Vehicle Crime In Dulwich Village

[keithmoonisalive]

hiya!

i live in dulwich village and have been suffering with some scr0at breaking into my car. it's around 10 years old and no doubt easy to break into, but after around 4 times i am sick of it. they don't take anything but cash, which i used to leave in the ash tray. now even a pound coin in the glove box will go.

any ideas about what i can do?!

the police came round after the first time, but i haven't called them since. no doubt they live locally, but i wondered if anyone else has suffered.

help me!

[Andyng]

Do you have a alarm and steering lock?What car security do you have?

[Brendan]

Sounds like some local kid has has sussed how to open your car and keeps doing it. Either sit and wait for him/her and scare the bugger away or find out who they are and report it to their parents or the cops.

You could try having a different lock mechanism put on your car. Some older locks will open with something just vaguely key-shaped shoved into them.

Sorry I'm asuming here that they are not smashing the window to get in.

[char1ie]

Don't leave anything in your car. Not even a pound. Take the stereo out too.

Charlie

[LostThePlot]

Leave the car clean inside, and leave the glovebox open. A sign on the dash saying "There is nothing left in this car overnight" may also do the trick. If they can see it is all empty then they may get bored.

Otherwise wire it to the mains and hopefully kill the little $hits...

[Mark]

Do report it to the police, it's the only way they'll know there's a problem, it can be a pain in the arse and you'll probably think they've only taken a pound, it's not worth it but you should report it anyway.

[spadetownboy]

as previously mentioned by others dont leave anything in the car,as it removes all temptation for a tealeaf to have a go.unfortunately older cars tend to be the vehicle of choice with vauxhall and fords top of the list,you might want to consider a new locking and immobiliser system and probably fitting an alarm,but on a 10 year old car is it really worth it,unless that is its a 10yr old merc,beamer etc,and as mark points out report it to the fuzz as the way they work is they wont increase patrols for a one off event but if there is a reoccurance of crime in an area on a fairly regular basis then they will,but only if they are aware of it. and finally what do your neighbours think of you having a 10 yr old car in the village,hope it doesnt lower the tone of the area.

[ruffers]

What LostThePlot and others said; remove as much as you can of any temptation to break in - glove box open, sign saying nothing in there, stereo out, the lot.

As for not telling the police I'm not sure about that. Are they breaking in the car ie breaking a window or is it more of a coathanger job?

[Andyng]

spadetownboy of course a alarm is worth it .Its sure better than replacing broken locks time and time and again

not to mention the aggro and stress.Also scratches to paintwork to doors from scredrivers etc

[Andyng]

Of course a alarm is worth it .What would you prefer replacing broken locks time and time and again

not to mention the aggro and stress.Also scratches to paintwork to doors from scredrivers etc.

[tiddles]

leave nothing of worth on display. Our car is such a mess that on the occasions that we have inadvertendly left it unlocked, it has been untouched!! A dirty nappy left on the passenger seat usually gives an indication of what is inside. Actually, there was a 'street artist' from camberwell who videoded himself scratching cars with keys as part of his art project..... we lived in bellenden at the time and there was a whole line of cars with a continuation of 'key' marks which extended down the street.... never got this with that divinci chap...

[keithmoonisalive]

wow, lots of responses, thanks!

the little bugger never breaks a window so i guess as someone says, it's easy to get in. i will probably get an alarm cheap from ebay (almost bought a fake but they look as hard to fit LOL).

i have thought about waiting up for the d*ckhead as well but it'd probably turn out a be a huge bloke that'd eat me! plus he doesn't visit that often.

ta for the advice on the police, i will call them...

thanks again, the messages all help!

paulb

ps in terms of lowering the tone in the village, yes it does. but not as much as we do!

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

I think it's quite good round here. I left my car unlocked a couple of times and when I remembered the next day, ran in a panic to see if my stereo/alloys/car were still there and was amazed nothing had been touched.

If I'd done that on my old estate, there wouldn't have been a chance in hell that my car would have been left undisturbed.

[Dannyboy]

From experience, I'd say that once your car is identified as being 'breakable in to' it will keep happening. My poor Citroen AX (obviously empty and worth zilch) survived 4 years in Bow without a scratch. Within a month of moving to the top end of LL, I had the door levered open twice. Once was for the tax disc, the second time seemed to be just for sh*ts and giggles. The third time, the sods put a brick through the window and tried and failed to hot-wire it. I was standing looking at it in despair when a cop showed up... only to ask me if I could provide full ID to prove it was mine. I was tempted to ask why anybody other than the owner would be standing in the rain in a suit, trying to get a 17 year old car with the driver's seat full of glass to work. Sigh. Ended up scrapping it. An alarm might work, but if the car's become a learning device for the little scrotes, you need to find somewhere dramatically different to park it.

[lozzyloz]

The DV end of LL seems to be notorious for petty car crime. I used to keep parking change in the car but after 3 break-ins (2 different cars) I've given up. Police never turned up, only issued a crime No. for Insurance. Recently there was a spate of attacks where somebody went round smashing car windows throughout The Village, mostly 4X4's and even a bus. Not sure if he/she/them were ever caught. I disagree with fitting an alarm since most people ignore alarms and they certainly didn't deter the crims in my case. Unfortunately all you can do is empty the car of anything nickable. These crimes are perpetrated by a small minority and they'll soon get the message.

PS spadetownboy I'm also proud to be lowering the tone 'round 'ere, y'naw mean!

[spadetownboy]

keep it up lollyloz,power to the people.