4 ms·

"I remain worried that such games may one day get someone hurt. Not every thief will laugh it off." I thought about that given all the violent crime in and aro

"I remain worried that such games may one day get someone hurt. Not every thief will laugh it off." I thought about that given all the violent crime in and around Memphis TN. The thugs out here are very unforgiving about stuff like this. Anyone trying to pull shit on them or any other area at that level should expect revenge that's worse than what they did in the first place. I strongly advise against doing this in any area that's high in violent crime, esp gangs or police forces with gang members. That said, the evidence I've seen shows most violent crime happens in and around specific areas. Outside them, an action might not net a major, negative reaction. So, if productizing this, a modification that might help is making sure the thing doesn't fully go off if in a high crime or nearby area based on whatever data is available. It just records data for the police in those areas. In other cases, let it do its thing. Then, you have to worry about booby trap laws and damage to innocent folks (esp kids or anyone allergic to material). Assess the local, law scene to determine if it's still a go before doing that. I'm sure many jurisdictions would get a kick out of this entertaining themselves and the courtroom. Just gotta be careful about being in the right one.

sandworm101 8y ago
Which is why you should contain things to your own property. Set off an alarm as soon as the package moves. Sending a secret device/camera out to, potentially, the crooks home invites danger. At a very base legal level, such actions may require a PI license.
- nickpsecurity 8y ago
  That defeats the point of OP. Anyone just protecting the package should make sure it gets sent somewhere other than the porch. Setting off an alarm means they either run unidentified, grab it anyway tearing it open on way out, or get you back for what you did. All depends on what kind of people were picking it up. The guys in my neighborhood I mentioned here... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18741738 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18741738 ...were doing what they did in the light walking slowly and calmly between houses even though they knew they were being watched. Your logic assumes the attackers will be afraid of you, the police, or jail. Many down here aren't. They're also vindictive. They're also random where you don't know if you're getting the cowards or hardcore people before the stuff goes down. So, you have to do strong prevention followed up by being an armed, watchful person with good lighting. And leave nothing of value in your car. They even sometimes steal the alarms. That's because some of our thugs are highly-educated folks that like to show off their brains to their homies during their activities as "self-employed entrepreneurs" as they described it to me. ;)
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Because once you start sending secret cameras and gps trackers across jurisdictions for the purpose of catching criminals you really do need a pi license. If your homespun amature detective agency makes a mistake, or gets someone hurt, you better be ready for a multi-year legal headache. Maybe you win out in the end, but it wont be a fun ride. Every department store security guard knows to never continue the operation beyond the store. Their insurance companies know the potential troubles and wont cover such things.
    - nickpsecurity 8y ago
      Good points. It's true there's risk there. I'd have to look up the requirements out here to see what risk. We have less strict rules in the Mid-South on recordings and use of force than in a lot of paces. Might be permissible, might not.
loki49152 8y ago
Memphis was the murder capital of the United States for a few years, but it was almost entirely gang-on-gang killings. That said, the Mall of Memphis (Mall of Murder) had to shut down because they found too many bodies in the grass between the building and the 'creek' that runs by it. There's a joke people from Memphis understand. If you go to St. Louis, you might get shot by a gang member for your shoes. If you go to Memphis, you might get shot by the cops for your shoes.
- nickpsecurity 8y ago
  "Memphis was the murder capital of the United States for a few years, but it was almost entirely gang-on-gang killings. " It goes up and down. The majority are gang-on-gang. We've also seen lots of muggings, rape, and murder of non-gang members. Sometimes part of initiations, but mostly for fun. They've expanded into the areas once thought safe. 10-20 on one attacks or entire lots/streets of cars robbed/vandalized happen periodically. At one point, some thugs were shooting people at red lights before robbing their cars. This week, some were trying to open doors in my neighboorhood at night with the families in them. Can't imagine they had something nice like a quick robbery in mind. No surprise police kicked out The First 48, too, to protect tourism revenue. ;) "That said, the Mall of Memphis (Mall of Murder) had to shut down" Mall of Murder! Been a few months since someone mentioned that. You had to have lived in Memphis or talked to some Memphians. Well, I don't know how far media spreads about such things. Anyway, my family mostly avoided it. I did go there as part of a school's "field trip" for their kids. Just getting them out of school a while to have some supervised fun. Toward the end, they decided to skip the food court since a different gang was on every side of it. You could barely see the food places. Woman at exit dressed like a dominatrix out of Sin City or something with a whip on her side. Sexy, but dangerous. I briefly admired the whip being an Indiana Jones fan. Got a smile slash watch-your-ass look out of her on way out. Only positive thing I remember in the Mall of Murder. "If you go to Memphis, you might get shot by the cops for your shoes. " Specially if they're the wrong color. Or shirt, jacket, pants, or bandana. ;) I don't know if you heard but they're waiving felonies for people willing to join the Memphis police. All those BLM protestors and such griping about how they act are too scurred to put on a uniform even with large salary policing those same neighborhoods. So hard to recruit cops that they're bringing in felons. I think they said "non-violent" but so many are gang members. Maybe the next, non-violent felony will be forging data on the felony part of police applications. All that said, most folks there are OK. Same with cops. Our thugs are just more aggressive, willing to drive further from home, and so on. That combines with a media that only covers the negative stuff. We have parties, tons of businesses, church outreach/activities, artists, engineers, you name it. Barely covered on the news between the arsons and murders. I hate the media... Another interesting part is that the history, esp racism around neighborhood lines, means you can go from the hood to middle-class just crossing a single street. It's so weird. I've had a hard time finding examples of that to show outsiders. I'll probably have to make one some time. I did find a video of someone driving around North Memphis below for anyone wondering what it looks like. Plus another showing all our hoods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNPM3N5aac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNPM3N5aac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHi0sDw-wTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHi0sDw-wTw Two things to notice. First, many folks complain people don't pay attention to just stare at their phones. In first vid, notice everyone pays attention even some staring down people that come in. That's biggest indicator you need to watch your ass. The second illustrates how different they look with some having nice properties. Nicer than most I lived in! It's the thug culture and mental attitudes that drive it, though. Hence, always the same shit regardless of how much better the area is, who's the majority, and so on.

sandworm101 8y ago

Which is why you should contain things to your own property. Set off an alarm as soon as the package moves. Sending a secret device/camera out to, potentially, the crooks home invites danger. At a very base legal level, such actions may require a PI license.

nickpsecurity 8y ago
That defeats the point of OP. Anyone just protecting the package should make sure it gets sent somewhere other than the porch. Setting off an alarm means they either run unidentified, grab it anyway tearing it open on way out, or get you back for what you did. All depends on what kind of people were picking it up. The guys in my neighborhood I mentioned here... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18741738 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18741738 ...were doing what they did in the light walking slowly and calmly between houses even though they knew they were being watched. Your logic assumes the attackers will be afraid of you, the police, or jail. Many down here aren't. They're also vindictive. They're also random where you don't know if you're getting the cowards or hardcore people before the stuff goes down. So, you have to do strong prevention followed up by being an armed, watchful person with good lighting. And leave nothing of value in your car. They even sometimes steal the alarms. That's because some of our thugs are highly-educated folks that like to show off their brains to their homies during their activities as "self-employed entrepreneurs" as they described it to me. ;)
- sandworm101 8y ago
  Because once you start sending secret cameras and gps trackers across jurisdictions for the purpose of catching criminals you really do need a pi license. If your homespun amature detective agency makes a mistake, or gets someone hurt, you better be ready for a multi-year legal headache. Maybe you win out in the end, but it wont be a fun ride. Every department store security guard knows to never continue the operation beyond the store. Their insurance companies know the potential troubles and wont cover such things.
  - nickpsecurity 8y ago
    Good points. It's true there's risk there. I'd have to look up the requirements out here to see what risk. We have less strict rules in the Mid-South on recordings and use of force than in a lot of paces. Might be permissible, might not.

loki49152 8y ago

Memphis was the murder capital of the United States for a few years, but it was almost entirely gang-on-gang killings. That said, the Mall of Memphis (Mall of Murder) had to shut down because they found too many bodies in the grass between the building and the 'creek' that runs by it. There's a joke people from Memphis understand. If you go to St. Louis, you might get shot by a gang member for your shoes. If you go to Memphis, you might get shot by the cops for your shoes.

nickpsecurity 8y ago
"Memphis was the murder capital of the United States for a few years, but it was almost entirely gang-on-gang killings. " It goes up and down. The majority are gang-on-gang. We've also seen lots of muggings, rape, and murder of non-gang members. Sometimes part of initiations, but mostly for fun. They've expanded into the areas once thought safe. 10-20 on one attacks or entire lots/streets of cars robbed/vandalized happen periodically. At one point, some thugs were shooting people at red lights before robbing their cars. This week, some were trying to open doors in my neighboorhood at night with the families in them. Can't imagine they had something nice like a quick robbery in mind. No surprise police kicked out The First 48, too, to protect tourism revenue. ;) "That said, the Mall of Memphis (Mall of Murder) had to shut down" Mall of Murder! Been a few months since someone mentioned that. You had to have lived in Memphis or talked to some Memphians. Well, I don't know how far media spreads about such things. Anyway, my family mostly avoided it. I did go there as part of a school's "field trip" for their kids. Just getting them out of school a while to have some supervised fun. Toward the end, they decided to skip the food court since a different gang was on every side of it. You could barely see the food places. Woman at exit dressed like a dominatrix out of Sin City or something with a whip on her side. Sexy, but dangerous. I briefly admired the whip being an Indiana Jones fan. Got a smile slash watch-your-ass look out of her on way out. Only positive thing I remember in the Mall of Murder. "If you go to Memphis, you might get shot by the cops for your shoes. " Specially if they're the wrong color. Or shirt, jacket, pants, or bandana. ;) I don't know if you heard but they're waiving felonies for people willing to join the Memphis police. All those BLM protestors and such griping about how they act are too scurred to put on a uniform even with large salary policing those same neighborhoods. So hard to recruit cops that they're bringing in felons. I think they said "non-violent" but so many are gang members. Maybe the next, non-violent felony will be forging data on the felony part of police applications. All that said, most folks there are OK. Same with cops. Our thugs are just more aggressive, willing to drive further from home, and so on. That combines with a media that only covers the negative stuff. We have parties, tons of businesses, church outreach/activities, artists, engineers, you name it. Barely covered on the news between the arsons and murders. I hate the media... Another interesting part is that the history, esp racism around neighborhood lines, means you can go from the hood to middle-class just crossing a single street. It's so weird. I've had a hard time finding examples of that to show outsiders. I'll probably have to make one some time. I did find a video of someone driving around North Memphis below for anyone wondering what it looks like. Plus another showing all our hoods. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNPM3N5aac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNPM3N5aac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHi0sDw-wTw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHi0sDw-wTw Two things to notice. First, many folks complain people don't pay attention to just stare at their phones. In first vid, notice everyone pays attention even some staring down people that come in. That's biggest indicator you need to watch your ass. The second illustrates how different they look with some having nice properties. Nicer than most I lived in! It's the thug culture and mental attitudes that drive it, though. Hence, always the same shit regardless of how much better the area is, who's the majority, and so on.