Not a Good Day.

Irrenhaus

Got back from Portland last night and decided to stop by San Francisco for dinner before going home.

And


Got my small carry on bag stolen. Company laptop, tablet, RHA T20i earbuds , Passport, Global Entry Card and APEC card gone and the very nice Tumi bag also.

It sucks

Cheers

lightman1

Asssssssshoooooooles!

daddyjt

Phuckers - also nailed you for the window :-/

zingo

Major bummer

HzTweaker

Bad day indeed, I've had this happen to me as well. I know how you feel. Thank goodness for insurance.

nooshinjohn

I had a Jaguar totalled by my insurance over $300 worth of car stereo gear back in the early 90's... I hate thieves. Sorry this happened to you. Hopefully you have Geico.

tonyb

Yeah, really sucks. Given what they took, a call to some CC agencies may be in order as identity theft may be another thing you lost. Other than that, it's all replaceable stuff man, as long as your OK is what matters most.

vmaxer

Sorry a$$holes.

stones89

Nothing worse than a cowardace thief!

Mike Reeter

I've read where in San Fran the vehicle break ins are soo numerous that the Police no longer respond to these calls. The charge has been lowered to a Misdemeanor, so it's a hay day for thieves.

Gotta love laws that are put into place to protect the scum.

tonyb

stones89 wrote: »

Nothing worse than a cowardace thief!

....as opposed to a brave one ? That might shoot you ? Thievery is thievery in my book, brave or coward, the results are the same.

tonyb

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I've read where in San Fran the vehicle break ins are soo numerous that the Police no longer respond to these calls. The charge has been lowered to a Misdemeanor, so it's a hay day for thieves.

Gotta love laws that are put into place to protect the scum.

Yeah, amen to that.

Irrenhaus

Well it seems they try to use the Galaxy tablet. I was able to send out the command to lock the device and all data will be wipe out.

And the location is an area here in the Bay Area you don't want to wonder around. Not safe.

Cheers

Mike Reeter

Last time we were in San Fran was a couple of years ago. I was taken aback by how much the City had declined over a few short years.

Filth and trash strewn about, pan handlers on every corner it seemed like. Such a shame as it was a beautiful City not too many years ago.

WagnerRC

thieves suck. sorry

stones89

Tonyb shooting goes both ways.

stones89

WagnerRC wrote: »

thieves suck. sorry

Well said!!!

tonyb

stones89 wrote: »

Tonyb shooting goes both ways.

Indeed they do, in most parts of the country, but not in California.

gudnoyez

I hope they catch the scumbags to ease your mind believe me that is satisfaction enoough. I had my truck window shot out by some 23 year old punk and his 17 year old cousin, they went on some spree and tagged about 150 vehicles, lit some guys boat on fire and damaged peoples property.

I did file a report they did catch them. I went to his hearing and told the counsler to just let him walk out the building so we could beat his azz. I enjoyed giving him the stare down and watching him squirm instead.

The damage these guys caused was $67,000 damage the adult one had to leave the confienments of his parents basement, and is locked up on a work release program and can only leave for his job. I have received a couple of checks for under a dollar each time I will never live long enough to collect my $268.00 in damages but knowing his life is miserable is good enough for me.

Nightfall

So if you lose a court hearing and are required to pay someone you can do so pennies at a time? That seems messed up to me.

Upstatemax

That SUCKS!

My wife had her company SUV broken into a few years ago and they stole a bunch of work stuff (laptop, iPad...).

What a PIA that was. Sorry to hear you have to deal with this!

msg

Bah. It sure is a pretty a pretty rotten feeling, having stuff stolen like that. Maddening to consider someone felt it his right to not only take your stuff, but that it was okay to trash your vehicle and cost you more money, time and hassle in doing it. Had this happen a few times. Feel for you, man. It sucks always having to consider protecting against the potential for vandalism and theft in our daily lives, having to adjust accordingly, locking stuff up, hiding it, or not openly enjoying it, just so as not to invite this sort of thing.

Upstatemax

msg wrote: »

Bah. It sure is a pretty a pretty rotten feeling, having stiff stolen like that. Maddening to consider someone felt it his right to not only take your stuff, but that it was okay to trash your vehicle and cost you more money, time and hassle in doing it. Had this happen a few times. Feel for you, man. It sucks always having to consider protecting against the potential for vandalism and theft in our daily lives, having to adjust accordingly, locking stuff up, hiding it, or not openly enjoying it, just so as not to invite this sort of thing.

This is exactly why I REFUSE to get a bike rack for my car...

I cringe when I see people will thousands of dollars worth of bikes hanging off their unattended cars with simple "anti-theft" systems on them.

My bike gets transported IN my car and I almost never leave it in the car unattended, I bring it in if I can.

mrloren

tonyb wrote: »

stones89 wrote: »

Tonyb shooting goes both ways.

Indeed they do, in most parts of the country, but not in California.

In the bay area only cops and bad guys have guns. Only the bad guys use them. Now San Diego it's a different story. To many military around here

Sorry to hear about your stuff getting ripped, sucks big time.

stones89

tonyb wrote: »

stones89 wrote: »

Tonyb shooting goes both ways.

Indeed they do, in most parts of the country, but not in California.

I don't think so, fear for your life will work everywhere

Gatecrasher

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I've read where in San Fran the vehicle break ins are soo numerous that the Police no longer respond to these calls. The charge has been lowered to a Misdemeanor, so it's a hay day for thieves.

Gotta love laws that are put into place to protect the scum.

That's not exactly the case. While San Francisco has the highest number of car break-ins in the nation, the change in the law your are referring to that lowered car break-ins to a misdemeanor is called "Proposition 47" and is state-wide. Even though the law was changed, police in San Francisco still charge criminals who break into cars with a felony. It hasn't deterred the criminals though.

Every big city has car break ins but for some reason San Fran has the most. Probably because it is one of the wealthiest cities in America and thieves get better stuff there.

Also the law wasn't just "put in place to protect the scum" as you mentioned. It went on the ballot and was passed into law overwhelmingly by the voters. It is primarily designed to reduce jail time for non-violent offenders. Criminals with felony records and those who commit violent crimes or use a gun while committing a crime are not eligible.

Here are the details:

The initiative reduces the classification of most "nonserious and nonviolent property and drug crimes" from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Proposition 47

The initiative:

• Classified “non-serious, nonviolent crimes" as misdemeanors instead of felonies unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.
• Permited re-sentencing for those currently serving a prison sentence for any of the offenses that the initiative reduces to misdemeanors. Under Proposition 47, 10,000 inmates were eligible for resentencing, according to Lenore Anderson of Californians for Safety and Justice.
• Required a “thorough review” of criminal history and risk assessment of any individuals before re-sentencing to ensure that they do not pose a risk to the public.
• Created a Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. The fund was set to receive appropriations based on savings accrued by the state during the fiscal year, as compared to the previous fiscal year, due to the initiative’s implementation. Estimates ranged from $150 million to $250 million per year.
• Distributed funds from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund as follows: 25 percent to the Department of Education, 10 percent to the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, and 65 percent to the Board of State and Community Correction.

Which crimes were affected?

The measure required misdemeanor sentencing instead of felony for the following crimes:

• Shoplifting, where the value of property stolen does not exceed $950
• Grand theft, where the value of the stolen property does not exceed $950
• Receiving stolen property, where the value of the property does not exceed $950
• Forgery, where the value of forged check, bond or bill does not exceed $950
• Fraud, where the value of the fraudulent check, draft or order does not exceed $950
• Writing a bad check, where the value of the check does not exceed $950
• Personal use of most illegal drugs

In January 2015, it was announced that as many as 1 million Californians could be eligible to change past felony convictions on their records under Proposition 47.

This law was put in place because the prisons in California were over-crowded with non-violent drug convicts and other lesser crimes. It was designed to make more room for violent criminals.

It went on the ballot and was overwhelmingly passed into law by the voters.

Since it sounds like the value of the stuff in Irrenhaus' car most-likely exceeded $950, plus they stole his passport, means if this criminal is caught they will be charged with a felony no matter what and will not be covered by Proposition 47.

Jimbo18

I used to work with someone who drove a Miata with a ragtop. Someone sliced it open in order to steal a roll of quarters he left on the console. After he got it replaced, he just left the top down or the doors open.

Gatecrasher

I travel all over the world for my job and inevitably end up having to leave some valuables in my car. I just got home on Thursday from a job in San Diego (and Tijuana Mexico) where I had to leave a laptop and some other valuables unattended in my rental car for a period of time.

If you think the San Francisco police are bad you'd really hate the Mexican police!

lol

Half the time they are in cahoots with the criminals.

The best advice I've ever been given is to always lock all valuables in the trunk if you plan to leave them unattended. If you don't you are a thousand times more likely to have them stolen. Criminals look for nice cars with visible stuff in them. When these smash & grab criminals break-in they are in a hurry and usually don't get into the trunk.

If you watch the news, just last week a Secret Service officer had his laptop and some other valuables stolen from a car break-in. It was in a backpack that was visible to the crooks.

While there is no guarantee that placing valuables in the trunk will keep them 100% safe, it greatly improves the odds of them still being there when you come back.

rooftop59

Nice advice about the trunk, except for suvs like the ops. No trunk...

Mike Reeter

Gatecrasher wrote: »

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I've read where in San Fran the vehicle break ins are soo numerous that the Police no longer respond to these calls. The charge has been lowered to a Misdemeanor, so it's a hay day for thieves.

Gotta love laws that are put into place to protect the scum.

That's not exactly the case. While San Francisco has the highest number of car break-ins in the nation, the change in the law your are referring to that lowered car break-ins to a misdemeanor is called "Proposition 47" and is state-wide. Even though the law was changed, police in San Francisco still charge criminals who break into cars with a felony. It hasn't deterred the criminals though.

Every big city has car break ins but for some reason San Fran has the most. Probably because it is one of the wealthiest cities in America and thieves get better stuff there.

Also the law wasn't just "put in place to protect the scum" as you mentioned. It went on the ballot and was passed into law overwhelmingly by the voters. It is primarily designed to reduce jail time for non-violent offenders. Criminals with felony records and those who commit violent crimes or use a gun while committing a crime are not eligible.

Here are the details:

The initiative reduces the classification of most "nonserious and nonviolent property and drug crimes" from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Proposition 47

The initiative:

• Classified “non-serious, nonviolent crimes" as misdemeanors instead of felonies unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.
• Permited re-sentencing for those currently serving a prison sentence for any of the offenses that the initiative reduces to misdemeanors. Under Proposition 47, 10,000 inmates were eligible for resentencing, according to Lenore Anderson of Californians for Safety and Justice.
• Required a “thorough review” of criminal history and risk assessment of any individuals before re-sentencing to ensure that they do not pose a risk to the public.
• Created a Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. The fund was set to receive appropriations based on savings accrued by the state during the fiscal year, as compared to the previous fiscal year, due to the initiative’s implementation. Estimates ranged from $150 million to $250 million per year.
• Distributed funds from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund as follows: 25 percent to the Department of Education, 10 percent to the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, and 65 percent to the Board of State and Community Correction.

Which crimes were affected?

The measure required misdemeanor sentencing instead of felony for the following crimes:

• Shoplifting, where the value of property stolen does not exceed $950
• Grand theft, where the value of the stolen property does not exceed $950
• Receiving stolen property, where the value of the property does not exceed $950
• Forgery, where the value of forged check, bond or bill does not exceed $950
• Fraud, where the value of the fraudulent check, draft or order does not exceed $950
• Writing a bad check, where the value of the check does not exceed $950
• Personal use of most illegal drugs

In January 2015, it was announced that as many as 1 million Californians could be eligible to change past felony convictions on their records under Proposition 47.

This law was put in place because the prisons in California were over-crowded with non-violent drug convicts and other lesser crimes. It was designed to make more room for violent criminals.

It went on the ballot and was overwhelmingly passed into law by the voters.

Since it sounds like the value of the stuff in Irrenhaus' car most-likely exceeded $950, plus they stole his passport, means if this criminal is caught they will be charged with a felony no matter what and will not be covered by Proposition 47.

So, the citizens of CA. have put into law a provision that gives the thieves a "Get out of Jail Free Card" if the don't steal, rob or pillage anything over $950. of value.

Sounds to me like a Haven for petty crime, although I don't consider $950. to be petty.

Gatecrasher

Mike Reeter wrote: »

So, the citizens of CA. have put into law a provision that gives the thieves a "Get out of Jail Free Card" if the don't steal, rob or pillage anything over $950. of value.

Sounds to me like a Haven for petty crime, although I don't consider $950. to be petty.

There really wasn't any choice. The taxpayers weren't willing to pay for more prisons and they didn't have any more capacity so they decided to prioritize the violent criminals over the non-violent ones. Raising taxes to pay for anything we really need nowdays seems to be out of the question for most folks. That's a big reason why we have the budget deficits we have today. The new proposed budget from Washington strips even more federal funding from the police. It's all falling on the states now.

When you think about it though, non-violent first-time offenders charged with petty theft (and under $950 is petty in todays economy) don't need to be charged with felonies and thrown in prison. Repeat offenders deserve to be punished more harshly though. The taxpayers were tired of paying thousands of dollars per year for each person in prison who got caught smoking a joint or stealing a pack of cigarettes from Walmart.

The guy who broke into Irrenhaus' car wouldn't fall into this category. If you steal a passport it is a felony and the penalties include a fine up to $250,000 and 10 years in prison for the 1st offense in addition to the other charges involved.

rooftop59 wrote: »

Nice advice about the trunk, except for suvs like the ops. No trunk...

That's true but if the stuff is small enough it can fit underneath the rear storage compartment. If not, then you are taking a chance. Crooks look for easy pickens. If they don't see anything they usually don't bother.

It's a shame that it has to be like this. Basically you want to take anything you can with you (like your passport). I'd rather lose my laptop than my passport - especially if I was in a foreign country.