Theft

[Duppin]

I'm sure I'm going to regret posting this thread, and posting it in Screenshots for that matter, but I'm doing so anyway, because I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with this sort of thing, and how they reacted.

Tonight I was riding the bus home from work and not being as observant as I should have been, while playing my PSP. Before I really had any chance to react, a teenager or thereabouts who was in the process of getting off the bus grabbed it right out of my hands as I was playing it and took off running up the street.

I rode around with the police for a little while in an attempt to find him but he was already long gone or hiding in a building somewhere or something along those lines. So, as of right now, I'm out a $200 PSP and a $50 game, which I have no real possibility of ever getting back (I filed a police report but the cop was at least honest about saying that there wasn't really anything going to be done with it) and will likely not replace.

I'm not the sort of person to be that worried about possessions, and I'm not actually as upset about it as it seems like I should be, but I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with theft in general and how it affected them.

What sort of things have you had stolen from you, particularly in a snatch-and-grab or mugging? Were you pissed off about it, mostly resigned to it, or a little bit of both? Did you ever get your stuff back?

[Tuco]

You couldn't chase a child down and take what belongs to you? That kid deserves the PSP more than you!

[Duppin]

Yeah, that pretty much sums up why I figured I'd end up regretting posting this thread.

[redbandana]

Originally Posted by Duppin

I'm sure I'm going to regret posting this thread, and posting it in Screenshots for that matter, but I'm doing so anyway, because I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with this sort of thing, and how they reacted.

Tonight I was riding the bus home from work and not being as observant as I should have been, while playing my PSP. Before I really had any chance to react, a teenager or thereabouts who was in the process of getting off the bus grabbed it right out of my hands as I was playing it and took off running up the street.

I rode around with the police for a little while in an attempt to find him but he was already long gone or hiding in a building somewhere or something along those lines. So, as of right now, I'm out a $200 PSP and a $50 game, which I have no real possibility of ever getting back (I filed a police report but the cop was at least honest about saying that there wasn't really anything going to be done with it) and will likely not replace.

I'm not the sort of person to be that worried about possessions, and I'm not actually as upset about it as it seems like I should be, but I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with theft in general and how it affected them.

What sort of things have you had stolen from you, particularly in a snatch-and-grab or mugging? Were you pissed off about it, mostly resigned to it, or a little bit of both? Did you ever get your stuff back?

Never been involved in a snatch and grab or a mugging, but I have had a car stereo stolen while I was over at my girlfriend's house years ago. She lived in a really well to do part of town too, and my car was in her driveway all the way up to the house. I didn't have locks that even worked, was a piece of shit Volkswagen fox, but damn, I still felt like I was raped. The Police basically flat out told me there was nothing they could do either. Sucky!

[Wildstone]

Things like this make you wonder, how risky is it for these small time crooks? As long as your not out of shape, chances are you can outrun any enraged person since you have the headstart AND it'll take them a good 5-10 seconds to fully comprehend. And hell, even if they get caught...what the hell is the person gonna do? Sit on you until cops arrive? Not likely, probably just demand you return the item.

[Derph]

I had a truck stolen from me once, at a fucking truck show for fuck's sake. Everyone went over to the awards ceremony, and when we walked back over there was 3 trucks missing, one of them was mine. I guess that was pretty smart on their half.

Cops never found it. They told me custom trucks and cars that get stolen are normally on ships to mexico the next day. There's no point in chopping a vehicle that's already hooked up.

Anyway, that fucking sucked and I still think about that truck. Pics inc.

[Duppin]

Originally Posted by Wildstone

Things like this make you wonder, how risky is it for these small time crooks? As long as your not out of shape, chances are you can outrun any enraged person since you have the headstart AND it'll take them a good 5-10 seconds to fully comprehend. And hell, even if they get caught...what the hell is the person gonna go? Sit on you until cops arrive? Not likely, probably just demand you return the item.

Yeah, that was the main reason I didn't try to chase the guy down myself, was that by the time I realized "holy fuck that guy just grabbed my PSP", he had a pretty good head start and the chances I was going to catch him myself were pretty small.

Notwithstanding Tuco's predictable "lol ur a pussy" response, too, who knows what would've happened if I caught the guy? I've had some martial arts training and I'm reasonably confident I could defend myself if I had to, but is it worth the risk over something I can replace with a few hours' work if I want to? He was wearing one of those puffy coats and baggy pants, he easily could've had a weapon of some sort and I didn't. That's the cops' job, not mine. In the area of Seattle where this happened (Pioneer Square) people get shot and stabbed all the time.

Oh well, I got to ride around in the cop car for a while and shoot the shit with the police under friendly circumstances. They even called a cab for me because I didn't particularly feel like getting back ON a bus at that point.

[Cuppycake]

I once had my pog slammer from me stolen in 6th grade, right out of my desk. It was one of those big metal slammers with the cool hologram on the top, like $30 or something.

I'm still pissed to this day.

[WarderX]

Additionally, if you beat someone up who stole from you, I think they can try to sue you.

I have like 10 separate stories regarding bike theft, I'll share a few.

When I was in college, one day I parked my bicycle outside of my dorm overnight for some reason, and the next day it was gone. Even though it was a pretty generic cheap stock road bike, I was upset, and for the rest of the day I was like, well shit, I guess it's gone, I'm sure it will be spray painted over in a day, there's not much that I can do about it. But then my friend was like, hey lets get in my car and drive around looking for it. like 5 minutes later 3 blocks away, I see this old black guy riding it down the street.
Let's just say I wasn't concerned with legalities or anything. We cut him off and then I just ran out of the car furious towards him screaming "GET OFF MY BIKE". He got totally spooked and just hopped off the bike and yelled "take it! take it! take it!" my friend threw a soda can at him while he ran away. Mission accomplished?

Like a month later, my ex-roommate who rode a BMX bike had it stolen off his porch, and we once again decided to go out and look for it, but we didn't find it for the first two days. On the third day we finally found it. A little black girl who looked about 10 years old was riding it (bmx bikes are pretty small incase you didn't know) through the park. We got out and were like "hey, that's our bike" and she denied it a lot, saying her cousin gave it to her. We weren't about to rough up a little girl, but my friend who owned the bike just pushed her off it, she fell to the ground crying, and we took the bike and left her in the middle of nowhere.

Third time was when I had my bike unlocked outside a restaurant I was eating at. This black dude came up and just hopped on my bike and started pedaling away. It was a fixed gear bike (which is a type of bicycle that has no brakes and no coasting), and the guy had obviously never ridden a fixed gear before, because when he came to the curb and couldn't slow down, he just toppled over and fell off. Then he rolled over, jumped up, and skittered off. At this point I just walk outside and pick up my bicycle and put it back where it was, and walk back inside. The people standing outside laughed a lot.

[Rotanee]

Do you have renters or homeowners insurance?

Might help to call your agent if you do, if you don't already know the answer, and see if you have any personal property theft insurance. Usually it just requires some form of verification of purchase or ownership of the item, and a police report.

Policies very with your deductable. It might only be $100 bucks though. Claim the game, headset, any special controllers on it and show proof of cost to your agent and you will get a check.

I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I did help a client get about $300 bucks once for a bike that was stolen. That was off his property though, the coverage might follow you even though you weren't at home.

Laws very so much by state on this sort of thing too. Could be nothing, but then again, never hurts to look for a hundred bucks or more.


Edit: Let me add if you live at home your parent's homeowners insurance would likely apply. In which case they might complain to you about their premiums going up. Premiums are not the same for homeowners types of insurance as they are for cars. In a car if you get into an accident you are more likely to get into a 2nd accident than you were the first one. Your premium goes up accordingly for your car. Homeowners typically don't have the same problem. Theft is typically random. One claim for theft is not indicative of another, so premiums usually don't move by much at all. If they do then usually only a few dollars. It is a common question I used to get.

[chaos]

When I was like 12 I always used to ride my bike from my neighberhood through the Texas Tech campus to this pizza joint that had Street Fighter 2 and a couple of other games. I knew the guys who always came and played there pretty well, my dad told me not to but you know how that shit goes. My bike was a shitty Huffy, I liked it though. One day as I ran out of quarters I came out and some cocksmoke had stolen it. That was a depressing walk home. I didn't tell my dad for like a month.

Different tangent but, also when I was 15 I was drunk or something and walking to the 7-11 to get some smokes. I see this car slow down after passing me and I think "Oh shit". 2 guys get out and start speaking spanish to me, then start asking me in English where I'm going. the car is driving slow behind them. I just started walking faster, they were older and a lot bigger than me. I don't even remember what they said. Next thing I know I'm on the ground, they're kicking the shit out of me. They lay off, I get up and walk the rest of the way to the store. Standing there covered in blood and dirt and shit I ask the guy for a pack of reds, and this guy cards me, so yeah that was a trip well worth the effort. I ended up spending my smoke money on a cab trip home because I didn't exactly feel like walking. The 7-11 guy wouldnt let me use his bathroom to wash up the blood because it was employees only. lawl. Not anything to do with the topic but it made me think of it so eh.

[Valos]

Originally Posted by Duppin

I'm sure I'm going to regret posting this thread, and posting it in Screenshots for that matter, but I'm doing so anyway, because I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with this sort of thing, and how they reacted.

Tonight I was riding the bus home from work and not being as observant as I should have been, while playing my PSP. Before I really had any chance to react, a teenager or thereabouts who was in the process of getting off the bus grabbed it right out of my hands as I was playing it and took off running up the street.

I rode around with the police for a little while in an attempt to find him but he was already long gone or hiding in a building somewhere or something along those lines. So, as of right now, I'm out a $200 PSP and a $50 game, which I have no real possibility of ever getting back (I filed a police report but the cop was at least honest about saying that there wasn't really anything going to be done with it) and will likely not replace.

I'm not the sort of person to be that worried about possessions, and I'm not actually as upset about it as it seems like I should be, but I'm curious about what other people's experiences have been with theft in general and how it affected them.

What sort of things have you had stolen from you, particularly in a snatch-and-grab or mugging? Were you pissed off about it, mostly resigned to it, or a little bit of both? Did you ever get your stuff back?

Working for game crazy for two years we had to do serial checks on any system that came into the store used, since we were techically a pawn shop.

Only thing I can say for the future is to write down the serials of everything you own so if it does get stolen, you can at least turn it in. There is a waiting period before items can legally be resold. I'm sure you could argue that the kid would use it for themselves, or the crack head would just pawn it for cash to anyone, but there is still a better chance with serials turned in then without.

[Duppin]

Actually, Rotanee, I don't have renters insurance at all, but it's something I think I need to look into ASAP, for this and other reasons.

Really, though, the money value of what I lost isn't a big deal. It was more the "holy fuck" factor than anything else. Plus I have a bunch of PSP games now that I really don't feel like buying another PSP for!

[Stoerm]

Why did you leave out the part about the kid being black?

[Rotanee]

I am pretty sure I would feel the same way.