Vehicle Break Ins-Carrollton

[frreed]

No NRA sticker. I do have a USMC decal, an OIF campaign ribbon and a Berklee College of Music decal as well.

[stroguy]

Key locks are so easy to jimmy with a 10"-12" flat screwdriver. No need for slim jims anymore. I eliminated all key access to my Charger just for that reason. Sorry for your misery. If you have a 4 door truck with a keyless fob you can eliminate the key with a back door handle assembly on many vehicles in the place of the front door keyed handle. I did my neighbors Toyota right after his was broken into.

[92f-fan]

"if they want in" - a rock works great on the windows
Ive had my entire truck stolen
I now have Lojack - not because I want the auto back- but because its very likely that the perp will get caught in he act AND Ill get my personal stuff back
I found the guy that stole my truck- he was arrested but only charged with possession of stolen property - - no charge for stealing the vehicle - DA refused to put him in jail
- He was a career criminal at age 22 -

[stroguy]

Amateurs do break the glass and get 15-30 seconds in the car. Pros don't have to and the amount of time they spend in your ride is up to them. I try and minimize their ability.

[grim-bob]

I recently had both of the front door locking mechanisms punched out. Fortunately nothing was in the car to take (I bring everything in at night and have a small lock box when I'm out). I believe it happened at the house but could have been at a garage near work. I didn't notice it immediately I think since I use the keyfob all the time.

In the process of replacing the door handles with the rear ones (no key hole) as was mentioned previously. Unfortunately that isn't enough as they'll just punch in the edge of the handles. Also putting in Jimmy Jammers to block access to the mechanisms that the thieves open the door with after punching through. Going to end up costing me a few hundred to get it all done but fortunately I'm not having to replace valuables. I keep my truck looking as plain and stock as possible but it still got hit.

I'm in FW though

[92f-fan]

many cars/trucks they dont even attack the lock cylinder - they go under the handle and get the mechanism directly
which is why things like this were invented...
http://www.jimmijammer.com/Product,%20JJ.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I live in Carrollton and prefer to wrap my car in a garage

[rp_photo]

This consequence is another reason why 30.06 signs are a gift to criminals. Any business that posts a 30.06 sign is not only failing to make their facility safer, they are increasing the danger and threat of violence for the larger community. But apparently, the anti-gun nuts would rather help put guns in the hands of criminals that have a CHL holder on their premises.

Justice would be served if one of those stolen guns found one of those anti-gunners, who would then be persuaded to see things as they should.

[rp_photo]

I believe that an inconspcuous/slightly ugly vehicle is a good deterrent, such as what I drive.

There a few dents, small rust areas, and a missing hubcap that I leave as-is, both because I'm lazy and I feel they make the vehicle look less enticing:



Some random items and trash on the passenger floor (again due to laziness in part) adds to the "Nothing interesting here" message.

I also avoid having any affinity stickers that would reveal my gun ownership or political opinions. That's what the Internet is for.

[Keith B]

I believe that an inconspcuous/slightly ugly vehicle is a good deterrent, such as what I drive.

There a few dents, small rust areas, and a missing hubcap that I leave as-is, both because I'm lazy and I feel they make the vehicle look less enticing:

Some random items and trash on the passenger floor (again due to laziness in part) adds to the "Nothing interesting here" message.

I also avoid having any affinity stickers that would reveal my gun ownership or political opinions. That's what the Internet is for.

That won't necessarily deter a break-in. We have had several grab and go type vehicle burglaries here at our work location, and they will hit anything if they think there is an opportunity.

For vehicle burglars, there are basically two types: Opportunists and car thieves.

The opportunists are the ones that will either punch or jimmy a lock (the more professional crooks), or smash a window and grab what they want. They are the ones that are looking for that quick grab of a GPS, cell phone, laptop, iPod, car stereo or even a gun, and don't care what the vehicle is. They will rummage through and spend no more than 60 - 90 seconds inside the vehicle, then high-tail it out of the area. And, entry takes them about 5 - 10 seconds, so their total time is less than 2 minutes usually.

The true car thieves are looking for a vehicle that they can strip. Even an old beater with nice wheels and tires will be a target to them. They will target those vehicles that have an easy way to bypass the ignition quickly. They know what they want and how to get it and are no slower than the amateur smash & grab thieves.

Bottom line, if your vehicle is targeted either due to items inside or the type that can be stripped and parts sold easily, then you are subject to getting hit.

And, a really popular thing now is catalytic converter thefts. We have had several here in the north Dallas/Richardson area lately, including one at out office. The thieves use cordless reciprocating saws with metal cutting blades to hack off the cat. The precious metals in the catalytic converter is worth anywhere from $200 - $300 to them. To replace the cat, it can cost you $2000 - $3000 plus.

[stroguy]

This is so true. The softball park where I play has every type of vehicle broken into. I hope your luck continues.

[mojo84]

Here is video of my vehicle being broken into in broad daylight during lunch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmZz1ALvV1U

I made a huge mistake. I exited my vehicle and started into the restaurant. When I was about 20 feet from my truck I realized I had left my briefcase with my laptop sitting in the back floorboard. I returned to the vehicle to put it under the back seat. They must have been watching as they knew exactly where to look even though nothing was visible from the exterior of the vehicle. The good news is, they did not find any of my other items I had in the console.

This should make people think before they return to put their gun in their vehicle after encountering a 30.06 or 51% sign unless they have a gun vault. A vault is not full-proof but may be a deterrent as it will slow the scumbags down and they may decide to move on to the next one.

There has been a vehicle burglary task force established in San Antonio due to so many auto break-ins. According to the detective that heads-up the task force there are 70-100 auto burglaries reported in San Antonio on a DAILY basis.

[Skiprr]

And, a really popular thing now is catalytic converter thefts. We have had several here in the north Dallas/Richardson area lately, including one at out office. The thieves use cordless reciprocating saws with metal cutting blades to hack off the cat. The precious metals in the catalytic converter is worth anywhere from $200 - $300 to them. To replace the cat, it can cost you $2000 - $3000 plus.

Yep. This is a crime similar to copper theft from air conditioning systems: a whole lot of expense and trouble for the victim, with a pretty small reward for the despicable thief. I think even a $200 illegal sale would be on the high end.

Trucks and SUVs with nice, high ground clearance are the most appealing targets for these thieves. Their interest is grab-and-go, so taking the time to get a 'Vette jacked up to go to work on it just isn't a good idea. The thieves who do this regularly will typically have a cheap mechanic's creeper in their pickup, plop it on the concrete, slip under the target vehicle, and with a wrench (some are still bolt-only) and reciprocating saw, and the catalytic converter is in the thief's pickup bed in two minutes or less.

I have a friend who's a Harris County deputy, and he has a built-up F250 that won't fit in his garage. He installed a CatClamp on it, and swears by the device. Like the JimmyJam for door locks, it doesn't theft-proof the target...just makes it much harder to get to. The CatClamp runs from $150 to just over $300, and is a pretty ingenious setup that utilizes a "cage" made of heavy-duty, aircraft-grade, wire rope. It works because a thief has to get through all eight (I think it's eight) strands of the cage to get the catalytic converter off the vehicle, and reciprocating saws don't like the wire rope. Even good quality bolt cutters don't like heavy wire rope, and bolt cutters are darned difficult to maneuver lying underneath a vehicle in very tight quarters. In short, a planned two-minute job suddenly looks like 10 or 15 minutes of sawing and cutting from several different angles. The thief rolls out from under the truck and looks for easier prey.

And that's basically the same philosophy behind the gun vaults I use in my vehicle. If someone steals the whole thing, they can take their time exploring and cutting, and they'll get whatever is in there. But for a parking lot grab-and-go, encountering a locked vault (I have one under the driver's seat and one in the console) means a lot of additional time and probably extra tools cutting the vault out of the vehicle and/or drilling out the lock. Hard targets are unattractive targets.

[msandoval858]

I made a huge mistake. I exited my vehicle and started into the restaurant. When I was about 20 feet from my truck I realized I had left my briefcase with my laptop sitting in the back floorboard. I returned to the vehicle to put it under the back seat. They must have been watching as they knew exactly where to look even though nothing was visible from the exterior of the vehicle. The good news is, they did not find any of my other items I had in the console.

This is exactly what happened to me. I was meeting a friend and started walking away, returned to get something out of my backpack and then placed it in the back floor of my pickup. I covered it to keep it out of view. Obviously someone was watching to know exactly where it was because that's the only thing they took. They were even kind enough to recover the area I had "hidden" the backpack

[Keith B]

I made a huge mistake. I exited my vehicle and started into the restaurant. When I was about 20 feet from my truck I realized I had left my briefcase with my laptop sitting in the back floorboard. I returned to the vehicle to put it under the back seat. They must have been watching as they knew exactly where to look even though nothing was visible from the exterior of the vehicle. The good news is, they did not find any of my other items I had in the console.

This is exactly what happened to me. I was meeting a friend and started walking away, returned to get something out of my backpack and then placed it in the back floor of my pickup. I covered it to keep it out of view. Obviously someone was watching to know exactly where it was because that's the only thing they took. They were even kind enough to recover the area I had "hidden" the backpack

You will also notice how once the guy cased the vehicle he made a pass around to be sure no one was coming back out to see what he was doing. Once he determined it was clear, he BACKED into the spot which allowed him to open his door and block the view from behind your vehicle, and the wall in front kind-of blocked the view from the front. That way anyone just driving by or from a distance would not be able to eassliy see him punching the lock. The Chevy trucks are VERY easy to punch unfortunately.

[mojo84]

Yep, they were smooth, experienced and efficient.