Cooler thief hit neighbors house

[area651]

they knew it was of little value before they ever showed up.
With this much evidence though, I only hope that they pay him a visit and maybe bring the guys cooler back.
He needs to be taught a lesson though.

I'm not advocating vigilantism or anything but if the cops do nothing, the owner now has the license plate. Those are easy to query and find out who owns that truck. I've seen instances where someone was caught in video/pictures doing something wrong and once the parents were shown the evidence, the parents flipped out with embarrassment and anger that a kid of theirs could do such. I'm not sure the age of the thief here. I'm just saying that when confronted (IF it can be done with relative ease and safety) then often it will be corrected.

Semi similar relatable story where someone was confronted - I had someone drive by my house (I was in the front yard) and they threw out a Mcdonald's bag and multiple beer cans. Basically littering in my yard. They went 5 houses down the street, pulled into the driveway and went into the house. I gathered the trash and went to the door and knocked. My neighbor, which I already knew & was on good terms with, answered and I said (nicely) that someone from that truck in driveway just emptied all this trash into my yard before they arrived here. The top of my neighbor's head boiled and he stopped, took a breath, smiled, and simply said "thankyou...it will be handled." He shut the door and you would have thought Godzilla had roared! He explained later that it was his daughter's boyfriend and he had to really hold back to keep from throwing him out the window. In summary, imho if you can handle it nicely/safely, then sometimes it can be resolved without police. It all depends on the situation though.

 

[Parley]

The real problem is that people like me will get pissed off and take matters on their own and get in trouble for trying to do the right thing.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

You will become the criminal for trying to do what is right.

 

[wtimothyholman]

I'm not advocating vigilantism or anything but if the cops do nothing, the owner now has the license plate. Those are easy to query and find out who owns that truck. I've seen instances where someone was caught in video/pictures doing something wrong and once the parents were shown the evidence, the parents flipped out with embarrassment and anger that a kid of theirs could do such. I'm not sure the age of the thief here. I'm just saying that when confronted (IF it can be done with relative ease and safety) then often it will be corrected.

I've told my neighbor that I'd be glad to put my LPR photos on Nextdoor, along with the photos of the truck in the alleyway, and give it as wide a distribution as possible. By the looks of the guy and his truck, I assume he does construction or maintenance work for a living. He saw an easy opportunity to grab something he wanted, and he took it. If the police won't do anything, perhaps a little publicity of his vehicle and license plate will make a difference.

It's my neighbor's call, of course. But the thing is, there's not a thing he can personally do about it. He is a trauma surgeon at the local hospital. He talks to police all the time while treating patients with gunshot wounds. He showed them the pictures I had sent him, and they all said that catching the guy would be a slam dunk. And since then ... silence. Imagine how he feels.

He could easily find out who the guy is, but then what? He can't confront the thief. He has far too much to lose ... the thief has nothing to lose. He's probably already got a police record. Getting caught for misdemeanor burglary would barely qualify him for a wrist slap where I live.

 

[wittaj]

And when the cops don't do anything, really makes one question why spend on this money on cameras?

I have caught several things with mine - busted out windows on cars by kids joyriding, theft, etc. and only once did they do anything and that was a convicted felon that stole a gun in the neighborhood. But in the end the guy walked on a technicality.

 

[wtimothyholman]

And when the cops don't do anything, really makes one question why spend on this money on cameras?

I have caught several things with mine - busted out windows on cars by kids joyriding, theft, etc. and only once did they do anything and that was a convicted felon that stole a gun in the neighborhood. But in the end the guy walked on a technicality.

I keep spending my money on cameras for a few reasons:

(1) The next time someone sideswipes my car to the tune of several thousand dollars, I'll give the video to my insurance company, then sign a subrogation agreement. They'll do something even if the police don't.

(2) The police have acted on some bigger cases when I sent them LPR information. One time was when a burglar tried to break into a car down the street that a teenage girl was sitting inside. Another was when a drug addict in a stolen car tried twice to break into my neighbor's house, while the family was home.

The police will act on the bigger stuff, especially if a child or female was threatened. But victimless property crime? It's not worth their time. Still, there's always Nextdoor. What I have discovered is that some very infamous car checkers in my area now seem to avoid my house and street. I've got videos of one of them walking right by my home, staring at my cameras. I suspect that someone they know has pointed out all those high-resolution images I've put online. So in that respect the cameras are worth the effort.

 

[wittaj]

Oh yea, it isn't like I am pulling mine down or not looking to upgrade, but it is unfortunate when they don't do anything because this theft being investigated may uncover a much bigger operation. Especially if they have nothing going on. The 5 car windshields busted in my neighborhood, the next morning 5 cop cars show up to take down the information, yet they never did anything with it. If there is nothing going on that 5 cars can show up, then they have time to make a simple knock on a door of the car owner.

My cams did help a neighbor when a kid decided to fly down the street backwards and took out 4 mailboxes. Because it was an unchaperoned party his son threw at the house when he wasn't home, he agreed to pay for the mailboxes since the police wouldn't do anything and to be a nice neighbor. I told him to tell his son to tell the kid that did it that if he didn't agree to pay for it that he would tell the kids parents. The kid made an arrangement to pay for the mailboxes...

 

[wtimothyholman]

My cams did help a neighbor when a kid decided to fly down the street backwards and took out 4 mailboxes. Because it was an unchaperoned party his son threw at the house when he wasn't home, he agreed to pay for the mailboxes since the police wouldn't do anything and to be a nice neighbor. I told him to tell his son to tell the kid that did it that if he didn't agree to pay for it that he would tell the kids parents. The kid made an arrangement to pay for the mailboxes...

Yes, telling Mom and Dad does have an effect. Some college kids were having a party down the street a couple of years ago, and one of them backed his BMW into the parked car of my neighbor across from my house while leaving the party. The kid even got out and looked at the damage, then drove off. My neighbor was furious the next morning, until I showed him the video. He went down to the house (rented by two college girls), and laid out what had happened. They gave up their friend on the spot. As it turned out, the kid was a freshman at a local private college, and he had told his parents that the damage done to his brand-new BMW had happened while it was in a parking lot at school, and he was in class.

I don't know what happened between the kid and his parents after that, but my neighbor did get the damage paid for.

 

[CCTVCam]

I've told my neighbor that I'd be glad to put my LPR photos on Nextdoor, along with the photos of the truck in the alleyway, and give it as wide a distribution as possible. By the looks of the guy and his truck, I assume he does construction or maintenance work for a living. He saw an easy opportunity to grab something he wanted, and he took it. If the police won't do anything, perhaps a little publicity of his vehicle and license plate will make a difference.

It's my neighbor's call, of course. But the thing is, there's not a thing he can personally do about it. He is a trauma surgeon at the local hospital. He talks to police all the time while treating patients with gunshot wounds. He showed them the pictures I had sent him, and they all said that catching the guy would be a slam dunk. And since then ... silence. Imagine how he feels.

He could easily find out who the guy is, but then what? He can't confront the thief. He has far too much to lose ... the thief has nothing to lose. He's probably already got a police record. Getting caught for misdemeanor burglary would barely qualify him for a wrist slap where I live.

I think I'd be tempted to point out that if one of those officers comes in needing trauma surgery, I might just lose the paperwork. That should do the trick.

 

[mat200]

Most police departments in larger U.S. cities will not bother. Nine days ago a guy in a pickup truck drove into the alleyway behind a neighbor's house one block over, and stole a quarter pipe skateboard ramp (worth about $450) from the backyard in the middle of the day. One of my other neighbors with a camera pointed at the alleyway recorded the truck driving off with the ramp, but didn't record the license plate. He contacted me, and as it turned out the thief drove by my house to get to the alleyway, and my LPR cameras recorded the plate number. I also got an excellent shot of half the thief's face that was not blocked by the windshield.

I turned all of this information over to the police. The result? Nothing. The victimized neighbor has never been contacted by the detective assigned to the case. This is as open-and-shut an identification of the perpetrator as you could hope for. If the police got a search warrant, they'd probably find quite a few stolen items at the thief's residence. But the value of the ramp isn't enough to make it qualify as a felony, only as a misdemeanor. The police have better things to do.

What is especially frustrating is that I live in an area with fairly high property values. Collectively we pay a substantial chunk of revenue to the city in the form of property taxes. There's a precinct station about a mile and a half away. It might as well be on the Moon for all the police presence we typically see in our neighborhood.

FYI - one possible action is small claims court...

 

[CCTVCam]

Also do you have such a thing as a private prosecution in the US?

 

[JK200SX]

Stupid question but what is a cooler?

Called an Esky in Australia.

 

[JK200SX]

I've been tinkering with LPR stuff but temporarily using an Amcrest IP2M-853EW PTZ

I'm relatively new to this stuff, but I'm amazed at the clarity of the number plate when it is zoomed in. I have a Dahua 8MP camera in the driveway and I have never been able to get an image as sharp as what Ive seen in the attached video. Just wondering why?

 

[wtimothyholman]

Also do you have such a thing as a private prosecution in the US?

Several states still allow it, but not where I live. But in any case, the cost and effort of any civil or small claims court action would not justify the relatively small expense of replacing the skateboard ramp.

The cost of replacement is not the issue to my neighbor; it's the fact that the thief stole the skateboard ramp in the middle of the day, but my neighbor can't get any cooperation from the police despite having solid identification of the perp.

 

[wtimothyholman]

I'm relatively new to this stuff, but I'm amazed at the clarity of the number plate when it is zoomed in. I have a Dahua 8MP camera in the driveway and I have never been able to get an image as sharp as what Ive seen in the attached video. Just wondering why?

A zoomed in 2 MP image will beat a wide-angle fixed focus 8 MP image every time.

 

[wittaj]

A zoomed in 2 MP image will beat a wide-angle fixed focus 8 MP image every time.

An optical zoom! Not a digital zoom.

 

[bigredfish]

I'm relatively new to this stuff, but I'm amazed at the clarity of the number plate when it is zoomed in. I have a Dahua 8MP camera in the driveway and I have never been able to get an image as sharp as what Ive seen in the attached video. Just wondering why?

Agree with @wtimothyholman above.

Because your 8MP camera is likely not zoomed in to see just license plates. The FOV is likley wide to "see as much area as possible" but you sacrifice detail at distance. It becomes even harder at night.

I run a number of LPR cameras at 80-120ft all 2MP.

 

[samplenhold]

But the value of the ramp isn't enough to make it qualify as a felony, only as a misdemeanor. The police have better things to do.

I have a problem with this sentiment. A crime is a crime. Just how big does it have to be for the police to take notice? So a few hundred dollars is not 'worth' it? If that idea was true, then why enforce traffic laws? But most people with warrants are caught in traffic stops, that's why.

But victimless property crime? It's not worth their time.

To me there is no such thing as 'victimless property crime'. There is always a victim. Something was taken from somebody. Even if covered by insurance, there is always a deductible, time spent/wasted for the event and replacement. No to mention the feeling of being violated in one's own home. Sorry, not meaning to pick on you @wtimothyholman

 

[IAmATeaf]

You get something similar in the UK where the value determines interest or not. Years ago on the equivalent of Craig’s List here I got burned for a sat box that never appeared. Dragged on for ages with the seller coming up with different excuses including a violent husband and that I should ease off as my constant calling would set him off.

Contacted the police who initially weren’t interested at all due in the main to the value but more and more people started calling in about e same scammer and eventually after the 3rd attempt they listened and paid her a visit. The police eventually took her to court, for me she still claimed to have posted the item so the police agreed that she should refund me, a few days later a cheque arrived. Never did cash it as it wasn’t about the money for me, the fact that she got taken to court was good enough for me.

 

[alastairstevenson]

on the equivalent of Craig’s List here I got burned for a sat box that never appeared

That's fraud as opposed to property theft.
In Scotland, and also in England, there is s straightforward Court process whereby you can get a Court Order that gives you authority to send the Sheriff Officers (Bailiffs in England) to seize assets of the perpetrator including bank accounts.
I've used it after I bought some Hikvision kit on Gumtree that never appeared. I was scammed.

Simple Procedure | Scottish Courts

www.scotcourts.gov.uk

 

[wtimothyholman]

To me there is no such thing as 'victimless property crime'. There is always a victim. Something was taken from somebody. Even if covered by insurance, there is always a deductible, time spent/wasted for the event and replacement. No to mention the feeling of being violated in one's own home. Sorry, not meaning to pick on you @wtimothyholman

No offense taken. By "victimless", what I meant was no direct person-to-person interaction. If someone sticks a gun in your face and takes your wallet, the police will respond. If someone breaks into your house while you're not home and steals that same wallet, nothing will happen.