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Cambridge residents shouldn't leave their laptops where they can be seen through a house or car window
By adamg on Wed, 08/30/2017 - 10:13am
Cambridge Police report seven break ins in Cambridgeport and Mid-Cambridge by a burglar looking for laptops over the past couple of weeks.
Police say the burglar typically uses a rock or brick to smash open a window after spotting one of the computers - but that in two cases, he took advantage of unlocked doors, so lock your doors. He strikes mainly between midnight and 6 a.m., police say.
In one case, a victim got a look at a possible suspect: a tall, light-skinned black male with dreadlocks who fled on a bicycle.
Police say houses on Fairmont Street, Rockingham and Lee streets have been targeted, along with a home on the 400 block of Putnam Avenue and the 100 block of Chestnut Street. Cars on Gilmore Street and the 300 block of Harvard Street were also broken into.
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Comments
Don't leave ANYTHING in your
Don't leave ANYTHING in your back seat that may look appealing for crooks! Many years ago, I left a nice leather purse inside of a Filene's bag (I told you it was a long time ago!) on the back seat when parking at a commuter rail stop. I figured that my car was old, and I was parked between a nice Volvo and a Cadillac; the thieves wouldn't care about my car.
When I got back to the car at the end of the day, the back window was broken, and the Filene's bag with the purse was gone.
Lesson learned. Don't tempt them!
Ouch!
Sorry that happened to you. I guess the Filene's bag must've been attractive to the thieves.
A similar thing happened to one of the residents of my apartment complex afew years ago, in our garage, which is downstairs, in the basement. One resident of the building, who'd been out walking his dog one evening, was tailed by somebody who clearly didn't belong in the building. Not only did the person who tailed the resident of the building break into the gallery and steal $1500.00 that had been earmarked for a program to help local children with AIDS, but the thief also went down into the garage, saw an attractive-looking bag from some fancy store, broke into the car, and stole the bag. Inside the bag, however, was some school stuff that belonged to the woman. Moreover, he broke into another car and stole the person's garage card that he used for re-entering the garage whenever he got back from somewhere.
As a result, the manager of the complex had to go through the big, expensive ordeal of not only replacing everybody's garage cards, but the mechanism that is used to insert the cards into a slot to open up the garage in order to re-enter it when coming back from somewhere, and then quickly remove the card, had to be replaced as well. The manager of the building then advised everybody not to leave their garage cards in their cars, through a notice that said: "Would you leave your housekeys in your car? Don't leave your garage cards in your car, as somebody had their garage card stolen."
Target hardening
Agreed. Crime Prevention officers recommend "Target Hardening," hiding all valuables and temptations and locking the doors, whether at home or in a car. At Christmas or any other period of heavy shopping, it's even wise to use a blanket to cover purchases. Out of sight, out of mind, even for thieves. It still amazes me how many people leave doors unlocked thinking it's Mayberry, then are shocked by missing property.
It seems, however, that using a blanket to cover purchases
would be a dead giveaway; that it would be even more obvious that something was inside the car worth stealing.
I have an old computer
i.e. doorstop, but it's an Apple, and it looks new enough for a smash-and-grab thief.
I think I should smear it in crazy glue and leave it in the back seat of my car with the window down and see who I catch :)
Probably some clueless new
Probably some clueless new millennial college students who lack any foresight...
Yeah!
Yeah! And aren't you glad that you got your daily required dose of schadenfreude, without which your head would explode? I bet all the little nieces and nephews can't wait to see you at the holidays!
Now go on, I'm sure you've got some kids to chase off your lawn, ya cranky old bastid.
Right... and now that
Right... and now that you attempted to mock someone with pathetic humor you yourself can go on your way!
Sadly, depending on what source you use, my birth year could qualify as a millennial or Gen X. Regardless, its common sense not to leave anything in plain sight that is of value EVEN in a locked car...
You were born...
Doesn't matter. You were born a cranky old bastid.
This is true, and now that you've had your nasty pleasure calling out the victim of this crime for being a stupid victim, I'm sure you feel much better.
(seriously, do you think you're enlightening anyone here?)
So much victim blaming
Maybe people shouldn't steal laptops?
Maybe people shouldn't give
theives easy opportunity to steal laptops.
Thieves will steal anything
Thieves will steal anything that they can make a quick buck from. Unfortunately, many are addicts or homeless.
I was in a parking lot in Allston a few years back on a Saturday afternoon. A grungy-looking couple asked me if I wanted to buy a GPS. I figured it was hot, and said no. They kept on pushing ('are you sure'); I didn't think this would end well and high-tailed out of there.
You used good, common sense, hollyhollydo.
Your instincts were more than likely right, and you did the smart thing by quickly getting the hell out of there.
Ever heard the suggestion: "Go by your instincts, because more often than not, they're right." That applies here, perfectly.
You leave your doors unlocked at night, I take it?
Most of this seems like common sense precautions. Not victim-blaming.
I ought to be able to do so.
I certainly ought to be able to do so. And if I did, and someone came in and attacked me or stole my stuff, the blame would still be 100% on the criminal and 0% on me.
The days when people could leave their doors unlocked at night
are long gone...forever, unfortunately. As a woman who lives alone, I lock my door whether I'm home or not, especially at night.
Sure, sure
and maybe people shouldn't commit murder, sexual assault, fraud; yeah, that's it! That's the ticket!
Theft
I keep everything valuable in the trunk and NEVER leave even coins in the car's console. These drug users will break in even to grab a quarter.
even in the trunk during the holidays
My mum even had items stolen out of sight from the trunk of her car. The bags were already in the trunk when she parked her car on the street so no one saw her place them in there. It was during the holiday season in a retail area. Someone may've been going around jimmying trunks open.
Did anyone hear the breaking
Did anyone hear the breaking glass and call the police?
Bait cars, c'mon Cambridge PD
They should be putting out bait cars and monitoring them with HD cameras to find this jerk if they aren't already.