Wallyhood reader Jack dropped us a quick note about a car break-in that happened on Sunday night:
The window of our car was busted out late last night, and an emergency kit was stolen. The car was parked on Latona Ave. NE just south of the intersection with 44th. Several other cars were nearby but left alone. Our car was therefore targeted, probably because the emergency kit (stored in a very cheap-looking backpack) was visible in the back seat. The thieves broke the window quietly, as none of the neighbors were awakened, even though one set of neighbors sleeps within about 20 or so feet of the spot the car was parked. They probably therefore have a specialized punch for the purpose. The same neighbor mentioned above had his car broken into a week or so ago, so this seems like a pattern around here right now. Neighbors may therefore want to make sure to leave nothing in their cars overnight, while keeping an eye out for prowlers, especially on weekends.
Thanks for the safety reminder, Jack!
Happened to my girlfriend’s car a couple of weeks ago two blocks away at 2nd Ave NE and 44th. A bag containing a raincoat was stolen. Replacing the window was the most expensive part of the incident.
Don’t leave anything, especially bags, visible in your cars, especially in that area. It doesn’t matter whether they contain anything valuable, their mere presence is enough for some people to smash your window. I’ve learned my lesson.
I posted about this in the forum but it is so overrun with spam that probably no one saw it:
http://www.wallyhood.org/forums/topic.php?id=1197
Did you and your neighbor report this to the police? Since there is such a pattern of this happening maybe they would actually do something about it.
My wife and I have both had our cars broken into over the past few years. In my case, I was dumb enough to leave a GPS attached to the inside of the windshield, but my wife’s only crime was leaving a backpack visible. The thief got some dirty gym clothes and not much else. But we were out hundreds of dollars to fix the window.
I wish there was something the cops could do about it, but short of constant patrols, I can’t see their being able to prevent these things from happening. And the city is under enough budget strain as it is.
Michael H is right… leave NOTHING visible from the outside of the car, especially things like bags or backpacks because the thief might decide to play Monty Hall with them. (A dated reference, but reasonably apt.)
Would parking these vehicles in a driveway help? For years we left our vehicle unlocked and it was easy to see that everything like the radio/CD player was gone. And our property has a working driveway though parking farther back would help probably. But then it would get gone-over and the glove box contents thrown around . . . so now glove box stuff is in the house and the vehicle locked. Could we stock a “sting car” with goodies and throw a net over the perps? I’d stay up all night one shift. In fact, taking turns staying up all night and turning porch lights on and off to “greet” middle of the night pedestrians startled a vehicle crime wave some years back.
Get rid of cars? I suppose then homes would be the next target.
Someone attempted to steal my car this weekend. It was parked on the corner of 1st Ave NE and 44th under a street light. The ignition and steering column have been quite damaged, but they slim-jim’d the window to get in so at least no broken glass. I assume they were scared away by something since a honda civic is one of the easier cars to steal. (There was nothing in the car so no contents were stolen.)
http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/
Here is where to report car prowls, break-ins, stolen vehicles online. Seems to me a coordinated aware-citizen effort could get these creeps to move on.
The SPD needs to catch people who kill people (most recent shooting that I know of was Friday night in Roosevelt, the shooter is at large and the known-to-many-of us victim is dead).
Reply to Margaret Hamilton: we don’t have a driveway, as don’t many Wallingford residents. But I LOVE the idea of the net. I’d certainly take a shift and I think the whole thing would pay for itself when we post the video on some pay-per-view site.
And you’re also right in saying it could be a lot worse. I’ll take the occasional window broken to avoid having to worry about my daughters being shot in a drive-by.
That said, wouldn’t it be something if the City of Seattle spent as much effort on citing parking offenders as people who commit crimes? I’ve suggested to more than one official that the next time I call in an incident worthy of police attention I’m going to say there’s also a lot of cars parked illegally and see who shows up first: the gendarmes or the parking patrol. My money’s on the latter.
Last week, perhaps last Monday or Tuesday night, a number of vehicles on 42nd between 1st and Sunnyside, (perhaps further west) each had two tires slashed. It was vile. With one slashed tire you can put on the spare and drive to buy a new one or get it fixd but with two dead tires, you are calling a tow truck or up on blocks. This area has also been hit recently with garden pots and yard ornaments stolen. I’m really feeling unpleasant changes in my neighborhood.
Several vehicles were targeted on 43rd and Latona on Monday night. They stole a hip day pack from my SUV and a SteriPEN along with a few other small things. My car was parked right in front of my house. Nothing was visible in the car, the pack was hidden under a dog hammock. If anyone finds a SteriPEN laying around I would love to get it back. I am sure they don’t know what it was and I hope ditched it. I’ve been checking craigslist, just in case.