It's probably not fair to generalize, but let's face it:
Thieves is dumb.
Cameras are everywhere, and it only takes posting the video to social media to get mass exposure and have a crook's identity revealed. It's almost comical how some scumbag will get sold out by an acquaintance for a moments glory online.
We had a, shall we say, "cosmetically challenged" 1999 Acura that we bought for our teenage son to have for his first car. Market value: $1000.
That didn't stop this guy from putting his best effort into stealing it:
First things first: Did he not see the camera aimed directly at him? Seriously, I put *zero* effort into concealing it from sight. It's strapped to the top of a steel post I drove into the ground and sticks out like a sore thumb.
Secondly, any REAL car thief would know that Acuras require a chip key to start them. How far did he get with the car? Only as far as it would coast down the hill, about a half block. He bailed from the car with such haste that he forgot his nifty car-ignition-jimmy-tool thingamajig.
It's stunning how quickly, in broad daylight, he walks up to the car and pulls away. Meanwhile cars and neighbors pass by without giving it a second thought.
The video that's almost as entertaining was my son walking to the street to drive to school, only to find an empty space where his car should be. He heads to look behind the house.
"Maybe it's parked out back"
Nope.
We've all had that disorienting moment of confusion in our lives, so it's easy to relate to. Poor kid. If only he knew how many more times in his life he was going to experience that, which seems to happen more frequently as you get older, and for smaller and smaller reasons. Helllooooo dimentia.
It only took a matter of hours to get the thief identified after posting the first video on Facebook, a neighbor of his recognized him immediately. I had his address and all sorts of information by the end of the day. I gave all the information I had accumulated to the police, which seemingly fell into a void. As a crime victim, you always hope for that "gotcha" moment. Unfortunately, the satisfaction of seeing a criminal get his just desserts is rare.
Which leads me to incident #2, just few months later.
Long story short, the same car that had been stolen met an untimely demise. For a short time it desecrated our driveway before being hauled to the crusher, but not before suffering the indignity of one more break in.
This guy must have been trolling the neighborhoods when he came by our unsecured car around 3AM.
Observe what happens:
(This one cost me a $35 security camera, but dammit, it was worth every penny.)
You can almost see the "oh shit" thought bubble over his head at the 44 second mark.
He thinks stealing the camera is a clever move, but the damage is done. Once again, I posted this video online and had a wealth of information within hours. I compiled this video, enhanced photos, and all the data I had on this guy and put it into a neat little package on thumb drive for the authorities. However, after numerous attempts, I was never able to get anyone to come get the drive. It's almost as if having someone breaking into our crappy car was a low priority or something. Pfft.
It's worth noting that having security cameras has done nothing to deter crime at my house. But dammit, watching the resulting video makes for great entertainment.
Security camera and chill, anyone?
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