Any LEOs Here Help Civvies Set a Trap for Thieves?

[EmmaPeel]

Yes, Thor and RR Sec, I saw this in AAC. It had me howling.

I'm storing this idea for use one day. I want to get proficient at it.

There's gotta be good stories out there ......

[mdrdep]

Not a thief, but a different take on the subject.

We had a lady who was constantly being harassed by her ex-husband. She had a restraining order in place but every time she called he would take off running when we got close. This went on for a while and there was well over a million dollars in arrest warrants out on this guy.

Obviously she was getting a bit frustrated with the situation. Alas, one day we get called to the residence but this time the dude is sound asleep butt naked in her bed and easily taken into custody. What she had done was invited him inside when he came knocking at the door, made him a meal, taken him to bed for a night of intense passion and then promptly called the cops when he fell asleep.

Her statement, "The sex was never bad during our marriage so I figured what the heck. At least he's in custody now and I can get a decent nights sleep without worrying about him beating my ***"

[RR_Security]

Even I might classify the above as kinda like entrapment, but at the same time, "whatever works." At least she didn't take the opportunity to poison the SOB while she was at it.

So, as to the original question, one of my favorite examples of "Don't drag that inside the gates. Who the hell needs a wooden horse that big anyway?" Builder in Miami tires of dirtbags stealing air conditioners from construction sites, puts a tracking device in place. Device sends a cellular alarm when it is shaken too much and when it leaves a specified area, AKA "geofencing." Device also has a "Page" function that makes it beep when sent a text (SMS) command from the user's phone.
"One of our AC units that was equipped with a MOBILELOCK sent out a vibration alarm last night followed minutes later by a Geofence Exit alarm indicating the AC was now outside of the subdivision. Using the built in GPS we tracked the AC back to the thief's house. A detective was called to the scene and questioned the homeowner but without probable cause there was nothing he could do. While the door was open I texted from my phone a "page" request to the device which set off its siren. Hearing the device inside the house the police officer was able to gain entry, recover our AC and make the arrest. Best of all....no more thefts from that subdivision since we caught this guy!"

It's hard to deny you took something when its tracker is bleating away behind you.
And another one rides the bus . . .

[EmmaPeel]

Not a thief, but a different take on the subject.

We had a lady who was constantly being harassed by her ex-husband. She had a restraining order in place but every time she called he would take off running when we got close. This went on for a while and there was well over a million dollars in arrest warrants out on this guy.

Obviously she was getting a bit frustrated with the situation. Alas, one day we get called to the residence but this time the dude is sound asleep butt naked in her bed and easily taken into custody. What she had done was invited him inside when he came knocking at the door, made him a meal, taken him to bed for a night of intense passion and then promptly called the cops when he fell asleep.

Her statement, "The sex was never bad during our marriage so I figured what the heck. At least he's in custody now and I can get a decent nights sleep without worrying about him beating my ***"

Yep, those are the kind of stories that are fun to read. Thanks for posting.

So she got a little sumpin sumpin, saved the city some of the warrant budget, and delivered him to cops without any resistance. Oh, and now she gets a full night sleep. Smart lady.

[EmmaPeel]

Even I might classify the above as kinda like entrapment, but at the same time, "whatever works." At least she didn't take the opportunity to poison the SOB while she was at it.

So, as to the original question, one of my favorite examples of "Don't drag that inside the gates. Who the hell needs a wooden horse that big anyway?" Builder in Miami tires of dirtbags stealing air conditioners from construction sites, puts a tracking device in place. Device sends a cellular alarm when it is shaken too much and when it leaves a specified area, AKA "geofencing." Device also has a "Page" function that makes it beep when sent a text (SMS) command from the user's phone.
"One of our AC units that was equipped with a MOBILELOCK sent out a vibration alarm last night followed minutes later by a Geofence Exit alarm indicating the AC was now outside of the subdivision. Using the built in GPS we tracked the AC back to the thief's house. A detective was called to the scene and questioned the homeowner but without probable cause there was nothing he could do. While the door was open I texted from my phone a "page" request to the device which set off its siren. Hearing the device inside the house the police officer was able to gain entry, recover our AC and make the arrest. Best of all....no more thefts from that subdivision since we caught this guy!"

It's hard to deny you took something when its tracker is bleating away behind you.
And another one rides the bus . . .

Loved it, loved it.

[jdthor]

I used to tell people and still do at times to get the trail cams and use them if someone keeps bothering them,they are not that expensive. About 6 months back one was brought in as someone had been continuing to steal things from his property,metal,anything that could be sold.Had a beautiful color picture of one of our normal residents who just happened to have been arrested the night before on another theft charge.

Brought the guy up front and at first he said he knew nothing about nothing.Then this pretty little picture slid across the desk with him actually holding a roll of copper wire.

End of case.

http://www.outdoorfreaks.net/trail-c...rity-purposes/

[EmmaPeel]

I used to tell people and still do at times to get the trail cams and use them if someone keeps bothering them,they are not that expensive. About 6 months back one was brought in as someone had been continuing to steal things from his property,metal,anything that could be sold.Had a beautiful color picture of one of our normal residents who just happened to have been arrested the night before on another theft charge.

Brought the guy up front and at first he said he knew nothing about nothing.Then this pretty little picture slid across the desk with him actually holding a roll of copper wire.

End of case.

http://www.outdoorfreaks.net/trail-c...rity-purposes/

Good tips, Thor! I could become a fan of outdoorfreaks.net.

Thanks for posting.

[EmmaPeel]

Now just give me the computer version of trail cams to catch cyber intruders..............

[RR_Security]

I had a call a week or so ago from an officer in one of the towns where our railroad line runs. That town is where I got photos at around 02:00 one morning last July from a cellular-capable camera, showing two mopes loading a wheelbarrow with steel plates and bars that had been laid out for a track upgrade. They seemed to pick a night when the local PD was very busy, and they scrammed 9-10 minutes before the first officer arrived, but one of them came back the next night and graciously provided images of his license plate. The night pics of the guys stealing the steel weren't great for ID purposes, but one of them had been there the afternoon before, walking off with stuff in broad daylight, and several officers recognized him from those photos. He was the one whose truck was photographed the following night. He committed some other thefts around the county over the course of the next couple of months, and is now several months into a 14-month sentence.

Anyway, the officer who called me wanted to know if I had any cameras set up near a certain grade crossing, because someone near there had a boat stolen from their property. My only cam near there was pointed in the wrong direction to catch any activity on the theft victim's property, but I said if he wanted to set up something to catch any return visits from the thief or thieves, I'd be happy to help. If the property owner calls, I can provide him with some spare cams and maybe a few other ideas. If some light-fingered loser gets put away for stealing from him, that'll be one less thief I might have to deal with some day.

MMS cameras are expensive, but for real problem areas, they're the way to go. It's great when you can swoop down on their ***es and have them say "How did you know we were here?"
"We're the police. We know everything." Cop_Light.gif

[ArmyVet]

Cameras are great!

When I was in college, I had my GPS stolen out of my car. I didn't actually notice it missing until three days later, so I didn't even know what town it was stolen in. However, I had a feeling that it was taken while I was eating at a particular restaurant. I went back there and asked if they had any cameras. They did, but it only pointed to the employee entrance. I went back out to my car and looked around. On the next building over they had a camera pointing towards the parking lot. I went over there, explained the situation, happened to be talking to the owner, and he pulled up the footage for the day and time I was there. You could see the individual go in the passenger side, take the GPS, and go up the employee entrance of the restaurant. Then I reported it to the police. It turns out it was a friend of an employee. Both were probably involved, but they could only get the one.