Keep your vehicle doors locked

[Night_Sailor]

The trend is clear. Car thefts are up. Car jackings are up. Likewise home invasions are increasing.

I live in a rural area. In my family home, which I now own, we rarely locked our doors. Then we started locking them at night. Now we lock them all the time, even when home.

We never locked our cars in the driveway, now we always do.

Furthermore,we added security cameras, and plan to add more and a gate on the driveway.

If the trends are clear and you don’t take precautions, you are identifying yourself as a soft target.

 

[Frood]

The trend is clear. Car thefts are up. Car jackings are up. Likewise home invasions are increasing.

I live in a rural area. In my family home, which I now own, we rarely locked our doors. Then we started locking them at night. Now we lock them all the time, even when home.

We never locked our cars in the driveway, now we always do.

Furthermore,we added security cameras, and plan to add more and a gate on the driveway.

If the trends are clear and you don’t take precautions, you are identifying yourself as a soft target.

While growing up in a rural area it was unheard of for people to lock their doors when they went on vacation because "Someone might need to get into the house". Same for car keys... They were on the table and the car was outside in case the neighbor needed your car while you were away.

Now, car locked and alarm set inside fenced yard that has dogs wandering around. House door locked even when we are home (especially when we are home).

 

[AnFear]

Living with too much fear can be unhealthy.
I usually take my keys with me if I'm going to be awhile, I'll lock the doors if I'm in an unfamiliar town.
Never had a problem.

 

[Marcos989A]

The population is nearly always increasing therefore rates for many-most measurable factors naturally increase. Without using per-captia to compare it's pointless at best and disingenuine at worst to compare rates to past periods and locations.
#45 did\does this all the time and certain media gave\gives him a pass often.
Jr-high school level critical thinking.

 

[rruff]

Actually, it's shocking how much the crime rate has dropped since the 80s and 90s. It's less than half what it was in the "good old days". The difference is that we weren't constantly infected with fear back then.

 

[user 423]

Vehicle thefts and all sorts of crime rates are still well below half what they were 30 years ago.

If someone wasn't aware of what it was like 30 years ago, they can't have much insight into how bad it was vs. today.

 

[Marcos989A]

"Crime is bad" Crime is always bad other than for criminals that are rewarded.
"and getting worse. you have to go back to 1978 to find higher crime rates."
Given the US population increases yearly that claim has little-no value.
You can always spot someone misusing statistics to bolster their bias (often politically motivated) when they at the very least do not employ per/capita statistics nor reference a reputable source to substantiate their claims, as is convention.

 

[egilbe]

There was something I read a few years ago attributing the drop in crime rate to removing lead from gasoline. People are more aware of the consequences of their actions because their brains are more developed without being poisoned by lead in the environment. It may be why murder rates are so much higher in cities, all that heavy metal poisoning.

 

[WanderingRose]

I just want to say that a generalized fear of others in this country is unfounded, and that if one uses common sense and is situationally aware, they are usually going to be safe.

Most people mean us no harm, is the truth, and fearing those we don’t know and/or don’t look like us, live like us, dress like us, etc., diminishes the traveling and nomad experience.

IMHO

I have about 240,000-250,000 travel miles under my belt, about 100,000 of those as a widow.

Never been burglarized nor had a vehicle stolen.

 

[rruff]

If someone wasn't aware of what it was like 30 years ago, they can't have much insight into how bad it was vs. today.

I was a nomad all through the 90s, and I didn't perceive that crime was bad. I never had a problem with any people not wearing uniforms... though I'm sure it would have been different if I'd been paranoid and fearful.

What I did perceive was that the cops were a problem. I credit a "campaign" of police profiling and harassing people with most of the crime drop, and that really ramped up in the 90s. It sucks to be on the receiving end of that, though.

https://www.salon.com/2011/11/19/what_really_cleaned_up_new_york/

 

[LargeMarge]

Night_Sailor sez:
* "The trend is clear. Car thefts are up. Car jackings are up. Likewise home invasions are increasing."
.
I correct that claim to:
* The CLAIM OF A trend is clear. CLAIMS OF Car thefts are up. CLAIMS OF Car jackings are up. Likewise CLAIMS OF home invasions are increasing.
.
Meditation For The Day:
* If few of those claims are partially-true for some individuals sometimes, how would I live.
* If all those claims are intentionally fabricated, how would I live.
.
.
Some folk are in old contracts.
They agreed to learn about intimidation, receiving it and giving it.
They agreed to learn about getting without earning.
They agreed to learn about living as a victim, mindlessly parroting any word or phrase as long as it supports the contract.
.
To the rest of us in different contracts, your claim is obviously fraudulent.
To you and as a support of your contract, we might appear to be delusionally blind because the problem! is! so! obvious!
.
Breathing into the statements in your opening paragraph, can you imagine a time none of them exist.
.
.
Back into our temporary existence on this temporary planet...
.
The way I look at any trend -- who benefits?
Infrequently, the trend is -- follow the money.
And frequently, other trends are equally clear... individuals act without regard to wealth by mindlessly supporting expired contracts.
Happens all the time.
.
A person interested in moving beyond those expired contracts might start by acting as if they keep you stuck in a no-longer-serves-me place.
The generic 'you', not you in particular...

 

[AmargosaWayne]

"and getting worse. you have to go back to 1978 to find higher crime rates."
Given the US population increases yearly that claim has little-no value.

Crime rates are reported as "per 100,000" population in a time period.

Population growth alone shouldn't affect a crime rate.

 

[dhuff]

Crime rates are reported as "per 100,000" population in a time period.

Population growth alone shouldn't affect a crime rate.

Thanks, you beat me to it! Suffered through two semesters of graduate-level research methods & statistical analysis back in my college days, and it gives me violent facial tics to see statistics misused to "prove" some socio-political stance...

 

[egilbe]

There are lies, damned lies and statitstics

 

[maki2]

Your 1950's family car may have had electric locks but it's unlikely that it had the auto unlock feature that BP is referring to.

You entirely missed the joke I was making. The 5 "remote" door locks were me and my 4 siblings. My parents were using voice control. Who needs Alexa or power door locks when you have 5 kids you can command to do all kinds of task including pushing down the door lock buttons and rolling the car windows up and down?

 

[user 423]

No, I got your little joke but you missed the fact that my comment applied to post #2.

 

[RonDean]

I think there are many forces that want to sensationalize the news and make us believe the world is a much more dangerous place than it really is. I do not often lock my vehicle doors when I am inside and do not think I always need a concealed carry to protect me from robbery or that raving mob of poor people or minorities that are due to overrun the country at any minute. Based on my personal statistics (whether anyone believes them or not) I think that for the most part, the world is a reasonably safe place.

Do I practice "situational awareness?" You betcha. If I want to drive around in a high-crime area of almost any city, I'll probably push that door lock down. I'll also be paying attention to my surroundings. When I am leaving my vehicle, I'll certainly lock it. Not that it can't still be broken into. I doubt any of us have bulletproof glass. But, it will at least become an impediment. In the meantime, my inexpensive alarm system sounding off is more likely to save my "stuff" than any other action I might take.

 

[Catalyst1]

The trend is clear. Car thefts are up. Car jackings are up. Likewise home invasions are increasing.

I live in a rural area. In my family home, which I now own, we rarely locked our doors. Then we started locking them at night. Now we lock them all the time, even when home.

We never locked our cars in the driveway, now we always do.

Furthermore,we added security cameras, and plan to add more and a gate on the driveway.

If the trends are clear and you don’t take precautions, you are identifying yourself as a soft target.

Locking your car in the driveway won't prevent someone from stealing your catalytic converter.

 

[Catalyst1]

There was something I read a few years ago attributing the drop in crime rate to removing lead from gasoline. People are more aware of the consequences of their actions because their brains are more developed without being poisoned by lead in the environment. It may be why murder rates are so much higher in cities, all that heavy metal poisoning.

Yes, but now we are consuming Round-up in our food. There is a correlation between the rate of increase in dementia and the rate of increase in the use of Round-up.

 

[user 16179]

Locking your car in the driveway won't prevent someone from stealing your catalytic converter.

I keep my propane tank in a trailer hitch cargo basket. It's tied down with a ratchet strap that goes through my gas can and a few other things and secured with a cable and lock. I was going to town, so I lifted it up to guess the propane level in it..........someone had cracked open the valve. They got nothing, I lost what was left. Last week I had rearranged everything in the basket, and it wasn't empty then.