Petty Theft

Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
2,600
Location
california
It seems to be on the increase in these parts.

A neighbor had an expensive mountain bike's lock cut while attached to their trailer hitch's bike holder.

I'd heard some strange noises late at night and investigated with only a flashlight, and was quickly wishing I had something more substantial, and did not really inspect thoroughly because of it. I saw nothing, but was likely being watched by the thieves.

A drivers license was found in the street the next day, almost as if placed prominently near the site of the theft. Not sure if victim filed report. Still sorting out the details.

Heard a bunch of cars nearby were also broken into and their contents rifled though.

Thievery in this specific area has been an extremely rare occurrence in my 15+ years here, and a lot of neighbors are now feeling quite uneasy.

Bitogers might want to take some extra steps to thwart thieves in these weird times.
 
Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
It seems to be on the increase in these parts.

A neighbor had an expensive mountain bike's lock cut while attached to their trailer hitch's bike holder.

I'd heard some strange noises late at night and investigated with only a flashlight, and was quickly wishing I had something more substantial, and did not really inspect thoroughly because of it. I saw nothing, but was likely being watched by the thieves.

A drivers license was found in the street the next day, almost as if placed prominently near the site of the theft. Not sure if victim filed report. Still sorting out the details.

Heard a bunch of cars nearby were also broken into and their contents rifled though.

Thievery in this specific area has been an extremely rare occurrence in my 15+ years here, and a lot of neighbors are now feeling quite uneasy.

Bitogers might want to take some extra steps to thwart thieves in these weird times.


I always take precautions to thwart thieves. No extra steps to take.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Part of it is that our dumb butt governor made petty theft non punishable.


Does that mean you could hypothetically live for free in California by stealing small things all the time?
 
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Originally Posted by CharlieJ
Originally Posted by Chris142
Part of it is that our dumb butt governor made petty theft non punishable.


Does that mean you could hypothetically live for free in California by stealing small things all the time?

Umm yes. Don't leave don't leave stay right there and deal with it.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Get ready.... it's gonna get very bad very soon.

Law enforcement in many cities no longer responds to these types of thefts.


The police may not respond to more serious crimes in a timely manner either....It's hard to blame them when they are constantly second guessed by so much of the public (from the comfort of their living rooms) who seemed to have turned against them in recent years...
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Get ready.... it's gonna get very bad very soon.

Law enforcement in many cities no longer responds to these types of thefts.



Get ready for what exactly?! Trespassing on anyone's property is not exactly a smart thing to do regardless of the situation.
 
Chicago suburbs have been starting to get hit a lot more within the past year. The inner city folks branch off to the wealthier suburbs/subdivisions and start breaking into cars. A good friend of mine just happened to catch a pair of would-be-thieves on his driveway behind the house at night looking in the windows of his cars (he has to park outside the garage.) Firearms may or may not have been drawn.
 
Non-violent offenders are being let out of prisons without serving their entire sentence in order to reduce the population. I have heard some talk that they were are to stay in home confinement after release if their sentence is not up, but I do not have any idea of what percent of the ones being released are doing that. How can you confine a person to home confinement if they do not have a home? And the half-way hoses have to be quickly filling to maximum capacity. Where do these early released criminals end up? And with so many honest hard working people with a good background unemployed and looking for work, what are the chances of a flood of people with a criminal background finding jobs? And if they can't find jobs what are they going to turn to to support themselves?
 
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Originally Posted by JimPghPA
Non-violent offenders are being let out of prisons without serving their entire sentence in order to reduce the population. I have heard some talk that they were are to stay in home confinement after release if their sentence is not up, but I do not have any idea of what percent of the ones being released are doing that. How can you confine a person to home confinement if they do not have a home? And the half-way hoses have to be quickly filling to maximum capacity. Where do these early released criminals end up? And with so many honest hard working people with a good background unemployed and looking for work, what are the chances of a flood of people with a criminal background finding jobs? And if they can't find jobs what are they going to turn to to support themselves?


That is a great post and great reason for the high recidivism rates we see.
 
Originally Posted by CharlieJ
Originally Posted by Chris142
Part of it is that our dumb butt governor made petty theft non punishable.


Does that mean you could hypothetically live for free in California by stealing small things all the time?



I believe you can steal up to $950 worth of merchandise per crime in California and basically just run away from the crime and not face any major repercussions.

I'm sure you can still get caught by the cops and put through the system but you would bail out quickly enough and be back on the streets in no time.
 
Reddy if that's true that is a complete fail! And the good citizens just sit and allow it? Worse yet!
 
Originally Posted by P10crew
Reddy if that's true that is a complete fail! And the good citizens just sit and allow it? Worse yet!



From a website on the matter:

Petty Theft. California law defines petty theft as the theft of any property with a value of $950 or less. Most petty thefts are charged as misdemeanors. Petty theft is a misdemeanor if the theft is a result of the shoplifting offense and the offender has no prior criminal record, or if the value of the stolen property is $950 or less.
 
Op here,

I have to admit that while I was suspicious something nefarious was going on, Its not like I am armed, or could chase down a young nimble thief, and it was not on my property. Say I were to successfully find confront, trap , and stomp a thief on a neighbors property. and call the cops and keep detaining while they arrived.

I'd probably get charged with assault and kidnapping in this state.

Say I just stomped them and let them go, then have them come back later to F me up?

So, If I happen to notice dark clothed people scurrying about late at night again....what to do?

Call the cops and have them say, are they in the process of stealing anything worth more than 1000$?

While part of me is being obtuse, really, what's a safe proper course of action if you suspect some dirtbags are casing an area looking for something to steal, and could be long gone before any cops show up, if they show up?

I'm expecting this to happen again.
 
Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Get ready.... it's gonna get very bad very soon.

Law enforcement in many cities no longer responds to these types of thefts.


When seconds count police are minutes away....

Get armed and be prepared to provide your own protection, it's true soon enough all honorable citizens will be acting as their own police.

In some states like TX you can use deadly force to protect property and person, even your neighbors person and property. This needs to be the law everywhere in the USA.
 
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Originally Posted by wrcsixeight
Op here,

I have to admit that while I was suspicious something nefarious was going on, Its not like I am armed, or could chase down a young nimble thief, and it was not on my property. Say I were to successfully find confront, trap , and stomp a thief on a neighbors property. and call the cops and keep detaining while they arrived.

I'd probably get charged with assault and kidnapping in this state.

Say I just stomped them and let them go, then have them come back later to F me up?

So, If I happen to notice dark clothed people scurrying about late at night again....what to do?

Call the cops and have them say, are they in the process of stealing anything worth more than 1000$?

While part of me is being obtuse, really, what's a safe proper course of action if you suspect some dirtbags are casing an area looking for something to steal, and could be long gone before any cops show up, if they show up?

I'm expecting this to happen again.



Don't do anything.. but maybe consider moving. I believe in your state it's very possible for someone you catch in the act to sue you afterwards and even win.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Part of it is that our dumb butt governor made petty theft non punishable.


Elections have consequences.

Not saying the people in this thread voted this stuff in, but yes, elections have consequences.
 
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