25 years ago, in Florida, my wife, our new baby, and I were all sleeping soundly upstairs, when at about 2 AM the phone rang.
"Hello?" I ask groggily.
"This is the police," the voice says. "Do you know who's driving your car?"
I look out the window at the parking lot below. "It's... gone," I say. "I... have no idea."
They send an officer to take a report. I do remember someone who had come to the door a couple weeks earlier. I hadn't let him in, but from the porch he had been able to see that I kept my car keys hanging on a hook by the front door.
That night, he had manipulated the back sliding door into opening, crossed through the apartment, and retrieved the keys from where they hung near the front. All downstairs.
After a high-speed chase, which ended at his girlfriend's house, the police caught him hiding under the bed with the keys in his pocket.
Anyway, that's my personal anecdote. I don't propose that anyone confuse it with data or use it to decide policy. But I still sometimes thank the stars that I and my new family slept peacefully that night.
AFAIK in most states, the police have say in their jurisdiction. So a lot of theft crime can’t be caught because the thief drives to another jurisdiction and the chase can’t go on.
So they can get away.
That being said unlike Seattle and San Francisco, Florida cops don’t fuck around. At-least on Polk county, the are tough on crime.
>AFAIK in most states, the police have say in their jurisdiction. So a lot of theft crime can’t be caught because the thief drives to another jurisdiction and the chase can’t go on.
I think that under the doctrine of hot pursuit, once a suspected crime has been committed, as long as the police are able to visually identify the suspect they're allowed to cross jurisdictions.
If this is their advice, imagine how helpful they are in getting your car returned to you.
My mom had her car stolen in the Baltimore area around 15 years ago, and they actually chased down the guy and got her car back. It was all in one piece as well.
I feel like some of the fault rests in car authentication tech being downright antiquated by having a “whoever has keys is driver” policy.
We wouldn’t accept, in any corporate environment, a computer system where the only form of authentication was a yubikey with no password, the fact that our cars essentially still work like this in 2024 is appalling.
You can actually activate PIN-to-drive authentication on a Tesla. It's a useful added security feature for when you need someone you don't know to use your car, like valet parking or leaving it at a body shop, but you can activate it as default as well.
So what is the police force doing to mitigate auto theft motivated home invasions? Why fund the police if they aren't going to be providing protection to citizens? Also, if the thieves are well armed, and the police aren't helping, then maybe the citizenry needs to be armed as well?
There are quite a few studies out there that show that stand-your-ground laws only increase homicides, but they don't reduce any other crime rate. It also makes complete sense: Poverty and motivation for stealing don't go away with liberal gun/defense laws - but if you break into a house in Texas and plan to survive, you better bring a gun yourself and don't think twice when you encounter the owner.
What actually happens is that criminals only enter a residence when they are sure no one is at home. You can compare rates between Britain and USA of 'thieves entering house while occupied'. From memory USA is 10% and Britain is over 50%.
There’s no evidence to most of what you’re saying, even if there was it wouldn’t matter because nearly the entire US has stand your ground laws.
I think the only thing you’ve said that’s correct is the increase in homicide, but don’t forget a homeowner killing a home invader is technically considered homicide, and the RAND study pointed that out. There’s no evidence of any statistically significant increase of criminal activity.
I for one wouldn’t want to live in a place where my first thought if someone breaks in is to avoid them and hope everyone else in my house can find an exit, home break ins are super rare but why would I take the chance.
Shooting ppl doesn't address the root problem, which is the terrible material conditions of more and more Americans/Canadians.
Not to talk poorly of northern America; most of the western world is going to shit, but most westerners aren't able to self-reflect on the reasons why our system has reached its limits. Not because we are stupid, but because we are being misled.
This seems akin to watching those flash mob looting videos and saying “they’re just trying to feed their families”.
They are criminals. They are not trying to feed their families in a way commiserate with a peaceful society. They’re probably not trying to feed their families but even if they are it doesn’t matter if they are doing so by brutalising their neighbours.
Why are they telling people to put it in a faraday cage??? If the whole point is they want them to be able to steal the car without breaking in?
Are they trying to say "let them break into exactly your front door but then a bright flashing basket that says please take car keys here sir, welcome to slightly inconvenient free car costco, i love you."
So instead of real policing or understandable self defence laws the answer is all of us have to calculate the exact amount of inconvenience layers between free giveaway vs getting into violence?
You sound like you’re being sarcastic, but if that’s what it takes to get a home invader away from my family safer, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ll roll the red carpet out for them and throw in a stack of $100 bills if that’s what it takes. Property can be replaced, lives can’t be.
This is a symptom of inequality. Get used to it as it looks like it's only going to get worse. Nobody wants to steal your stuff if they can have what you have anyway. Much better that way.
That is such a dumb lie, poor people steals from other poor most of the time. They steal since they want more, they don't care how much the other person has they just want easy targets.
Readit News
"Hello?" I ask groggily.
"This is the police," the voice says. "Do you know who's driving your car?"
I look out the window at the parking lot below. "It's... gone," I say. "I... have no idea."
They send an officer to take a report. I do remember someone who had come to the door a couple weeks earlier. I hadn't let him in, but from the porch he had been able to see that I kept my car keys hanging on a hook by the front door.
That night, he had manipulated the back sliding door into opening, crossed through the apartment, and retrieved the keys from where they hung near the front. All downstairs.
After a high-speed chase, which ended at his girlfriend's house, the police caught him hiding under the bed with the keys in his pocket.
Anyway, that's my personal anecdote. I don't propose that anyone confuse it with data or use it to decide policy. But I still sometimes thank the stars that I and my new family slept peacefully that night.
Deleted Comment
AFAIK in most states, the police have say in their jurisdiction. So a lot of theft crime can’t be caught because the thief drives to another jurisdiction and the chase can’t go on.
So they can get away.
That being said unlike Seattle and San Francisco, Florida cops don’t fuck around. At-least on Polk county, the are tough on crime.
You also can't outrun the radio.
you are thinking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_California_Kid universe :) I dont think thats the case for a very long time.
My mom had her car stolen in the Baltimore area around 15 years ago, and they actually chased down the guy and got her car back. It was all in one piece as well.
We wouldn’t accept, in any corporate environment, a computer system where the only form of authentication was a yubikey with no password, the fact that our cars essentially still work like this in 2024 is appalling.
I guess it could help with climate goals, so I can see your point.
The main problem is not that a key is enough to use a car, but that owning the car is not enough to keep others out of it.
Ofc, then you run risk of blood being taken by force, but it would be bit more secure.
It's same as having keys tho. Authorization vs authentication.
p.s. pin to drive exists already.
Despite the tradeoffs, I think our current approach is better than the alternatives.
For example Face ID in iPhones works pretty well, and your face data is stored on the phone only.
I'm the only employee in the company. :)
Not listed: living in a region known for shooting home invaders.
I think the only thing you’ve said that’s correct is the increase in homicide, but don’t forget a homeowner killing a home invader is technically considered homicide, and the RAND study pointed that out. There’s no evidence of any statistically significant increase of criminal activity.
I for one wouldn’t want to live in a place where my first thought if someone breaks in is to avoid them and hope everyone else in my house can find an exit, home break ins are super rare but why would I take the chance.
Easy to throw claims around. Let me try.
"There are thousands of studies out there that show armed homeowners prevented one million crimes in 2023"
They are criminals. They are not trying to feed their families in a way commiserate with a peaceful society. They’re probably not trying to feed their families but even if they are it doesn’t matter if they are doing so by brutalising their neighbours.
Modulo stray bullets, shooting does in fact seem to address this
So instead of real policing or understandable self defence laws the answer is all of us have to calculate the exact amount of inconvenience layers between free giveaway vs getting into violence?