Sidney emailed us about a recent smash-and-grab in the East Ballard area, east of 14th and south of 65th. Sidney writes:
My Toyota Corolla was broken into sometime between 11p Friday night and noon on Saturday, March 13. It was parked in our driveway (address omitted). The thieves broke out the rear driver-side window and stole our Garmin GPS and windshield bracket. Luckily, there was nothing else of value in the car and no other damage. I’ve reported it to the Seattle Police but thought others in our neighborhood ought to be alerted so they can avoid leaving things of value in their cars.
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This totally sucks, but it serves as a lesson to others. GPS units are by far the most common item stolen from cars today. Never leave your GPS in your car….don't even leave up the windshield attachment b/c that is enough to prompt a break-in.
My neighbor also had their car broken into in their drive way on Saturday night near the same area.
Our neighbor had their car windows smashed for a GPS unit and some CDs. We live in a great neighborhood in a large city. Do not leave items visible in your car. Prowlers will go shopping. Using common sense is a big part of living in the most “educated” city in the USA.
Also, be sure the ring that forms on the windshield from the GPS suction cup is wiped away as well. If they see the ring they know there is a GPS unit likely in the glove box or console. Cords are also a dead give-away. If it happens get on craigslist and buy it back. Call the cops if you so desire, but you're just creating paperwork for them, nothing has ever come of these break-ins and supposed “investigations”.
There isn't any investigation. Sometimes they catch them in the act and recover some of the goods, or bust one of the fences for the stuff, but there aren't enough police to do any investigation of individual burglaries.
I do wonder where all these GPS units are going. They can only really sell so many on Craigslist.
eBay. eBay is a FAR more common place for fencing stolen goods than pawn shops or even Craigslist precisely because it provides anonymity. It's also very difficult for the police to investigate because the items often end up crossing multiple jurisdictions.
As for the police investigating, what exactly are they supposed to investigate? Let's walk through this:
Citizen: “Hi officer, my car was broken into and my GPS stolen”
Police: “Did you see who did it”
C: “Mo”
P: “Do yo have the serial number of your GPS?”
C: “No”
P: “Do you know when it happened?”
C: “Sometime between when I got home yesterday and this morning”
OK, so the police:
1) Have no clue what the suspect looks like
2) Have no way of verifying ownership of the GPS back to the owner
3) They only know it happened sometime within a 10-12 hour time frame.
Any of you armchair investigators care to explain what exactly the police are supposed to do with this limited information? And please don't start with the DNA evidence crap – anyone who says that has been watching WAY too much TV. Keep in mind this happens dozens of times every single day. How much in taxes are you willing to pay to hire that many cops?
Instead of whining to the police why exercise a little common sense and not allow your property to be stolen in the first place? Doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that leaving an expensive electronic gizmo in plain sight protected by only a thin piece of safety glass probably isn't a good idea.
We hate those crooks! You might consider hiding your Microsoft parking permit too.
SS, We all know the scenario and it's lazy to just leave it there. The cops know who the usual suspects are, or they would if they did more than just drive by on their way from one call to the next. What the cops in places that actually solve these kinds of crimes do is gather information from sources on the street, set up a buy of some of the stolen goods, then they get a warrant and search, then arrest. The arrested suspect then rats out the other thieves to cut his sentence down and the police have then taken a half dozen thieves off the street for a few months.
The other way they do it is to actually put together a team to patrol, spot, track, and arrest thieves in the night. It takes a few cops staying up past their bedtime and being bored while they try to find the thieves, but it seems to work pretty well in most places that actually take the time and yes, money to do it.
I'm fine with paying a little more in taxes each year so that I don't have to pay a lot more to replace my car window, GPS, stereo, and also pay higher insurance premiums. What people fail to recognize is that there is a cost we pay for saving a few bucks on policing.
The cops know who the suspects are? Really? Do you have any remote idea how many convicted felons there are in King County? That's a LOT of people to keep tabs on. As for how they do it in other cities, I have two relatives who are both burglary detectives and several of my old Army buddies are now cops in various departments across the country and I've gone on ride-alongs with many of them. Detectives in major cities often have well in excess of 500 cases assigned to them at any given time. Keep in mind the majority of cases never even get assigned to a detective. Their priority overwhelmingly goes to stolen firearms and vehicles and there's enough of that to keep them busy for 40+ hours/week.
As for putting together a team to go on patrol keep in mind Seattle is a big town. The odds of them being in the right place at the right time are slim. Doubt me? Try it for yourself. Spend a night driving around and see how many break-ins you witness. It's a big waste of resources. Also keep in mind what you're proposing would take cops away from responding to calls.