View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > December > 10 > Entry
Prevent crime during the holidays
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Christmas time means robberies are up and thefts from cars are up.
Right now we have a trio of bad guys doing street-level robberies mostly in the southern area. Victims are usually caught off guard getting in or out of a car and it’s normally at night.
Some of the robberies were for money and one was a carjacking. At night, be very careful and look around before getting out of the car. These are quick hits and if you get caught in the worst-case scenario and are approached for money, don’t fight. Give up the money and get a good description of the perps.
Other things:
You know those “Secret Shopper” offers? Be aware, some are phony. Check them out. Most legit Secret Shopper deals don’t involve you putting money up front. Look into these offers closely and ask questions.
Thefts from gym lockers are expected to rise slightly. The most common scenario is a popped locker and either a credit card removed from a wallet or, if the wallet isn’t in the locker, thieves will sometimes take the keys, walk outside and hit the buttons until they find the car. Most of the time they ransack the car then leave.
Thefts from cars are up a bit. Just quit leaving all that stuff in them.
I’ve gotten some e-mails telling of stories of people who slash the victim’s tires then approach them offering to fix them, then robbing them. I hear about it but haven’t seen any of it here.
Apartment burglaries are quick. Kick the door, grab what they can from the front room and scoot. Most common item taken: PS3 and Xbox game systems. Aside from the door kickers, the second most common entry point is the sliding door. You can’t do much about the front door frame unless your apartment complex is very accommodating but you can buy or even make a door stop for the sliding door. You can buy a wooden dowel at the hardware store. Cap the ends with rubber stoppers and place it on the sliding door thus restricting it from opening. Most crooks won’t take the chance of shattering the big sliding door.
It’s a good idea to write down serial and model numbers of your valuables, especially electronics. Make the rounds with your digital camera and create a visual inventory of your items.
Believe me, it will pay off if you are a victim of a burglary.
Here’s more holiday news and tips
Comments
By Blogfather
December 11, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this
If we are carjacked, and armed, can we shoot the perp as he becomes so vulnerable at the moment he gets behind the wheel? If we only wound the perp, can we interrogate him to get names of his outlaw gang? During the interrogation, can we use the car’s battery to improvise a taser? (red on positive, black on negative). If we are unsuccesful in getting names, can we good citizen/bad citizen the perp by dragging him in a circle behind our car while offering him cigarettes if he talks?
I always wondered why any perp would risk a carjacking when so many good citizens are armed. Perps are so vulnerable once they get in the car. How do you think the perp got the drop on the victim in the first place?
There are some good citizens out there that are begging for a carjacking, litterally walking around playing out scenarios in their head how they’d retrieve their piece, calmly assume the dirty harry firing position, empty the magazine, and then say something cool, like, “Welcome to my Toyotathon, punk.” or “I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance.” or “What do I have to do to get you to buy a car from me today, sir?” or fill in the blank.
By Jimbo
December 11, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this
Or, “why do you make me hurt you?” or in my case (I carry a itsy bitsy Kel Tec P3AT) “Stop laughing, this is seriously a gun!” I worry about that thing, you should always be prepared to use it if you’re drawing it, hell you should be committed to using it if you produce it, but.. DoJ stats seem to indicate that most interactions between armed citizens and criminals end with the citizen not shooting anyone and the criminal making a hasty retreat. I think if I pulled that little mouse gun on someone I’d have to shoot them at least once just to prove it was a gun.