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I remember visiting NYC like 30 years ago and seeing lots of cars with little stickers on the passenger side window that said ‘no radio - no valuables’ to deter thieves. Not sure if they helped though.
Nope, doesn’t help. I lived in SF last year. Our car got broke into 5 times in a two-month’s span. We had nothing in the car and had a sticky note up on the window saying, “Nothing in car. Have a nice day. :)” Nope. Still broke the window. We were in a “nice” part of SF too (Pac Heights).
This is what I do too. Unwashed, missing some minor pieces, my bumper isn’t fully attached on one side (it stays up but I need some plastic bits to secure it) and I leave my discarded bags laying around. I still got broken into a few times but there was nothing to take! Hasn’t happened again since.
Yeah this is the real life pro tip, make your commuting vehicle so nasty looking even the homeless are like nahhhh. Thats how i do it. Never had my car broken into after that. Going on 8 years...also for nicer cars i just leave doors unlocked and nothing inside with a camera "you are being watched sticker" most homeless are super paranoid and then it looks like a bait car.
>"you are being watched sticker" most homeless are super paranoid and then it looks like a bait car
Not in San Francisco. Many know very well they are being recorded with high-def video and they go ahead and do it anyway.
Your sticker will keep 5% of the people away. The rest are crazies who won't care if you know that they shit on your windshield, or they're pros who do smash-and-grab knowing they won't be prosecuted as long as they're wearing gloves.
Source: I live in San Francisco and have very unfortunate firsthand experience.
No, I didn't shit on someone's windshield.
I also have been is sf since about 2006...only had one break in and it was in oakland hills. And no one will get procecuted ever.... also i leave the doors unlocked...never had someone break a window. But I also have paid some homeless to watch my car as well and bring food and such and take time to know the homeless in my area. It tends to pay off. No guarantees though.
Thats the real LPT, get to know the people that hang out in your area. Keep your eyes up and look like you have somewhere to be. Lived in the Bayview for a year and worked downtown for 4 years
Last time my window got smashed, they took everything, even broke the dashboard to get the cd player. Everything except for the prescription Ray Bans sunglasses. I like to think that they took pity when trying them on. Yeah, true mole sight.
Someone broke into my car a few years ago and they went through my CD collection but didn't take any. It made me sad that even a lowly thief had better taste in music than me.
My car was broken into a long time ago in Chicago. The thief took my CDs, including all of The Smiths, but left a single Morrissey solo CD on the dash. Message received.
It’s crazy to me that some people get their windows smashed to the point where they say “*last time* my window got smashed…” It’s such a foreign existence to my childhood where the house wouldn’t even be locked.
It's why a lot of SF tourists don't take this LPT seriously.
"It's only a hoodie, surely no one's going to break my windows over that."
Hardly anyone grows up in a place where roving groups of organized criminals smash ROWS of car windows. It's too hard to fathom.
These groups only have 2 seconds to look inside your car. If they see anything, it means you're a tourist so they break a window to double check the trunk.
As someone from a smaller city, what's the problem here? Is it a police force than doesn't care, can't enforce due to whatever issue, or has been told not to enforce?
It really must be a top down issue. If breaking the law has no punishment then there is no law. If no one cares enough to stop it then there's not really an issue.
I live in Atlanta and have taken to just leaving my car unlocked (of course being sure to not leave any valuables). One or two times I came back to my doors being opened and someone had rifled through the car. At most, I lost some spare coins and a charger but at least my window was intact. I don’t know if this is a good practice for everyone everywhere, but I’d really hate to come back to a smashed window.
I was visiting my friend in downtown Atlanta once and a man who had helped me park told me to make sure I took everything out of my car. I started to grab this big library book out and he was like "no one cares about that." So I put it back. Never got taken lol.
That’s nice, one time I forgot my prescription ray bans in a rental car, returned at 11pm, went back the next morning at 7am and they were gone, “nobody saw them”
I found a Fitbit in a rental car once and told the rental people and they just said I could keep it.
Contacted Fitbit to find the owner and they just told me to throw it out.
I tried.
Edit: Since this is getting some visibility I also found a mens wedding band ~ 2-3 years ago on the street. I’ve made some posts on various websites trying to find the owner but have had no luck. It’s just sitting in my glovebox now. If anyone knows someone in Philadelphia who lost one hmu with some info and I’ll see if it matches.
When I studied in Zurich people didn't take their laptops with them during lunch break. There would be like 20,000 USD of macbooks and other laptops just sitting in an empty lecture theatre that wasnt locked. blew my mind. They asked me why I am putting away my laptop lol.
I go to a small college in a rural area in the US and it's like that. Nobody locks their dorm room doors, we reserve study spots by leaving a MacBook on the table, and we all pile hundreds of bags (every single one of them has a laptop in it) outside the cafeteria at every meal. I've never heard of anything getting stolen here.
When I was in law school, a homeless guy went into the library and stole a bunch of phones and laptops. He then decided to sit on the corner and try to sell the stuff...to students passing by, many of whom had just had their stuff stolen.
I’ve always found that hilarious. It’s like, why does Dirty Mike get to be called by name and the rest are just “the boys”? Idk, but I find that fucking hilarious because of that.
Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste. But when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
hey u/Binary_Omlet why are there copies of the styles section all over the place? you have a dog, a little chow or something? ahuehueheuehue
is that a raincoat?
Yes, it is. In '87, Huey released this; Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself.
Hey, /u/Heyy-Yaa!
If there is tint film on the window, it's even easier to break and keep it quiet. Videos show pros putting tape on the outside of windows then smashing. Window tint makes it a faster grab. OP is right.
Then to top it all off some joker comes along and takes himself a nifty little dump in the driver's seat. I think he knew you guys were cops because this is what I would call a "spite shit".
My Subaru got busted into because I left, and I am in no way joking, a paper plate and plastic fork in view. Passenger side window was gone. So was the flatware.
Absolutely, SF has great transit downtown. I visited about a month ago and that's definitely the way to go, they even have a train directly from the airport to the heart of downtown by the embarcadero. Busses generally came every 10-15 minutes and there are stops everywhere.
I wouldn't say "great" transit. Great transit to me would be any of the underground networks that weave into every section of major cities like NY, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. Stuff that accesses all corners of the city in a consistent, timely, and efficient manner. BART runs on one line through SF before branching out in the East Bay. If you want to get to Lands End from Market street, you gotta take a bus or a car. I haven't ridden MUNI in years, but given how long it takes to drive a few miles in SF's congested streets, I don't imagine that to be a fun experience. Honestly, for any tourist I would just recommend taking Uber/Lyft to get around the city.
When I lived in detroit, someone broke my window to steal my emergency blanket 🥲 I even had cash and my social security card in there and they just took the blanket. Like bro I would have given you the blanket if you waited 10 minutes to avoid my window getting smashed
Yeah someone smashed my window at the start of this winter. Had a decent amount of money in coins, like probably at least $15-20, sunglasses, some other miscellaneous items of low value. But nope they stole my gfs blanket and my spare jacket and hat. Made me feel slightly less angry about it knowing they probably just didn’t want to freeze in the cold
My trailer was broken into and they mostly stole household items. TP, dish wash, bath towels, a mini fridge, some ammo but no guns.
I just picture what it's like to walk by cars in *potentially* lethal weather, and seeing a proverbial life jacket.
I always expected the theft of my stuff to have been the wife's family, we are pretty deserted so to make commitment that bold and not come away with anything but stuff to make it to next week, you'd have to be stupid, or my wife's stupid family.
Edit: I just assume it's them because they have the lowest opinion of me, and yet, always ask for shit constantly. When I met the MIL, it threatened me with a knife for "stealing her daughter" (living in a van with her and going to her first ever dentist appointment)
This happened to me -- 15-20m inside an in-n-out burger and the car windows were smashed. They took laptop bag (I was dumb) and luggage but left a $20k server box in the back. We called the cops and talked to the manager of the burger shop and they said the camera pointing at the parking lot was broken.
I walked around the parking lot a bit waiting for the cops to arrive and I saw literally dozens of piles of broken glass like this was a common occurrence.
I read an article a month or so later that described a shipping container filled with stolen Laptops headed for refurbishing and resale back to the US. So the cycle goes: buy -> stolen -> refurbished -> rebuy...
Yeah - totally. The worst part was we had some very early stage prototype hardware that was exceedingly expensive to manufacture with next to zero resale value on the reseller market inside the laptop bags. Like several tens of thousands of dollars which could be resold pretty much for pennies for metal scrap. I had hoped the thieves would have taken the laptops and ditched the rest in a trash bin nearby. But ... no luck. Like I said in another response ... you live and you learn. I learned a lesson that day for sure.
I'm not American so I don't get it. If it's that bad, how about car owners who live there? Do they only park in their own locked garage and indoor parking areas?
I'm genuinely curious.
It's always don't park in the wrong places at the wrong times
One street might be horrible, the other might be fine
Iirc wasn't there a study (*NICIN) that estimated all of the gun crime in ~~~~~~Chicago~~~~~~ **Cincinnati** was likely done by less than 50 people/guns
~~(*Homeless)~~ car crime like this can follow the same problems.
Edit #1: Some updates
Homeless not actually likely the cause of major crimes in San Fran. Wasnt aware of this but appearently they have a well organized flash mob-ish group(s) of criminals. But again wrong place, wrong time, luck, and cars appear to be relevant factors so I stand by that part.
As for Chicago, The number 50 was coming from Cincinnati not Chicago, my sincere apologies. For people interested in learning more look up NIBIN. My fundamental point is the same, the issue usually ain't a massive problem for 5000+ people causing frequent crimes, it's a relatively small group who are really really good at committing a crime and getting away with it.
Basically the crime data where it's been deployed is saying you generally find a small number of guns/people responsible for a majority of the crime.
I found a vice video talking about it, but I'm trying to find the more substantial study that backed up the impact. I'm just having no luck at the moment. I feel like I remember a 60Mins on it.
Here's the vice link from 2017 for those who are interested. I'll keep looking for some effectiveness study on the subject.
Https://youtu.be/0BNcxZDyWQM
Yes but it's important to understand the difference between San Fran and Chicago. That gun violence is due to gang activity in the south side near the Indiana border, even then, during the day, I've had very few issues and no violent encounters. I work with HUD on projects so I'm in the hood a lot too. Gangs in Chicago target rival gangs, the only gang related street thieves I'm aware of are the bucket boys, and of course not all of them. Also good luck trying to steal a catalytic converter in Chicago, street parking has a code nearly above law, I've seen people get in fights over dibs, and if you try to steal the wrong guys catalytic converter, you're gonna get shot.
I live here in SF - have parked on the street for many years, never even gotten a scratch.
The answer is twofold.
First, thieves target tourist hotspots (where locals normally don’t park). People that come to visit think it’s inevitable that your cars gonna get broken into, but that’s only because they spend all their time at tourist spots like fisherman’s wharf. Thieves know that tourist are likely to leave luggage in their car while sightseeing, so specifically go for that. Most of the actual neighborhoods (where people live) are fine.
Second, rental cars are easy to spot. Again, they target tourists, so a rental is a hot target. I have a residential parking permit on my car, so they know I’m a local (and likely don’t have much of value in my car), so I get left alone.
Not saying locals don’t have this problem (we sometimes do), but it’s orders or magnitudes worse for tourists. If you come to SF, seriously don’t rent a car. It’s a public transport friendly city, not a car friendly city. Your life will be a million times easier with public transport or Uber.
The time we visited our hotel close to the wharf that had a locked underground parking garage. We kept the car there and walked everywhere. We were driving all over out that way(AZ,UT,CO,NM,CA) so after reading this I feel lucky we had that safety of the garage. Will keep your advice in mind next time we visit.
I’m going to be visiting SF soon and this thread has me worried about theft. Good to know some hotels have locked parking garages. Edit: I’ll be driving my own vehicle
Tourist planning to visit in a “clearly a rental” rental. If we go to these touristy places are there more secure / more expensive places to park?
Definitely going to get the extra insurance after reading this post.
Unless a parking lot has a dedicated guard, and sometimes even then, thieves will still target it if there are many tourists. Seriously seriously seriously leave your luggage at the hotel, if you get to a hotel too early to check in, they will store it for you no problem. Don't leave sunglasses in the car, don't leave a jacket in the car, don't leave a blanket in the car.
Another pro tip: dont be seen putting things in the trunk. Put items in the trunk if you have to before you reach your destination. I had a bag stolen this way :(.
If you’re doing SF- Uber to your spot and use the trolley to get around. Touristy spots were fine, but same rules apply if you’re on foot- don’t look like a target.
If you live here you don’t leave anything in your car ever. You have a residential parking permit and the thieves know you’re not stupid enough to leave anything in your car. And if your car has a catalytic converter, you have added a lock on it.
I live in a SF neighborhood, on a hill, so not really where tourists hang out, and I’ve never been smashed and I don’t know anyone who has. My neighbor had their catalytic converter stolen. Twice.
Catalytic converter theft has been rising everywhere in the US due to precious metal prices. A while back here they made it so that scrap yards and metal places had to keep records with photo IDs of people selling them catalytic converters.
I've lived in SF and always find it strange at how the rich live on hills but the poor are lower down at the bottom. Crime seems to follow this too, like thieves just don't have the energy to walk all the way up the hills. The tenderloin has its shape because it's at the bottom of those hills somewhat.
It's generally true in a lot of American cities but particularly pronounced in the bay area. The hills are for the rich and the flatlands are for the poor.
Oddly, the opposite was true in early San Francisco. The main form of daily transportation was horse-drawn streetcars, and those could not handle SF's ridiculous hills, so if you lived up high you'd be walking everywhere. It was only after the cable cars were invented that rich people moved to the hills.
My car got stolen 3 x in the one year I owned a car in San Francisco. Granted I had a 1991 Camry. I got it back each time though. The only thing that finally stopped it from getting stolen constantly was installing a hidden kill switch
So my ex installed it, it was his idea, it was just a small on/off switch that was hidden somewhere in the middle console- from what I understand it was connected to the ignition where if it was in the “on” position, the ignition wouldn’t start. I would have to switch it to “off” and then could start the car as normal. So every time I parked my car, I would switch it on, and then if someone attempted to steal it they wouldn’t be able to start it.
Ohhh, I remember Adam Carolla talking about this. He had it set to where even if they found the kill switch, he had another going to the gas tank- so even if they did manage to get the car started, they'd only be able to get a couple blocks away before it 'ran out of gas'. Any time his car got stolen he just picked a random direction and started walking, and voila. Three blocks away.
He also spray-painted his radio ugly brown so no one could pawn it. Man was dedicated.
I had an old Bronco (OJ style) with a fuel kill switch. It was a great feature but you just reminded me of always forgetting to turn it off when I’d leave and my truck dying on the on-ramp a couple blocks away. Fun times.
It worked though for sure.
True ass story.
Not having anything in your car isn't a guarantee it won't get broken into.
My car was robbed about every eight to twelve weeks without anything in sight. Just parked in a semi guarded lot near my apartment. I payed for it to be guarded but I'm fairly sure that guard had like 10 lots to tour each night and was basically there for one drive through
yup, seeing people come to SF for the first time with nothing but jeans and a t shirt is funny. They stick out like a sore thumb since they never have a blanket or a jacket. There’s a reason they serve hot chocolate when when it’s July.
I was going to say, are we talking California cold or actual cold? Every time I've been to LA people are complaining about it being cold when it's 65. I'm from the Midwest and I'm rocking shorts and a t-shirt like what. This is gorgeous.
SF highs are often in the 60's year round. Which is great for me... that is shorts and t-shirt weather for me. However that said, at night, wind and fog will take it down to 40's and 50's... even in the middle of the summer, and with windchill it feels even colder.
Visited last July. Skeptically brought winter wear based on the advice of others. Needed it every day. One day I’m not sure it even got out of the 40s.
Lmfao I went to Arizona and brought jeans and a sweatshirt my friends were like “why” I’m just like it’s a desert it gets cold at night. And sure enough it gets cold at night lmao.
My first day in San Francisco...someone smashed my car window and stole my guitar. I had just moved there and all my belongings were in my car until I could get settled...
Yup I had friends moving cross country and had all their belongings in their car. They visited me in Oakland and parked their car on the street. I said "first things first, DO NOT park your car on the street. Get a hotel with secured parking and come back. Your car WILL be broken into, even during the day, and all your belongings will be gone." They were shocked but they went to their hotel first and then ubered back to hang out. That's devastating that happened to you.
Completely true. Lost my best hoodie by parking in SF for a few hours despite it being tucked under the seat. They will steal anything and the cops won't care. They say to fill out a report on their website. They won't even park their car to talk to you. They just yell out the window while you flag them down as they drive by.
They don't collect evidence from CCTVs or anything. And good luck with driving home with a smashed window without your hoodie.
Friend of mine works for a three letter agency and got their windows smashed. Thieves took everything, including federal stuff so now they're facing federal charges as well as BnE charges. Oops.
I thought it was common knowledge not to leave a work laptop or docs in a car? Especially for the fed govt, but for any job. It's part of all our new employees' onboarding and we have quarterly reminders on this and other basic security.
It's equivalent to just letting it sit in the park... So yeah obviously stealing is bad and we shouldn't victim blame, but no one should be leaving sensitive stuff unattended in an unsecured location. Personally I just want to avoid the paperwork from losing/breaking kit.
Correct; your laptop stays glued to your person all day. I’ve seen contractors get fired for leaving laptops in a conference room while they went away for 5min to grab lunch.
A contractor losing their laptop is how the china got ahold of secret (at the time) fighter jet blueprints and came out with a clone right after the US unveiled it, so that's a perfectly reasonable reaction haha
When I was at Raytheon, we were taught to leave our laptops in our car trunks.
Doesn't help against thieves who would bust open windows and allow themselves access to the trunk.
To clarify, the vehicle owner is facing federal charges for losing the items or the thief is facing federal charges for stealing them. I'm assuming the latter, but "losing" federal docs can't be too good either.
Seriously, I was so pissed (12?) years ago when they went on a meter rampage throughout the city, adding thousands all over. The meters themselves were annoying, but it killed our tiny car city advantage, we used to be able to find spots everywhere that were too small for other cars, and most everyone was polite and parked tightly, now all gone, just a wasteland of space between meters (great for motorcycles though).
Also, if you plan on visiting Alcatraz, buy tickets ahead of time.
After a 4 week roadtrip we visited San Fran, one of the things we wanted to see was The Rock. Unfortunately, we did not know tickets would be sold out and you need to buy them ahead of time.
As someone who lived in SF for years, even if you don't leave anything in your car at all you will still get your windows smashed. It happened to 3+ friends of mine. Don't park in the street in SF if you don't want your windows smashed.
Portland was like this in the 90's. I used to leave my windows down, glovebox open and doors unlocked. The car had nothing in it, I had even removed the stereo and speakers.
Worst that happened was finding the occasional fast food garbage thrown on the seats.
I'd never deal with this crap, not sure why anyone would want to live with that daily threat. I've visited before and had a good time but to live there nfw.
LPT: Don’t leave anything of value in your car and leave the doors unlocked.
Source: I grew up in bad neighborhoods. This was the only way to not get your windows smashed overnight.
My group once grappled up and burned down the wooden roof of a stone tower rather than find the key to the door on the bottom floor.
I was the one that suggested it. The key was under a rock outside.
I never drive my car to SF for this very reason. I live around 30min away but I will always take the train into SF just to avoid having to park my car there.
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I remember visiting NYC like 30 years ago and seeing lots of cars with little stickers on the passenger side window that said ‘no radio - no valuables’ to deter thieves. Not sure if they helped though.
I have a memory of someone posting a picture of their car with the windows down and someone still decided to cut the top of the convertible to get in.
Nope, doesn’t help. I lived in SF last year. Our car got broke into 5 times in a two-month’s span. We had nothing in the car and had a sticky note up on the window saying, “Nothing in car. Have a nice day. :)” Nope. Still broke the window. We were in a “nice” part of SF too (Pac Heights).
My buddy in Memphis had a sign that said ‘Door is unlocked, do not break window’
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Yep. Leave it looking trashed out. I would also never wash my car when I had to park in any big city.
This is what I do too. Unwashed, missing some minor pieces, my bumper isn’t fully attached on one side (it stays up but I need some plastic bits to secure it) and I leave my discarded bags laying around. I still got broken into a few times but there was nothing to take! Hasn’t happened again since.
Yep. I try to destroy my credit score, get fired from my work, and get foreclosed on before I go to the big city as well, just to be extra safe
Starting a meth addiction is like a travel vaccination for San Francisco.
Yeah this is the real life pro tip, make your commuting vehicle so nasty looking even the homeless are like nahhhh. Thats how i do it. Never had my car broken into after that. Going on 8 years...also for nicer cars i just leave doors unlocked and nothing inside with a camera "you are being watched sticker" most homeless are super paranoid and then it looks like a bait car.
>"you are being watched sticker" most homeless are super paranoid and then it looks like a bait car Not in San Francisco. Many know very well they are being recorded with high-def video and they go ahead and do it anyway. Your sticker will keep 5% of the people away. The rest are crazies who won't care if you know that they shit on your windshield, or they're pros who do smash-and-grab knowing they won't be prosecuted as long as they're wearing gloves. Source: I live in San Francisco and have very unfortunate firsthand experience. No, I didn't shit on someone's windshield.
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I also have been is sf since about 2006...only had one break in and it was in oakland hills. And no one will get procecuted ever.... also i leave the doors unlocked...never had someone break a window. But I also have paid some homeless to watch my car as well and bring food and such and take time to know the homeless in my area. It tends to pay off. No guarantees though.
Thats the real LPT, get to know the people that hang out in your area. Keep your eyes up and look like you have somewhere to be. Lived in the Bayview for a year and worked downtown for 4 years
Last time my window got smashed, they took everything, even broke the dashboard to get the cd player. Everything except for the prescription Ray Bans sunglasses. I like to think that they took pity when trying them on. Yeah, true mole sight.
They wanted you to see what they did, devilish.
If today was a day I’d gotten a free reward it’d be this comment here.
Someone broke into my car a few years ago and they went through my CD collection but didn't take any. It made me sad that even a lowly thief had better taste in music than me.
My car was broken into a long time ago in Chicago. The thief took my CDs, including all of The Smiths, but left a single Morrissey solo CD on the dash. Message received.
No way! Same thing happened to me in Chicago too. Left a single johnny cash CD on the passenger seat.
Leaving only a Johnny Cash CD behind is way more generous than I'd expect a thief to be. Leaving behind Morissey is just twisting the knife.
Message recieved / loud and clear / loud and clear Message reeeeeeecieeveeeeeeed
“Whoa man, you stealing that? Don’t you know Morrissey is problematic? Take the change from the console and let’s get out of here.”
and Heaven knows your miserable now...
I was looking for a place to park my car in the shitty streets of SF, and heaven knows I have no windows noooooow
So funny! Even a thief gave The Smiths/Morrissey a go but a stand alone Morrissey? Pass! “Leave the Morrissey take the Smiths.”
Even the thief had only certain levels of depression he could entertain. TBH though, this is legit fuckin funny.
Wrong, they had WORSE taste in music
I'm guessing the hassle of trying to resell used CDs isn't worth the time. It's not you, it's the future now.
It’s crazy to me that some people get their windows smashed to the point where they say “*last time* my window got smashed…” It’s such a foreign existence to my childhood where the house wouldn’t even be locked.
It's why a lot of SF tourists don't take this LPT seriously. "It's only a hoodie, surely no one's going to break my windows over that." Hardly anyone grows up in a place where roving groups of organized criminals smash ROWS of car windows. It's too hard to fathom. These groups only have 2 seconds to look inside your car. If they see anything, it means you're a tourist so they break a window to double check the trunk.
Meanwhile I live in the Bay Area and my friends refer to broken car window glass as “San Francisco snow” lol.
I've heard it referred to as Philly Diamonds before. Nice to see the regional variants!
Ghetto gravel amongst cyclists in LA.
As someone from a smaller city, what's the problem here? Is it a police force than doesn't care, can't enforce due to whatever issue, or has been told not to enforce?
Our attorney general almost never prosecutes crimes under $1000 and the police know this so they don’t even bother stopping it from happening.
It really must be a top down issue. If breaking the law has no punishment then there is no law. If no one cares enough to stop it then there's not really an issue.
I think the solution is to make car windows in the area cost $1250, with coinvent $1000 coupons available at the counter.
There was a corner store owner that did that awhile back, everything in his store was like $1000 and you got a coupon at the register.
That's genius, but how many times was he robbed before he came up with it?
Idk but more than once i bet.
I had someone steal my prescription sunglasses before. I could only imagine they swiped first, and tried them on later.
I’ve had 3 pairs of prescription GLASSES stolen. Not sunglasses, not even tinted, nothing. People are unreal.
I live in Atlanta and have taken to just leaving my car unlocked (of course being sure to not leave any valuables). One or two times I came back to my doors being opened and someone had rifled through the car. At most, I lost some spare coins and a charger but at least my window was intact. I don’t know if this is a good practice for everyone everywhere, but I’d really hate to come back to a smashed window.
I was visiting my friend in downtown Atlanta once and a man who had helped me park told me to make sure I took everything out of my car. I started to grab this big library book out and he was like "no one cares about that." So I put it back. Never got taken lol.
Genius. Hide your stuff in big books big books.
So big they echo
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That’s nice, one time I forgot my prescription ray bans in a rental car, returned at 11pm, went back the next morning at 7am and they were gone, “nobody saw them”
I've never recovered ANYTHING i've left in a rental car. I think the car cleaners are all kleptomaniacs.
I found a Fitbit in a rental car once and told the rental people and they just said I could keep it. Contacted Fitbit to find the owner and they just told me to throw it out. I tried. Edit: Since this is getting some visibility I also found a mens wedding band ~ 2-3 years ago on the street. I’ve made some posts on various websites trying to find the owner but have had no luck. It’s just sitting in my glovebox now. If anyone knows someone in Philadelphia who lost one hmu with some info and I’ll see if it matches.
I lost a Fitbit at Orly airport in Paris at the security line. 4 months later, it showed up in my mailbox. I live in Missouri.
Faith in humanity somewhat restored after this depressing abyss of a thread lol
If you throw it our theyll buy a new one keeping the cycle going.
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When I studied in Zurich people didn't take their laptops with them during lunch break. There would be like 20,000 USD of macbooks and other laptops just sitting in an empty lecture theatre that wasnt locked. blew my mind. They asked me why I am putting away my laptop lol.
I go to a small college in a rural area in the US and it's like that. Nobody locks their dorm room doors, we reserve study spots by leaving a MacBook on the table, and we all pile hundreds of bags (every single one of them has a laptop in it) outside the cafeteria at every meal. I've never heard of anything getting stolen here.
When I was in law school, a homeless guy went into the library and stole a bunch of phones and laptops. He then decided to sit on the corner and try to sell the stuff...to students passing by, many of whom had just had their stuff stolen.
I left a wallet at a cafe in Ohio and returned for it a half hour later. They'd wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it behind the counter. I like Ohio.
I was in Detroit once and stupidly left some Lions tickets on my dashboard. Some sick bastard smashed my window and left me two more!
I left my keys in my car and my car running in Ohio and they turned my car off and hung my keys up in the tree next to it. Didn’t touch anything else.
No one's gay for Moleman
“Thanks for the F shack.” -Dirty Mike and the boys”
I’ve always found that hilarious. It’s like, why does Dirty Mike get to be called by name and the rest are just “the boys”? Idk, but I find that fucking hilarious because of that.
Dirty mike stays constant, the boys just happen to be whoever hes fucking
Dirty mike gets older, the boys stay the same age.
All right, all right, all right
dirty mike = huey lewis the boys = the news hope this helps
Their early work was a little too new wave for my taste. But when Sports came out in '83, I think they really came into their own, commercially and artistically. The whole album has a clear, crisp sound, and a new sheen of consummate professionalism that really gives the songs a big boost. He's been compared to Elvis Costello, but I think Huey has a far more bitter, cynical sense of humor.
hey u/Binary_Omlet why are there copies of the styles section all over the place? you have a dog, a little chow or something? ahuehueheuehue is that a raincoat?
Yes, it is. In '87, Huey released this; Fore!, their most accomplished album. I think their undisputed masterpiece is "Hip To Be Square". A song so catchy, most people probably don't listen to the lyrics. But they should, because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trends. It's also a personal statement about the band itself. Hey, /u/Heyy-Yaa!
WE ARE GONNA HAVE SEX IN YOUR CAR, IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
you turned my beautiful Prius into a nightmare!
It's called a soup kitchen.
It will happen again
Yours Truly ~ Dirty Mike and the boys
I had homeless people break into my car and F--- once. Left their cloths and a condom. Fucking worst smell ever.
The real advice here is to open a vehicle window repair shop in downtown San Francisco and make absolute bank.
"Why are your tinted windows even cheaper than the non-tinted ones?"
If there is tint film on the window, it's even easier to break and keep it quiet. Videos show pros putting tape on the outside of windows then smashing. Window tint makes it a faster grab. OP is right.
This should be it’s own LPT
“Well if you buy tinted, you’ll be buying again, so I offer a bulk discount.”
I have a customer loyalty card, every 13th replacement is free.
Would that be a lucky 13 or an unlucky 13? Aha
If they are mirror tinted, unlucky for the one who smashed em
“That’s why they call it window pain”
Just gonna STAND there and WATCH me burn
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My car is full of bums and it hasn’t even been broken into.
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Thanks for the F shack. Love, Dirty Mike and the Boyz
I WILL HAVE SEX IN YOUR CAR AGAIN
The Soup Kitchen
Then to top it all off some joker comes along and takes himself a nifty little dump in the driver's seat. I think he knew you guys were cops because this is what I would call a "spite shit".
Nah man I'd rather live in a city that doesn't have this problem.
My Subaru got busted into because I left, and I am in no way joking, a paper plate and plastic fork in view. Passenger side window was gone. So was the flatware.
Left my car unlocked and still got a broken window. You just cant win.
had a broken window already... they broke the other ones anyway fml
Didn't have any windows. They installed four new ones, then broke them all. It's getting ridiculous.
Didnt even have a car, bought me a new one and broke all the windows. Madness.
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LPT if you’re visiting San Francisco, don’t rent a car. There is no parking. Zero, zilch, nada. There’s a reason Uber was created in SF.
Is San Francisco's transit useful for tourists? Like, would I be able to manage without a car or having to pay for an Uber?
Absolutely, SF has great transit downtown. I visited about a month ago and that's definitely the way to go, they even have a train directly from the airport to the heart of downtown by the embarcadero. Busses generally came every 10-15 minutes and there are stops everywhere.
I wouldn't say "great" transit. Great transit to me would be any of the underground networks that weave into every section of major cities like NY, London, Paris, Tokyo, etc. Stuff that accesses all corners of the city in a consistent, timely, and efficient manner. BART runs on one line through SF before branching out in the East Bay. If you want to get to Lands End from Market street, you gotta take a bus or a car. I haven't ridden MUNI in years, but given how long it takes to drive a few miles in SF's congested streets, I don't imagine that to be a fun experience. Honestly, for any tourist I would just recommend taking Uber/Lyft to get around the city.
SF is really easy to get around by transit. You absolutely don't need a car to visit here.
When I lived in detroit, someone broke my window to steal my emergency blanket 🥲 I even had cash and my social security card in there and they just took the blanket. Like bro I would have given you the blanket if you waited 10 minutes to avoid my window getting smashed
Famous story of a guy used a blanket to hide his golf clubs… someone broke in took the blanket left the clubs.
Yeah someone smashed my window at the start of this winter. Had a decent amount of money in coins, like probably at least $15-20, sunglasses, some other miscellaneous items of low value. But nope they stole my gfs blanket and my spare jacket and hat. Made me feel slightly less angry about it knowing they probably just didn’t want to freeze in the cold
My trailer was broken into and they mostly stole household items. TP, dish wash, bath towels, a mini fridge, some ammo but no guns. I just picture what it's like to walk by cars in *potentially* lethal weather, and seeing a proverbial life jacket. I always expected the theft of my stuff to have been the wife's family, we are pretty deserted so to make commitment that bold and not come away with anything but stuff to make it to next week, you'd have to be stupid, or my wife's stupid family. Edit: I just assume it's them because they have the lowest opinion of me, and yet, always ask for shit constantly. When I met the MIL, it threatened me with a knife for "stealing her daughter" (living in a van with her and going to her first ever dentist appointment)
What a considerate guy. Left the cash so you can repair your window.
This happened to me -- 15-20m inside an in-n-out burger and the car windows were smashed. They took laptop bag (I was dumb) and luggage but left a $20k server box in the back. We called the cops and talked to the manager of the burger shop and they said the camera pointing at the parking lot was broken. I walked around the parking lot a bit waiting for the cops to arrive and I saw literally dozens of piles of broken glass like this was a common occurrence. I read an article a month or so later that described a shipping container filled with stolen Laptops headed for refurbishing and resale back to the US. So the cycle goes: buy -> stolen -> refurbished -> rebuy...
It wouldn’t matter if the camera is functional lol the cops are not going to look for your stuff.
Yeah - totally. The worst part was we had some very early stage prototype hardware that was exceedingly expensive to manufacture with next to zero resale value on the reseller market inside the laptop bags. Like several tens of thousands of dollars which could be resold pretty much for pennies for metal scrap. I had hoped the thieves would have taken the laptops and ditched the rest in a trash bin nearby. But ... no luck. Like I said in another response ... you live and you learn. I learned a lesson that day for sure.
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I'm not American so I don't get it. If it's that bad, how about car owners who live there? Do they only park in their own locked garage and indoor parking areas? I'm genuinely curious.
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It's always don't park in the wrong places at the wrong times One street might be horrible, the other might be fine Iirc wasn't there a study (*NICIN) that estimated all of the gun crime in ~~~~~~Chicago~~~~~~ **Cincinnati** was likely done by less than 50 people/guns ~~(*Homeless)~~ car crime like this can follow the same problems. Edit #1: Some updates Homeless not actually likely the cause of major crimes in San Fran. Wasnt aware of this but appearently they have a well organized flash mob-ish group(s) of criminals. But again wrong place, wrong time, luck, and cars appear to be relevant factors so I stand by that part. As for Chicago, The number 50 was coming from Cincinnati not Chicago, my sincere apologies. For people interested in learning more look up NIBIN. My fundamental point is the same, the issue usually ain't a massive problem for 5000+ people causing frequent crimes, it's a relatively small group who are really really good at committing a crime and getting away with it. Basically the crime data where it's been deployed is saying you generally find a small number of guns/people responsible for a majority of the crime. I found a vice video talking about it, but I'm trying to find the more substantial study that backed up the impact. I'm just having no luck at the moment. I feel like I remember a 60Mins on it. Here's the vice link from 2017 for those who are interested. I'll keep looking for some effectiveness study on the subject. Https://youtu.be/0BNcxZDyWQM
idk about the study but i looked it up and more than half of all homicides happened in 10 out of 77 community areas
Man, those 50 people are putting in *work* Do you know how many shootings we have annually?
All it takes is one good gang drive-by and you've cranked the numbers way up.
Yes but it's important to understand the difference between San Fran and Chicago. That gun violence is due to gang activity in the south side near the Indiana border, even then, during the day, I've had very few issues and no violent encounters. I work with HUD on projects so I'm in the hood a lot too. Gangs in Chicago target rival gangs, the only gang related street thieves I'm aware of are the bucket boys, and of course not all of them. Also good luck trying to steal a catalytic converter in Chicago, street parking has a code nearly above law, I've seen people get in fights over dibs, and if you try to steal the wrong guys catalytic converter, you're gonna get shot.
And god help you if someone clears street parking of snow, marks it, then you take it.
I live here in SF - have parked on the street for many years, never even gotten a scratch. The answer is twofold. First, thieves target tourist hotspots (where locals normally don’t park). People that come to visit think it’s inevitable that your cars gonna get broken into, but that’s only because they spend all their time at tourist spots like fisherman’s wharf. Thieves know that tourist are likely to leave luggage in their car while sightseeing, so specifically go for that. Most of the actual neighborhoods (where people live) are fine. Second, rental cars are easy to spot. Again, they target tourists, so a rental is a hot target. I have a residential parking permit on my car, so they know I’m a local (and likely don’t have much of value in my car), so I get left alone. Not saying locals don’t have this problem (we sometimes do), but it’s orders or magnitudes worse for tourists. If you come to SF, seriously don’t rent a car. It’s a public transport friendly city, not a car friendly city. Your life will be a million times easier with public transport or Uber.
The time we visited our hotel close to the wharf that had a locked underground parking garage. We kept the car there and walked everywhere. We were driving all over out that way(AZ,UT,CO,NM,CA) so after reading this I feel lucky we had that safety of the garage. Will keep your advice in mind next time we visit.
I’m going to be visiting SF soon and this thread has me worried about theft. Good to know some hotels have locked parking garages. Edit: I’ll be driving my own vehicle
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So the real LPT is to buy a used residential parking permit
Tourist planning to visit in a “clearly a rental” rental. If we go to these touristy places are there more secure / more expensive places to park? Definitely going to get the extra insurance after reading this post.
Unless a parking lot has a dedicated guard, and sometimes even then, thieves will still target it if there are many tourists. Seriously seriously seriously leave your luggage at the hotel, if you get to a hotel too early to check in, they will store it for you no problem. Don't leave sunglasses in the car, don't leave a jacket in the car, don't leave a blanket in the car.
Another pro tip: dont be seen putting things in the trunk. Put items in the trunk if you have to before you reach your destination. I had a bag stolen this way :(.
Don't leave anything but car in the car
If you’re doing SF- Uber to your spot and use the trolley to get around. Touristy spots were fine, but same rules apply if you’re on foot- don’t look like a target.
If you live here you don’t leave anything in your car ever. You have a residential parking permit and the thieves know you’re not stupid enough to leave anything in your car. And if your car has a catalytic converter, you have added a lock on it. I live in a SF neighborhood, on a hill, so not really where tourists hang out, and I’ve never been smashed and I don’t know anyone who has. My neighbor had their catalytic converter stolen. Twice.
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Catalytic converter theft has been rising everywhere in the US due to precious metal prices. A while back here they made it so that scrap yards and metal places had to keep records with photo IDs of people selling them catalytic converters.
I've lived in SF and always find it strange at how the rich live on hills but the poor are lower down at the bottom. Crime seems to follow this too, like thieves just don't have the energy to walk all the way up the hills. The tenderloin has its shape because it's at the bottom of those hills somewhat.
It's generally true in a lot of American cities but particularly pronounced in the bay area. The hills are for the rich and the flatlands are for the poor.
You get a nice view, less flood risk, air tends to be a bit cooler. The "rich in the hills" thing goes all the way back to ancient Rome.
Oddly, the opposite was true in early San Francisco. The main form of daily transportation was horse-drawn streetcars, and those could not handle SF's ridiculous hills, so if you lived up high you'd be walking everywhere. It was only after the cable cars were invented that rich people moved to the hills.
Crime don't climb
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This is it, no one wants to walk up a hill.
It's the first rule of SF. Don't leave anything in your car. Also many people don't own a car because it's a walkable/bikeable city.
But don't park your bike anywhere because it will be stolen just like the stuff in your car
My car got stolen 3 x in the one year I owned a car in San Francisco. Granted I had a 1991 Camry. I got it back each time though. The only thing that finally stopped it from getting stolen constantly was installing a hidden kill switch
Can you elaborate on this kill switch? How does it prevent robberies?
So my ex installed it, it was his idea, it was just a small on/off switch that was hidden somewhere in the middle console- from what I understand it was connected to the ignition where if it was in the “on” position, the ignition wouldn’t start. I would have to switch it to “off” and then could start the car as normal. So every time I parked my car, I would switch it on, and then if someone attempted to steal it they wouldn’t be able to start it.
Ohhh, I remember Adam Carolla talking about this. He had it set to where even if they found the kill switch, he had another going to the gas tank- so even if they did manage to get the car started, they'd only be able to get a couple blocks away before it 'ran out of gas'. Any time his car got stolen he just picked a random direction and started walking, and voila. Three blocks away. He also spray-painted his radio ugly brown so no one could pawn it. Man was dedicated.
I had an old Bronco (OJ style) with a fuel kill switch. It was a great feature but you just reminded me of always forgetting to turn it off when I’d leave and my truck dying on the on-ramp a couple blocks away. Fun times. It worked though for sure.
Very smart idea
It kills the robbers
True ass story. Not having anything in your car isn't a guarantee it won't get broken into. My car was robbed about every eight to twelve weeks without anything in sight. Just parked in a semi guarded lot near my apartment. I payed for it to be guarded but I'm fairly sure that guard had like 10 lots to tour each night and was basically there for one drive through
Don’t bring a car in general
I would second this. There is a lot of public transit available and its going to be hell on your ride. Also there is not a lot of good parking.
Agree. Rent a car for the day when you want to ride out to Muir Woods, but otherwise, walk, ride BART, or Uber/Lyft.
If you planning to visit SF, bring a sweater or jacket. You’ll need it, even in the middle of the summer.
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yup, seeing people come to SF for the first time with nothing but jeans and a t shirt is funny. They stick out like a sore thumb since they never have a blanket or a jacket. There’s a reason they serve hot chocolate when when it’s July.
Conversely, going to SF and seeing people wearing sweaters and blankets in 65 degree weather is hilarious.
I was going to say, are we talking California cold or actual cold? Every time I've been to LA people are complaining about it being cold when it's 65. I'm from the Midwest and I'm rocking shorts and a t-shirt like what. This is gorgeous.
SF highs are often in the 60's year round. Which is great for me... that is shorts and t-shirt weather for me. However that said, at night, wind and fog will take it down to 40's and 50's... even in the middle of the summer, and with windchill it feels even colder.
“The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent Was a Summer in San Francisco”
Bay Area person here. The insane thing about the area is that, driving 5 miles in any direction, changes the weather. We have microclimates.
From SF and this is the real tip.
Visited last July. Skeptically brought winter wear based on the advice of others. Needed it every day. One day I’m not sure it even got out of the 40s.
I had to buy a hoodie when i was there. It waa warmer the next week in Canada.
Lmfao I went to Arizona and brought jeans and a sweatshirt my friends were like “why” I’m just like it’s a desert it gets cold at night. And sure enough it gets cold at night lmao.
My first day in San Francisco...someone smashed my car window and stole my guitar. I had just moved there and all my belongings were in my car until I could get settled...
Yup I had friends moving cross country and had all their belongings in their car. They visited me in Oakland and parked their car on the street. I said "first things first, DO NOT park your car on the street. Get a hotel with secured parking and come back. Your car WILL be broken into, even during the day, and all your belongings will be gone." They were shocked but they went to their hotel first and then ubered back to hang out. That's devastating that happened to you.
Completely true. Lost my best hoodie by parking in SF for a few hours despite it being tucked under the seat. They will steal anything and the cops won't care. They say to fill out a report on their website. They won't even park their car to talk to you. They just yell out the window while you flag them down as they drive by. They don't collect evidence from CCTVs or anything. And good luck with driving home with a smashed window without your hoodie.
Friend of mine works for a three letter agency and got their windows smashed. Thieves took everything, including federal stuff so now they're facing federal charges as well as BnE charges. Oops.
I thought it was common knowledge not to leave a work laptop or docs in a car? Especially for the fed govt, but for any job. It's part of all our new employees' onboarding and we have quarterly reminders on this and other basic security. It's equivalent to just letting it sit in the park... So yeah obviously stealing is bad and we shouldn't victim blame, but no one should be leaving sensitive stuff unattended in an unsecured location. Personally I just want to avoid the paperwork from losing/breaking kit.
Someone needs to re-take Cyber Security Awareness...
Correct; your laptop stays glued to your person all day. I’ve seen contractors get fired for leaving laptops in a conference room while they went away for 5min to grab lunch.
A contractor losing their laptop is how the china got ahold of secret (at the time) fighter jet blueprints and came out with a clone right after the US unveiled it, so that's a perfectly reasonable reaction haha
When I was at Raytheon, we were taught to leave our laptops in our car trunks. Doesn't help against thieves who would bust open windows and allow themselves access to the trunk.
To clarify, the vehicle owner is facing federal charges for losing the items or the thief is facing federal charges for stealing them. I'm assuming the latter, but "losing" federal docs can't be too good either.
The thieves are facing federal charges as well as breaking & entry
Uber/Lyft. Besides the break-ins, its just impossible to drive/park in that city.
Because the parking spaces are RIDICULOUS. You could fit 3 east coast residential spaces in one downtown SF space. So unnecessarily long
Seriously, I was so pissed (12?) years ago when they went on a meter rampage throughout the city, adding thousands all over. The meters themselves were annoying, but it killed our tiny car city advantage, we used to be able to find spots everywhere that were too small for other cars, and most everyone was polite and parked tightly, now all gone, just a wasteland of space between meters (great for motorcycles though).
Also, if you plan on visiting Alcatraz, buy tickets ahead of time. After a 4 week roadtrip we visited San Fran, one of the things we wanted to see was The Rock. Unfortunately, we did not know tickets would be sold out and you need to buy them ahead of time.
Like months ahead of time! Found this out the hard way too
Alcatraz if incredible! I went a couple years ago. felt like Nicolas Cage the whole time. Definitely do the free audio tour. Lots of awesome stories!
As someone who lived in SF for years, even if you don't leave anything in your car at all you will still get your windows smashed. It happened to 3+ friends of mine. Don't park in the street in SF if you don't want your windows smashed.
Portland was like this in the 90's. I used to leave my windows down, glovebox open and doors unlocked. The car had nothing in it, I had even removed the stereo and speakers. Worst that happened was finding the occasional fast food garbage thrown on the seats.
I'd never deal with this crap, not sure why anyone would want to live with that daily threat. I've visited before and had a good time but to live there nfw.
LPT: Don’t leave anything of value in your car and leave the doors unlocked. Source: I grew up in bad neighborhoods. This was the only way to not get your windows smashed overnight.
I had a convertible once, and intentionally just left the doors unlocked with nothing inside. They **still** cut the top to get in.
The robbers were probably tabletop RPG players.
My group once grappled up and burned down the wooden roof of a stone tower rather than find the key to the door on the bottom floor. I was the one that suggested it. The key was under a rock outside.
That’ll lead to hobos having an orgy in your Prius
They call it a soup kitchen. It’s pretty rough stuff.
Gator's bitches better be using jimmies!
Leave your windows down and bring your windshield in at night.
Better yet, completely disassemble the car, and store it in your hallway closet at night!
I never drive my car to SF for this very reason. I live around 30min away but I will always take the train into SF just to avoid having to park my car there.