Lets face it, if you've got something like ' Focus ST, Skyline GTR V-Spec and a Mercedes E270 CDi ' on your drive and the local scaggends decide they want to drive around in it, they will have no worries about holding a knife to the throat of yourself or your partner points out where the keys are once they have woken you up in the middle of the night.
Even then, you should hope they draw blood other wise you will more than likely find that your insurers will be suggesting that you voluntarily handed over your property and thus have no claim.
|
>>Lets face it, if you've got something like ' Focus ST, Skyline GTR V-Spec and a Mercedes E270 CDi ' on your drive
We've got a 5 yr old Renault Scenic and a 7.5 yr old Volvo S60. Hence, I think our cars are relatively safe.
I was talking about the street as a whole.
Edited by DP on 25/01/2009 at 10:10
|
|
Yes, I know that. Just using them as the sort of cars that others would see as worth the effort of nicking. Frankly, if you have an 8 year old Escort on your drive and some scroat is desperate for transport, they will be happy to have a face to face confrontation with you over the matter of the keys if they find that is the only way to get it going.
|
Our car keys get stuffed between the bedframe at mattress at night, fit just right and we are safe in the knowledge that the dogs in our kennels will bark if they see a frog, let alone a person ( and my bedroom window is above the kennels so when they bark I do wake up ).
Plus my parents have a key cupboard downstairs and the hope is they would not bother with ours after they get their keys :-)
|
MrX - I've always assumed 'scrote' to be spelt thus; derived from 'scrotum'. Interestingly (to me anyway!) an anagram of 'Escort'. Likely to be driven by scrotes... i've mentioned this before, must be becoming tedious and repetitive in my advancing years
|
It's just a sign of the times - the police in Manchester were advising women not to wear expensive jewelry in public.
If you've got it don't flaunt it.
|
|
I can't believe people would roll over and give up their car keys! Surely posting this kind of thing on here will only encourage people to 'have a go' for an easy steal! If anyone tries it with me they will get a fight to the death!
|
|
It would make more sense to secure your property, but of course it's far more important to have a dainty stained glass front door and original sash windows than something that is really up to the job.
|
|
Just as levering the cover off the steering lock and breaking open the ignition barrel was popular 20 years ago, then forcibly removing your keys from your person is the new version . This is because of the higher level of security our cars now come with. Down the road to the future when your car can only be started when you place your finger over a sensor and it reads your print. Then you will simply have your finger cut off .
|
it's far more important to have a dainty stained glass front door and original sash windows than something that is really up to the job.
It would be even better if the low-lifes who nick the cars all had barred windows and steel doors locked from the outside, rather than the cautions, fines, probation and community service which they just laugh at.
|
|
Zub - are you sure about that? Check out the experiences of one of our regulars:-
tinyurl.com/7zazbx
It sometimes just isn't worth it!
|
|
|
they will get a fight
Will be in a small minority here, but i agree with you.
Anyone who breaks into a persons home intent on violence must expect at some point to meet someone who believe's their home is their castle, and is prepared to defend it.
The homeowner will get the full force of law thrown against them for defending themselves and their loved ones, so be it.
A line in the sand?
|
|
I'm not very physical really and past the flower of youth, but I can only agree with zub and gb. Most burglars don't want complications, just valuables. My advice is to run at them stark naked screaming oaths and brandishing a rusty samurai sword or similar. And use it if you have to.
|
Lud, good to hear from.
Are you back with us or still in the colonies..;) ducks behind the sofa....
Will some amusing reports be forthcoming please?
|
The vast majority of people who steal cars do not want a confrontation. Let's face it, from the thief's perspective they don't know the person in their slumbers upstairs isn't a rugby prop or Miss Marple.
It is sensible to take reasonable precautions to protect your property and chucking your keys on a hook behind the front door isn't one of them...because the oik knows this and will put a fishing rod or bamboo cane through the letter box to retrieve them..
or.. the kitchen table/work surface... because the back door is made of papier mache or the little window/cat flap is left open for pussykins.
It is thankfully extremely rare for your home to be invaded by people who don't care about a confrontation.
There are simple precautions people can take e.g
- put car in garage,
- if away on holiday/weekend away jam decent car behind less decent car
- lock keys in key safe
usually any thief that suffers a set back will move on to easier pickings e.g. your neighbour who can't be bothered
|
'Let's face it, from the thief's perspective they don't know the person in their slumbers upstairs isn't a rugby prop or Miss Marple.'
Sorry but thats absolute rubbish. Many of the ' nice " cars being nicked with keys have been tracked down by the scroats involved. They know what sort of car they want and they know where it is parked. They quite often get a look at the driver and any one else in the home so as to know whether to go in mob handed.
|
The masked gang bursting in to nick the Porsche or Merc happens very rarely.
Far more common is the 'rod and line' stealth method where the owner rarely realises his car is gone until the next morning.
Good compromise is to leave the keys in a drawer where the rod and line mob can't get them.
But you can give them up if, and it's a very big if, you wake up with armed thugs standing around your bed.
|
As per Blue's link above to my own experience, I would say having the keys accessible saved both myself and wife and son from further harm.
If they had been 'locked' away the events would have certainly taken a much nastier turn.
Glad I could find the keys easily and the police also concurred having them out on the hall cupboard saved any further damage, injury and possible dire consequences......
Cheers
jdc
|
'http://www.policeoracle.com/news/Cross-Border-Organised-Car-Gang-Jail
ed_18149.html'
Adds a bit of flesh to my point that confrontation is taking place.
|
'Let's face it from the thief's perspective they don't know the person in their slumbers upstairs isn't a rugby prop or Miss Marple.'
Sorry but thats absolute rubbish.
Mr X, on what basis do you state my comment is 'absolute rubbish'? My comment is in fact an informed fact.
Yes, cars do get targetted and yes in a given local area the locals might know who a usual driver is...but they won't know the set up of the house i.e. how many people live there, who is staying for the weekend, etc... and they will not want a confrontation, it's easier to go onto the next one.
As an example my mate, a local company director with a fleet of vehicles , has had people attend his house during the night 3 times in a year...presumably after either after his wife's CLK or his XJR. His decent CCTV and alarm system saw them off (and he never leaves the keys on show)....on the last occasion they nicked a 5 series up the end of his road instead... so got easier pickings elsewhere
I see no reason why anyone should give up on crime prevention, although i do accept on the extremely rare occasions that some nutter(s) break in with confrontation very much an option, you'd be best to give the keys up easily...that statistic is thankfully exceptionally rare and needs to be kept in perspective.
|
A traffic plod who used to live opposite me once stopped a van in the early hours of the morning and called for back up to detain the five on board. In their possession, a list along the lines of 'i.e. how many people live there, who is staying for the weekend, etc... " along with the cars to be found on the premises and in the garages. I was on that list ( XR4i at the time ). They were on there way round to drop off the drivers and collect the cars they wanted. They were part of the ram raid gang that led to the force getting one of the first helicopters outside of London. So successful was it that other ram raiders tried to firebomb it one night.
|
an organised gang of car thieves wouldn't have the faintest idea on who was in at any given time...they would however know exactly what make/model/engine size the car was...AND...would have a shopping list
so if the first one had a decent alarm or huge great baying hound in the hallway, they'd move on to another one
the example I gave above had visit 1 result in mate's CCTV alarm wake him up, he put on the bedroom light, didn't notice anything, but had the presence of mind to re-play the CCTV and noted someone on his drive snooping about, who was no doubt disturbed when he put the light on
visit 2, he woke up again, but this time didn't put the light on. He rang 999, but decided to 'show out' when his letter box kept going as he didn't want his door damaged. No hope of them getting the keys, as they weren't there (but of course, many are). He shouted out the window and the oik had the nerve to give him the 'bird'.
visit 3, they came back with hoodies up, having no doubt noticed the small camera above the door. There was another exchange of 'pleasantries' out of the window.
There have been no more visits as they have worked out that one is on the 'too difficult' list.
|
|
Westpig's measured and professionally informed post, and remembering jdc's thread on a nasty intrusion by genuinely thuggish (rather than just cheeky and unprincipled) intruders, make me, I confess, slightly ashamed of my earlier intemperate and frivolous post, although I still agree with zub and gb that one shouldn't take cheek from toerags lying down.
Edited by Lud on 25/01/2009 at 18:07
|
|
|
|
