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My local area has been plagued by an ongoing spree of "youths" walking the streets at night trying car doors. They go onto people's driveways (not just cars parked on the street) and have also been filmed trying front doors and entering porches and hallways.
Every couple of weeks there's a new series of posts on local FB groups showing footage from door bell cams and the like.
The police have been informed and are well aware of what's happening, we report it when it happens to us and have had an officer round. But they admit there's basically nothing they can do.
For our part, we've got a camera and gates (admittedly not lockable, but I'm going to put a chain on it, at least to provide some sort of obstacle) and we report to the police whenever it happens.
There's frequent talk on FB groups about forming watch groups to patrol the streets, with various degrees of violent undertones! I've heard one suggestion that a group of "blokes who can handle themselves" should just go out late on when the streets should be empty and if they see anybody, ****t them because they shouldn't be out at that time 😒
Anyone elses local area plagued by similar? (It's literally all over the Fylde coast where I live, night after night another area is targeted.)
Any success stories in tackling it?
Has it actually been a thing forever, but we only know about it nowbecause of ring doorbells!?
Yep, been happening for the last few years round here. There's groups of people that go round area by area, trying car doors, smashing car windows, popping in open house windows etc - low level stuff but recurs every few months or so. It's almost like there's a rota - if you hear of one particular area being done, then you know yours is coming up.
Our popo are aware but say there's nothing that can be done. I'd have thought with some more resource they could do 'trap cars' in the affected areas etc.
We were just advised to make sure there's no easy targets left lying around.
its the same here.
Mostly tackled by locking car doors and houses.
In some housing estates where its rife people lock their doors behind them every time they go inside even if they are sitting watching telly.
I reckon it goes on a lot, completely unnoticed. Forgot to lock our car one night came back to it and someone had stolen the parking change. Only about a fiver, so not much on its own but if you do a whole carpark or neighbourhood then you'll probably do ok in a short time. A lot of people probably wouldn't even notice.
In some housing estates where its rife people lock their doors behind them every time they go inside even if they are sitting watching telly.
Its not a thing where I am, I have cameras and the only thing they capture is the neighbours cat, but do some people not lock their house doors at all times? My doors are always locked whether I am at home or away.
Surely you're asking for it if you leave your house door in a state that it can be opened by anyone at anytime?
Edit : is this a problem mainly in areas that have upvc front doors with multipoint locking that has to be explicitly locked with a key, rather than old fashioned front doors with a latch type lock that is always locked when closed without the owner having to do anything?
I'm convinced youths wandering around trying car doors accounts for 99.9% of the reports you hear of car keys being cloned through front doors by sophisticated criminal gangs.
people lock their doors behind them every time they go inside even if they are sitting watching telly.
Yep, we do that now!
It’s almost like there’s a rota – if you hear of one particular area being done, then you know yours is coming up.
And that's what it's like here.
It's just so frustrating that the only solution is lock your doors, rather than actually preventing it from happening in the first place.
A bait car seems like an obvious way of catching them, but in reality, they'd probably be back at it 2 nights later.
The pcso that visited our house said they know that after midnight, there's no police patrolling the streets and they're free to do as they like. That said, it was 23:55 last night when someone came on our drive. That's early enough for them to be confronted by a dog walker or someone coming home from the pub, they obviously don't care.
Yes, increased around here locally but usually as above it's unlocked cars, or if they do get broken into it's cos someone's left a laptop on a seat or something like that.
However there have been a few occasions where people try doors and there are people at home. That's much scarier.
I'd had a few minor things taken when I'd managed to left the car unlocked. Actually quite easy to tell with some cars, lots fold mirrors when locked now but things like VWs have the red blinking LED in the door - can tell just by walking past on the pavement.
Haven't had any alert on my camera (which is pretty good at detecting people) but's pretty obvious it's there, and I've got a little solar motion LED that comes on just inside the driveway too.
Do get ring type footage on local groups a lot though, I think lots of petty criminals assume they only record when you press the bell.
In some housing estates where its rife people lock their doors behind them every time they go inside even if they are sitting watching telly.
Eh?
Surely everyone south of Inverness locks their front door every time they go through it...
Hell our back garden has a 6ft brick wall around it but i wouldn't dream of leaving the kitchen door unlocked unless one of us was cooking or in the actual garden.
#TimperleySchemie
Yes, increased around here locally but usually as above it’s unlocked cars, or if they do get broken into it’s cos someone’s left a laptop on a seat or something like that.
In fairness to the scrotes, when we had two cars one of them was left permanently unlocked because the driver's side lock was broken. Only realised it had been done over when I saw a cassette tape left on the passenger seat. Perhaps it was hipsters looking for some C90's?
Our other car got done a few weeks later - parked round the back of the house, not accessible from the front. Only realised when I could see the interior light of the car on from the house. I'd obviously thought I'd locked it but clearly hadn't. They'd found our ancient TomTom sat nav and left it because it was so old. The only thing they took was the iphone charging cable - actually hugely inconvenient!
Do get ring type footage on local groups a lot though, I think lots of petty criminals assume they only record when you press the bell
I think more likely is they just don't GAS. Hood up, mask on, can't be identified no matter how good the camera is.
Yes, common around here in all the time I've lived here. We've had doors kicked, windows broken, cars broken into, cars vandalised, property vandalised, the lot. But it is South Manchester.
Growing up in Belfast with 'certain individuals' living in estates, low level crime just never happened, in my estate at least. There was a lot to be said for local vig...policing.
But they admit there’s basically nothing they can do.
I'd want to explore that a bit further. Are they saying they don't believe they are committing a crime by trying doors or they don't have the resource to do anything?
Eh?
Surely everyone south of Inverness locks their front door every time they go through it…
Hell our back garden has a 6ft brick wall around it but i wouldn’t dream of leaving the kitchen door unlocked unless one of us was cooking or in the actual garden.
I live in Breckland area of Norfolk (the bit that isn't wholly flat!) and i think i am right in saying it is lowest car crime area in UK.. I reckon i could walk into most of my neighbours houses through unlocked doors, in-laws only lock door if they're going out for more an hour.
Most crime here involves stealing farm machinery or red diesel, although disturbing trend of a few stabbings now in central Norwich (....awaits your best Partridge comments..)
but do some people not lock their house doors at all times
This depends very much where you live.
My previous house, just outside West Linton, south of Edinburgh, didn't even have a door key. Six of us sharing and no one knew where it was so we never locked it.
Previous to that I'd lived in Reading, one break in and one attempted but failed break in with me in the house both times, the second one only failed because I chased him off!
Yep, we get this. They check all the car doors and the new thing is stealing plants from people's doorsteps (bay/olive trees etc) 🤷♂️
In our case it seems to happen in waves across the town, then nothing for months. Probably the same group of lowlifes travelling from town to town across the region.
Are they saying they don’t believe they are committing a crime by trying doors or they don’t have the resource to do anything?
Lack of resources. Pcso's patrol during the day, but not after midnight and the other police at that time are busy responding to 999 calls. Plus what can they actually do, all the ring footage in the world doesn't really amount to much if you can't put a name to the individual.
Years ago we left our car unlocked - someone went in, pulled everything out and left it all, even the CDs which were a commonly stolen item back then. So much for our taste in music.
Bait cars and more police patrols? You're having a laugh these days, they're lucky if they can afford to keep a stock of biros in the stationary cupboard. Unless things get violent there's no chance the police will have the resources to be able to meaningfully tackle this sort of low level crime
We had a slight spate of this over the summer; minor things like chucking stones and eggs at windows, throwing rubbish through open windows etc - clearly just bored teenagers.
They got caught on someones camera - no hoods up, no masks so plainly visible and identifiable. Their faces were plastered all over our local Facebook. Lots of hand wringing saying it's not on to name and shame the kids and shouldn't be sharing their picture on Facebook etc.
All the bother seems to have stopped now though. Presumably the kids have been suitably scolded by their parents / the school / the police.
I’ve heard one suggestion that a group of “blokes who can handle themselves” should just go out late on when the streets should be empty and if they see anybody, ****t them because they shouldn’t be out at that time
I'm surprised this doesn't happen a lot to be honest. Some people in really problematic areas must be incredibly sick of dealing with rowdy scrotes every night.
molgrips
Years ago we left our car unlocked – someone went in, pulled everything out and left it all, even the CDs which were a commonly stolen item back then. So much for our taste in music.
'Back in the day' I used to have a MK1 Polo, which was notoriously easy to break into - you just had to look at it the wrong way and the locks would spring open.
When I used to live in N London, in cold weather the local scrotes would break in, smoke their joints, extinguish them in the ashtray, and lock it all back up again.
The first time the radio got nicked my neighbour went to the local dealer a couple of doors down and asked for it back - got it back for a fiver after about ten minutes. Sadly the second time they weren't able to get it - I was most annoyed about the d'n'b mixtape a mate had done for me that was in the cassette player. That and the pair of Spy sunnies in the glovebox which went too.
Trouble is, often the Police know who the scrotes are, but they know how many times they have tried to take similar to Court via CPS and got nowhere, was a time you could raise with parents, but often parents just don't care.
When my car was broken into when i lived near Guildford, they couldn't get steering lock off, so they had driven in an arc into a wall. Called Surrey Police, and they wouldn't send anyone out, but i could pay them £400 to have car uplifted and taken to them to be fingerprinted!
Cousin once had his Vauxhall Nova stolen (dates this story...) he came out to find it missing from parking spot, except for a Whitney Houston CD which was stood on end on the kerb..
but do some people not lock their house doors at all times
no, and if I lived somewhere i felt I needed to lock myself in my house, i'd be looking to move sharpish.
Same round here too (Yorkshire too). Constant stream of doorbell cam screengraps (terribly) posted t to the facebook groups.
More to the point, can I join in with the people who are surprised that there are people who DONT leave their doors locked all the time?
And only when their is a crime spree do they consider locking them when they are sat wathcing TV at the other side of the house?
I mean, why wouldnt you!?
Lack of resources. Pcso’s patrol during the day, but not after midnight and the other police at that time are busy responding to 999 calls. Plus what can they actually do, all the ring footage in the world doesn’t really amount to much if you can’t put a name to the individual.
There's plenty they can do but as always it's about priorities. As soon as the local councillors car gets done they will have a visible presence show of force which then melts away
Lack of resources. Pcso’s patrol during the day, but not after midnight and the other police at that time are busy responding to 999 calls.
Then instead of asking here - you want to get onto your PCC and ask what he's doing to resource them to deal with crime that makes real people (his voters) feel uneasy at night.
Plus what can they actually do, all the ring footage in the world doesn’t really amount to much if you can’t put a name to the individual.
If there are persistent trouble makers, lots of ring footage of them and the local cops can't identify them something doesn't add up.
Trouble is, often the Police know who the scrotes are, but they know how many times they have tried to take similar to Court via CPS and got nowhere, was a time you could raise with parents, but often parents just don’t care.
I think you read too much Daily Mail / Express!
no, and if I lived somewhere i felt I needed to lock myself in my house, i’d be looking to move sharpish.
Same. I often nip up Tescos Express and leave the front door unlocked. Never locked when I'm in the house except when I go to bed. I couldn't live with the OP's kind of shite going on. Little ****ers need dealing with, so if it take vigilante groups, that's what it takes.
no, and if I lived somewhere i felt I needed to lock myself in my house, i’d be looking to move sharpish.
This.
Only ever had to live in that kind of fear at one rental we had in the city. Cheap for a reason...... Had a bike stolen from under lock and key and my car broken into. We lived there less than 8 months
but do some people not lock their house doors at all times
I tend to lock the front door when I'm in. It's a thumbturn cylinder so not a big effort. There's a good chance I'll be in the back garden if it's summer or on the toilet or upstairs with music on. Why risk it just because it feels like a safe area? And I live in a street with a lot of bunglows and curtain twitching so nothing gets missed around here. The only reason I wouldn't lock it is if I knew a family member was due so they could let themselves in.
OTOH my wife doesn't lock her car. It's old and battered and would cost more to replace a smashed window than any of the random rubbish left inside it.
I mean, why wouldnt you!?
Because it's not necessary
It's a pain when you are in and out regularly
It's nice not to feel like you live in a cage.
Big ‘Innes’ helped with a similar issue in Craigland so could be worth asking.
Just make sure to hide any Midori.
Surely everyone south of Inverness locks their front door every time they go through it…
Hell our back garden has a 6ft brick wall around it but i wouldn’t dream of leaving the kitchen door unlocked unless one of us was cooking or in the actual garden.
I think that most of the areas South of Inverness are not the petty crime blighted wasteland that you imagine. Sure there are pockets of it as described in this thread, but I'd say that the majority of the UK is pretty safe to leave a door unlocked.
It must be emotionally tiring, and a real cause of constant, low level stress always worrying about doors and windows being bolted shut, even when you are in the house and within your fortified back garden.
Obviously it is the solution if homes are regularly being entered by thieves, but it can't feel very homely or comfortable always being worried about intruders.
It is
Must be nice to live somewhere like the western isles where folks don't even lock their doors when they go on holiday! "How would the postie get in to put the letters on the kitchen table?"
I’m convinced youths wandering around trying car doors accounts for 99.9% of the reports you hear of car keys being cloned through front doors by sophisticated criminal gangs.
I'm so poor my car has a key you put in the ignition and turn - but for you guys with keyless starts, if you park up at your house and don't press lock, can anybody get in the car and press the Start button?
You couldn't with my Focus - the key had to be inside the car.
@ayjaydoubleyou It doesn't work like that, it knows if the keys are in the car or not. I'm forever unlocking the car from within the house by sitting on the keys if that was the case the car would be long gone.
I’ve heard one suggestion that a group of “blokes who can handle themselves” should just go out late on when the streets should be empty and if they see anybody, ****t them because they shouldn’t be out at that time
I'd steer well clear of both FB, and joining FB organised Mobs.
I'm sure participating in a group beating of a teenager because "Steve's doorbell Cam spotted a kid with the same jacket" will stand up in court.
The best defence is (relative) poverty
All of our neighbours have nicer cars and tidier front gardens than us, I'm banking on the scrotes trying to take next doors Porsche or the other sides 'Warrior' before they turn their attention to our shitty old Citroen...
My missus has forgotten to lock the car several times now, nobody touched it.
The Yoofs all overlook that our house is the biggest on the road, and the only one with a double garage. But plonk a shiny German car on a frequently jet-washed, weed free drive and they'll be all over your house like flies on shit...
if you are looking for a set of car keys at my in-laws, first place to look is in the ignition. 9/10 they will be there.
So the scrotes don't care, their parents don't care, the cops don't care or cant afford to care, social services don't care or cant afford to care.
You care and so do some others.
Batman is probably busy, so you do need to sort it yourselves. Perhaps then the coppers will care as they will end up protecting the scrotes and telling the vigilante groups to behave.
I had some dirty ***g lowlife junky t break into my place while I was in bed to steal a bike he saw in my kitchen. Managed to jenny open a sash window without waking me. I woke when he was just exiting the front door and I heard the clicking of the hub unfortunatley he rode faster than I run wearing just a bath towel.
My house is in an electorincally gated block so he must have jumped over a 8 ft wall surrounded by CCTV to do it. The CCTV picked them up wandering around the car park, trying doors and windows etc... and then seeing my bikes in the kitchen they went off got a suitable lump of metal from somewhere and popped in to help themselves. Thankfully they took the hard tail and not the new Yeti next to it.
This is in Lincoln city centre so not exactly Newham or Toxteth. Junkies everywhere though and they have habits to feed.
It doesn’t work like that, it knows if the keys are in the car or not. I’m forever unlocking the car from within the house by sitting on the keys if that was the case the car would be long gone.
Or they don't want your car.
I had a Vauxhall insignia piece of crap plastic hire car with the key present push button start a few years back in Holland.
Parked it out side the office and went in.
A few hours later the receptionist came down to my office. Excuse me do you know your car (which was almost directly outside the window of the office I was in ) was sitting idling....and by the look of the temp gauge had been since I left it.....neither me nor the 3 passengers noticed when we left it ...