple story parking deck. Sometime early Tuesday morning, some criminals broke into about 15 different cars (mine being one of them) and stole two cars.

They broke into the cars by breaking the front passenger side windows. I don't know why, but all 15 or so cars had the same window broken. Our apartment complex has gated access, security cameras, two police officers live here, and a security guard that's SUPPOSED to be patrolling the property at night.

Aside from breaking my window, they stole $20 in emergency gas money I keep in my console, they tried to pry out my radio, but gave up before succeeding, and they stole about $250 worth of Craftsman tools. The window/money doesn't bother me... but my tools! Come on. Complete socket set from tiny to huge in both English and metric sizes, with assorted socket drives, complete wrench set, complete RATCHETING wrench set... Now I can't even replace my dang window without borrowing tools from somebody.

The guy parked next to me turned out to be a detective. They broke his window and tried to pry out his radio too. The only thing stolen though was his Police ID! And he said that he normally leaves his pistol in there with the badge clipped onto the holster!

I lock my car, I don't leave anything in sight, it stays inside a gated apartment complex with cameras and supposedly security guards... What more can I do to keep my stuff safe? Really? I carry liability insurance on it and I am waaaaay too broke to buy a car at the moment. If they had stolen my car, I would be up sh** creek without a paddle... or a boat.

Is there any way I can disable my car easily without having to open the hood every single time I come home for the night and before heading to work/school? I had thought about taking the distributor cap wire off, but that is a huuuuge hassle to do every single night and reattach it every morning. Any ideas?

Good example on why you should never leave your gun in your car. I've done it twice on accident, and I'll never do it again after Tuesday.

 

[WardenWolf]

I believe there's an ignition fuse you could remove. However, this can be hard on your car's fuse box (those things are just plastic). However, with a little bit of mechanical and electrical work, you can rig a bridge box with a removable bridge. Basically something that has 2 contacts that are bridged by a removable piece. Yes, they could theoretically use wires to bridge it just like they hotwire your car, but it's an extra contact to worry about, and would generally require an extra set of hands to do it. That's if they recognize it for what it is in the first place. You could even disguise it as an extra accessory port / cigarette lighter. Nobody would think twice if that plug was missing. Without that piece, there's an electrical gap and the car won't start.

 

[Magoo]

I had something like this installed in one of my trucks:
http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...itch&i=32965&r=view&aID=506A2&cID=GSHOP_32965

Coincidentally, it was installed when I bought it from a guy in Atlanta . It was installed up in wheel well- easy to reach, but not so easy to see, and close to the battery itself so you don't have to run a bunch of cable.

 

[leadcounsel]

I was the victim of something similar while parked on a private parking lot.

Thought I was out of luck. Then I learned that there had been similar break-ins over the course of the last month or so. I did some research and got public records on property crime. Turns out there was a lot of property crime.

I sued the company that owned the lot. My theory was premises liability. They knew there was criminal activity and did nothing to protect patrons. No security, no improved lights, no video cameras, not even signs warning folks.

I won. Replaced all my stolen property and the cost of my window.

You should consider talking to the other victims about a class action lawsuit against the property management company and do some research. Maybe a background check on the management or security guard. Something is fishy...

The other obvious lesson learned is that if you must leave valuables in vehicles, secure them. Now I have a solid steel truck lockable toolbox chained to the interior of my SUV when I must leave valuables in the truck.

 

[mgkdrgn]

1 Now you know how much "security" security cameras provide
2 What was different about the 15 cars that did not get broken into?
3 Gated, limited access, AND a human guard? Anybody have a long hard talk with the guard yet?
4 They didn't want your car, they wanted what was inside. "Disabling" your car would have made no difference.

 

[Kleanbore]

I don't think that discussion of how to disable a car is either relevant to the incident in the OP or relevant to our purpose in this forum. Same goes for car break-ins in general.

And no, it is not a good idea to leave a gun in a car overnight. A neighbor of mine found that out last year.

However, in some locales people may keep a gun in their cars but not on their persons, and others may have to leave them there when going into posted establishments.

Discussion of how best to store or secure guns that do have to be left in cars would be on topic for the forum and might probably prove beneficial to many of our members.

Before a recent accident, I had a car with room under the seat, and I had a lock-box that could be secured to the unit body.

Yes, I know that one could search and recall prior discussions, but if anyone has any good ideas, we can continue here.

 

[RevolvingGarbage]

As a security guard, I can tell you that its nearly impossible for one guy to effectively secure something as large as an entire apartment complex. Even the most professional, highly vigilant guard can only be in one place at a time. If you only have one guard, you might as well have none.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

first thing's first: move out of atlanta.

used to be nice a long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away), but now is a crack infested ghetto.

 

[IBEWBULL]

The club can be locked on the steering wheel they are cheap.
I am glad I live in the country with the best folks you could ask for close by.
Your renters insurance may cover the tools.
http://www.kleintoolz.com

 

[Magoo]

Kleanbore- I apologize if I was out of the scope/intent of THR in my response. The OP specifically asked for a means to disable his vehicle and I responded in kind.

 

[Topcat]

guard is probably paid 10 bucks an hour you get what you pay for.

 

[rscalzo]

We have condo units with gated access. Does anyone seriously think they stop anyone? It's about as effective as the toll gate on "Blazing saddles". Does the complex have the entire perimeter fenced off? Usually not. The guard sits at the gate. As far as a roving patrol, at night one simply has to duck behind the car. Short of high powered lights which residents don't want at night, evading being seen is simple. The complex should buy a FLIR unit.

Using a center punch or a spark plug, the side windows pop with virtually no sound. These people come in groups. Less then a minute per car and they are gone. Seeing them in action is amazing. In the old days on older cars without the chipped keys, they were in and gone with the car in less than two minutes. Those "Clubs" were useless.

The club can be locked on the steering wheel they are cheap.

Except they simply cut the wheel itself. they are useless to anyone who knows his trade.

 

[788Ham]

I understand your theory rscalzo, but if the thieves are just doing a "bash and dash", how much good is the "Club"?

 

[kingpin008]

788, That's exactly his point - that The Club isn't much good.

 

[Davey Wavey]

The window/money doesn't bother me... but my tools! Come on.

I hear ya man. I had a brief stint wrenching on cars. I have at least a couple thousand dollars worth of tools in my garage and my house. I'd be sick to my stomach if someone walked off with them. I'd rather have the crooks steal all our TVs and Xboxes (yes, I have multiple Xboxes )

 

[omegaflame]

no car alarms?

 

[Shadow 7D]

There are ways around them too.
as for disabling the car, my dad a truck he bough from a guy who had it stolen a few time, the ignition lock was shot, and the guy was tired of replacing it, so he simply put in one of the round key twist locks that either connected power to the starter or not in side the wheel well, you never saw it if you didn't know where to look.

if you don't care to steal the car, you can just pop the hood and kill the battery before the 30sec are up on most car alarms.

Lesson is not to leave valuables in your vehicle...
or if you do hide them and secure them so they can't be stolen easily and quickly.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I think I'm going to take a new approach. I'M GETTING OUT OF THE CITY... after college. :banghead: I moved here from the country to go to school and I regret it all the time.

Until then, I'm going to figure out a rig to disable my car every night. There were a lot of good ideas for that. Thanks guys.

I don't know what more the property managers could really do to secure the place. The only option left is to not leave anything valuable in the car, make it difficult to steal, and hope for the best. The bottom line is that if thieves want it bad enough, they'll get it eventually. Things just need to be as risky and difficult to steal as possible. And surely ONE (out of 15 or so) of the car alarms actually did go off. In an urban environment though, expecting your panic button to draw any attention is a mistake. When I was walking to my car that morning, I noticed the emergency blinkers were on before I got to it. That was the ONLY sign of something amiss from a distance. I thought maybe I had bumped the button getting out of the car, but it did perk up my awareness. Only after I noticed the sea of broken glass down the row did I realize what happened. The thieves apparently pushed the emergency blinker button while trying to pry my radio out and didn't even bother to cut it off.

I called a few of my buddies immediately afterward to let them know. All of these guys have a "truck gun." I'm sure you all know the term. I was hoping to eventually have something that stays in the vehicle with a little more range/power than a pistol, like maybe a mosin or sks... something cheap. Not so sure about that anymore. Maybe I'll rethink what I wanted Santa to bring me this year.

 

[jkulysses]

This is exactly why I get the alarm system for my vehicles that actually pages your key fob when somebody is tampering with your vehicle and you can even set it up to alert you before the perp even knows the alarm has been triggered so you can actually go out and catch them. This could be good or bad depending on wether or not your ready or willing to kill somebody when they turned out to be armed and more than likely this was more than a one person job.

 

[Mike J]

I think I'm going to take a new approach. I'M GETTING OUT OF THE CITY... after college.

\
This sounds like a good idea to me. I have never lived inside the perimeter but I have worked all over the city for years. Bad things can happen anywhere but I believe it is more likely to happen in the city.

The bottom line is that if thieves want it bad enough, they'll get it eventually

Yep

no car alarms?

In a large city car alarms are useless. So many of them get set off by things that are not crime that usually they only annoy people.

 

[orvpark]

Free:

I had a 87 S-10 Blazer in college that the previous owner wired the ignition switch to get power from the parking lights.

Without turning on the parking lights the car acted like it had a completely dead battery and would not start.

This would not be simple for all cars, but with a little mechanical/electrical knowhow this is a cool solution especially for older cars. You could do the same with a hidden toggle switch, power interrupt key switch, or just about any switched accessory in the car.

 

[FatPants]

I didn't read the whole thread, so if this has been discussed, I apologize.

It should be pretty simple to install a switch on the line that powers the fuel pump. Put the switch in an inconspicuous place, and you should be good to go.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

stop keeping valuable stuff in your car.

 

[sm]

Thoughts:

- Criminals will most likely strike again in about 2-3 weeks, after items are replaced. This is a common occurrence, as criminals figure in folks replacing items with the insurance replacement/reimbursements, or out of pocket themselves.

-My gut says, these items are already "sold" before they are taken. So I am sure <hint-hint> that the police agencies are checking into chop shops, parts vendors and car transfers. Because I just know, these agencies keep abreast, and keep tabs, exchanging information on "gangs" or "groups" that travel from area to area, and the "export sites" of cars, items, and parts.

-Decoy vehicles.
I am sure these agencies have decoy vehicles and are probably making plans to employ these, in hopes of catching those persons committing crimes, and in doing so, going after the "bigger fish".
[Sometimes underage persons do the crimes, because of less "sentencing" and bigger fish "might" be given up, if...deals are made]

-My gut also says, persons that live in the complex are involved. And/or persons such as Maintenance, Landscaping, Exterminator, etc, are in on this.
So it might be a good idea for police agencies to look at matters from those angles.

 

[icanthitabarn]

If I had to leave a firearm in a vehicle, I would have an alarm and maybe a baby monitor,in the vehicle. The receiver would be on a nearby table, in the house. That works great. The guy didn't have time to swipe a pack of smokes in the glove c. Forgot to lock door, he parked next to me and I guess checked it. Looked guilty/ etc. as I passed him.