5 ms·

My friend just had thier cat ripped out of thier Prius in Oakland. It took the thief team all of 7 minutes to accomplish it according to our camera records.

bluedino 7y ago
California has seen an insane uptick in converter thefts from Priuses. Doesn't help that prop 47 in California makes thefts under $1,000 a misdemeanor, so if you get caught stealing them you just get a slap on the wrist. Can't they charge them with some federal crime since they are altering an emissions system? Something needs to be done about scrap metal buyers and the people who sell to them to weed out the thieves. They will steal anything made from certain metals and the recyclers will happily buy anything including a pickup truck full of brand new air conditioning units.
- crispyporkbites 7y ago
  I don’t think this is a good idea. Criminals aren’t deterred by the punishment terms, and upgrading minor thefts to serious crime levels is contributing to the mass incarceration problem across the US. Building a society without incentives to steal and focusing on reform and rehabilitation is what we should be aiming for .
  - taxicabjesus 7y ago
    > Criminals aren’t deterred by the punishment terms, and upgrading minor thefts to serious crime levels is contributing to the mass incarceration problem across the US. I think the problem with mass incarceration is more one of mental illness and punishing the associated problems [0] than punishing intelligent-but-lazy people who’d rather wreck people’s rides by stealing catalytic converters than apply themselves productively. [0] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/numbers-mental-illness-behind-bars https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/numbers-mental-illness-b... Going after rings of catalytic converters thieves is appropriate, if you look for the smart people at the top (head gangster providing direction, etc). I agree with your last paragraph. Several of my passengers were not well served by their punitive punishments - they had more problems (PTSD, etc) after prison than before.
- inferiorhuman 7y ago
  Doesn't help that prop 47 in California makes thefts under $1,000 a misdemeanor, so if you get caught stealing them you just get a slap on the wrist. Oh please. This old chestnut? If the police won't enforce misdemeanors that's on them, not Prop 47. Misdemeanors can see sentences of up to just under a year which should provide you plenty of time to punish a thief. Do we really need life sentences for stealing catalytic converters? Meanwhile NAPA lists one cat for a 2013 Prius at about $1000 and the other one at about $500. And those are the cheapie ones that aren't legal to install in California/NY. A pair of legit cats that're CARB certified (likely only available through Toyota proper) is going to be even further into felony territory. To be clear, you may be able to get a legit set installed for less than $1,000 (and you could have your friend's uncle install a used one on the sly for cheap I'm sure), but I wouldn't consider that typical and I doubt the court would bat an eye at charging your typical catcon theft as a felony. IOW Prop. 47 is not behind the uptick in crime.
  - fortran77 7y ago
    This is not an "old chestnut" it's true. Ever since prop 47, certain crimes like shoplifting and porch piracy have increased by 10x (an order of magnitude). You will not spend any time in jail for these crimes
    - elliekelly 7y ago
      Could it be that prop 47 passed right around the time IoT became mainstream & DIY surveillance systems became affordable? Perhaps those crimes are just reported more frequently now because people are likely to have solid evidence to provide police. I never would have reported a stolen package to police before I had a camera system.
      - DrScump 7y ago
        & DIY surveillance systems became affordable? You're claiming that the presence of cheap surveillance systems increase the occurrence of theft? City governments in SV don't seek to have property crime prosecuted here because they view it as economic stimulus.
- jhayward 7y ago
  Since it is usually way, way more than $1,000 to replace a catalytic converter I think your point is completely off-topic.

bluedino 7y ago

California has seen an insane uptick in converter thefts from Priuses. Doesn't help that prop 47 in California makes thefts under $1,000 a misdemeanor, so if you get caught stealing them you just get a slap on the wrist. Can't they charge them with some federal crime since they are altering an emissions system? Something needs to be done about scrap metal buyers and the people who sell to them to weed out the thieves. They will steal anything made from certain metals and the recyclers will happily buy anything including a pickup truck full of brand new air conditioning units.

crispyporkbites 7y ago
I don’t think this is a good idea. Criminals aren’t deterred by the punishment terms, and upgrading minor thefts to serious crime levels is contributing to the mass incarceration problem across the US. Building a society without incentives to steal and focusing on reform and rehabilitation is what we should be aiming for .
- taxicabjesus 7y ago
  > Criminals aren’t deterred by the punishment terms, and upgrading minor thefts to serious crime levels is contributing to the mass incarceration problem across the US. I think the problem with mass incarceration is more one of mental illness and punishing the associated problems [0] than punishing intelligent-but-lazy people who’d rather wreck people’s rides by stealing catalytic converters than apply themselves productively. [0] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/numbers-mental-illness-behind-bars https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/numbers-mental-illness-b... Going after rings of catalytic converters thieves is appropriate, if you look for the smart people at the top (head gangster providing direction, etc). I agree with your last paragraph. Several of my passengers were not well served by their punitive punishments - they had more problems (PTSD, etc) after prison than before.
inferiorhuman 7y ago
Doesn't help that prop 47 in California makes thefts under $1,000 a misdemeanor, so if you get caught stealing them you just get a slap on the wrist. Oh please. This old chestnut? If the police won't enforce misdemeanors that's on them, not Prop 47. Misdemeanors can see sentences of up to just under a year which should provide you plenty of time to punish a thief. Do we really need life sentences for stealing catalytic converters? Meanwhile NAPA lists one cat for a 2013 Prius at about $1000 and the other one at about $500. And those are the cheapie ones that aren't legal to install in California/NY. A pair of legit cats that're CARB certified (likely only available through Toyota proper) is going to be even further into felony territory. To be clear, you may be able to get a legit set installed for less than $1,000 (and you could have your friend's uncle install a used one on the sly for cheap I'm sure), but I wouldn't consider that typical and I doubt the court would bat an eye at charging your typical catcon theft as a felony. IOW Prop. 47 is not behind the uptick in crime.
- fortran77 7y ago
  This is not an "old chestnut" it's true. Ever since prop 47, certain crimes like shoplifting and porch piracy have increased by 10x (an order of magnitude). You will not spend any time in jail for these crimes
  - elliekelly 7y ago
    Could it be that prop 47 passed right around the time IoT became mainstream & DIY surveillance systems became affordable? Perhaps those crimes are just reported more frequently now because people are likely to have solid evidence to provide police. I never would have reported a stolen package to police before I had a camera system.
    - DrScump 7y ago
      & DIY surveillance systems became affordable? You're claiming that the presence of cheap surveillance systems increase the occurrence of theft? City governments in SV don't seek to have property crime prosecuted here because they view it as economic stimulus.
jhayward 7y ago
Since it is usually way, way more than $1,000 to replace a catalytic converter I think your point is completely off-topic.