Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodo
I could be wrong, but I swear I've read studies more or less establishing that bad guys don't really think about the type or severity of punishment for one action vs another, related-but-different offense. I made my comment based on your observation that they "know how to start your car once they're in it." Me? That's exactly what I would do. If I only wanted your headlights but was also capable of starting the car, I'd drive it to the back corner of the nearest Walmart parking lot and heist those lights in a much more relaxed manner. (No offense to the poster intended, but I for one find it difficult to believe that, as was suggested, they could be removed from a locked car in "less than a minute", unless you were okay with destroying them in the process. What? They're held in place by duct tape??)
But you could be right on the other stuff, PL...who doesn't like eclairs? And---who am I to argue with someone who once detailed a rental car??  |
That's largely true. I spent many years working with Federal LE and it became clear that there are two types of criminals: successful and unsuccessful. The former are not many. The latter inundate the jails for low crimes and are back out again to prey on the innocent and unsuspecting eventually over reaching almost alway on a drug offense. State Courts were largely responsible for this revolving door, the Federal system was
severe in comparison. I once ran what you would know as a rap sheet on a guy who had finally committed a Federal crime after decades of breaking state laws, largely burglaries. Well it took so long to print his record (old dot matrix printers at the time) that the length of it was something like 20 feet. He'd never done more a couple of years in jail at one time. I have to wonder how many crimes he did get away with.
A career criminal would love the idea of stealing Porsche headlights from an area known to have many Porsches (like So Cal bars/malls). A career criminal is also a specialist, he's not doing random crimes. He knows how to do one thing well and he knows how to evaluate when the window of oppourtunity is most open. One of these trained in car theft and burglarizing could absolutely get at your headlights in less time that it takes you to raise your top and lock up. If I recall correctly the crew that were stealing Litronics a few years back in CA hit many cars in a very short period of time. That means they were in and out fast. Which also tells me there were probably 2-3 guys involved per theft. I could see one guy disarming the car and opening the hood, another removing the headlights with tool already in hand and maybe even a third in a van or tall SUV partially blocking the view. Lickety split.
p.s.
That rental car was a red Mustang. It deserved better even if it turned like a truck.