5 ms·

I’ve heard stories of people being advised not to install cat protector shields on their car, as often the thief will smash the windows and slash the tyres as p

by bb123 5y ago

I’ve heard stories of people being advised not to install cat protector shields on their car, as often the thief will smash the windows and slash the tyres as payback for inconveniencing them. The leaps in mental logic that must take is astonishing.

caturopath 5y ago
Would be interesting to find some stats on how much excess vandalism there is of cars with cat shields. Sometimes these stories people tell aren't born out by the data. Slashing tires is hard and smashing windshields is loud.
- germinalphrase 5y ago
  Our car was broken into a couple years ago. We were sitting in the backyard while a criminal broke a side window and stole a laptop bag. Apparently, smashing is loud, but if you take a screwdriver and pry, the window will pop instead which draws less attention.
  - jes 5y ago
    As a former firefighter, we used to carry a tool used by machinists: A spring-loaded center-punch. Position it at a corner of a door window and press until the punch fires. The window just disintegrates into a thousand pieces.
    - 41b696ef1113 5y ago
      They sell these (with seat-belt cutters) for $5-10. Billed as a way to get out of a car that is sinking into a body of water (does this happen to more than a couple of people a year?). Alternatively, if you are in a cab/uber that locks the doors and traps you inside. Or if you just want to break into some cars.
  - asddubs 5y ago
    i've heard if you throw the ceramic from a spark plug, the window will break silently
    - dotancohen 5y ago
      The window does break, but not silently.
      - 8note 5y ago
        Does anyone actually care about the noise?
libertine 5y ago
Well, I guess it's time to up the game and add a new layer of social engineering: "people who install cat protector shields have flash-bangs installed inside in case of glass break, and tires filled with some toxic gas, for the inconvenience of the thieves being inconveniently upset". Slap this in some social media groups, have some loud guy say it on TikTok video and some fake video of it happening.
- echelon 5y ago
  It's illegal to booby trap your property in a way that could cause harm to a vandal. Even if you don't agree with this, there's the chance that such mechanisms could misfire and hurt someone innocent. A better solution would be to add more surveillance sensors. Unfortunately this drives up the cost for people looking to protect their property. I had my catalytic converter stolen as a college student, and it was a huge pain in the ass. Not to mention costly at the time to replace.
  - Digit-Al 5y ago
    OP is not suggesting actually booby trapping cars. Having the sentence in quotes is the giveaway. He is saying to spread the myth that this is happening so thieves aren't sure if it is real or not and might be put off stealing them.
- mc32 5y ago
  I know you’re saying put out misinformation but not really do the boobytrapping just make them think it’s a thing. People from ZA tell me people there actually boobytrap their vehicles[1] and some carry flame throwers when they go on the road. That was a few yeasts ago and not sure if it’s still a thing. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_(flamethrower) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_(flamethrower)
yuppie_scum 5y ago
They will see really fast that there is a shield or whatever and move onto another car that doesn’t.
Pxtl 5y ago
That smells like the same kind of urban myth as the "guys driving without headlights are gangsters who will shoot you for flashing your highbeams at them"
- pkrotich 5y ago
  This is a new one for me! I do it all the time as a courtesy - now I would have to think twice, thanks to you! lol
  - silisili 5y ago
    They even made a movie where the whole story unfolds based exactly on this scenario, which I'm sure doesn't help anything - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Sentence_(2007_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Sentence_(2007_film)
lb1lf 5y ago
-I used to visit inmates at a prison nearby (I've since moved too far away for it to be feasible to go on a regular basis) During my first visit, the guy I spent a couple of hours chatting with suggested I never, ever remove the visitor's parking pass from my car - as 'even speed freaks' (in his words) would be reluctant to break into the car of someone on the visitor's service. While one data point is hardly evidence, there was a number of smash-and-grabs from curb parked cars on my street - my car was indeed untouched. (Which, of course, might as well be because I never ever leave any visible valuables inside...)
- PeterHolzwarth 5y ago
  Your comment ("visitor's service") seemed to indicate something more formal/organized than a simple one-off visit, leading me to find the National Association of Prison Visitors website. https://www.naopv.com/ https://www.naopv.com/ Fascinating! I had not head of this before, and if that is in fact what you were involved in, good on ya.
  - lb1lf 5y ago
    -Yes, it was basically my country's equivalent of this - you're being vetted (basically no convictions; no associating), are being briefed on what not to discuss with whoever you end up visiting, then you get scheduled visits at regular intervals. Once the inmate is released, you're not supposed to stay in touch - though in the small town I lived in at the time, you were bound to bump into each other on the street every now and then; when we did, the rule was that the former inmate initiated contact if he'd like to have a coffee or just say hi - after all, it could quickly become awkward if I greeted someone and their company asked where we'd met, for instance. Most interesting, if nothing else I came to realise that just about anyone could end up doing something which landed them in prison. (Plus, inmates make for excellent conversation partners - after all, they have all the time in the world to ponder all sorts of things.)
- robocat 5y ago
  Have you had any problems with police seeing the sticker, and assuming your support of convicts is bad? The opposite is the black rat sticker: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/bikes/the-history-of-the-black-rats-londons-traffic-police https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/feature...
Someone1234 5y ago
It seems like nonsense someone made up. People committing catalytic converter theft want to be in and out fast and quiet. They want to hit X vehicles a night. Including multiple in the same street. They often run across vehicles that aren't theft compatible (e.g. parked on a hill, already missing cat/not installed, etc), if they took the time to commit loud and pointless damage that is time they're not using stealing more catalytic converters elsewhere (and increase the chance of being spotted). Likely someone just had criminal damage committed against them and because they had a cat-shield device installed arbitrarily decided A+B=C. Here are security camera videos showing how quick and almost professional cat theft is: - 90 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93r5PSP2rI4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93r5PSP2rI4 - 1 minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnaUL7d1YBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnaUL7d1YBQ - 1 minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHL-rSV8_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHL-rSV8_M
- tomc1985 5y ago
  There was a video a while back on reddit of an old man who got knocked out trying to stop a bunch of street racers doing donuts in an intersection. The camera then shows the guy unconscious on the ground, and some kid in a hat comes up and quickly steals his wallet. When he finds that the mans pockets were empty he kicks and punches the guy then runs off.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Sure, there are some smart crews out there, but by and large, most criminals are dumb. Never underestimate the rationale of a criminal who may or may not be sober during the "heist".
- jccooper 5y ago
  Even if it is true, windows and tires are cheaper and easier replacements than a cat.

by bb123 5y ago

caturopath 5y ago

Would be interesting to find some stats on how much excess vandalism there is of cars with cat shields. Sometimes these stories people tell aren't born out by the data. Slashing tires is hard and smashing windshields is loud.

germinalphrase 5y ago
Our car was broken into a couple years ago. We were sitting in the backyard while a criminal broke a side window and stole a laptop bag. Apparently, smashing is loud, but if you take a screwdriver and pry, the window will pop instead which draws less attention.
- jes 5y ago
  As a former firefighter, we used to carry a tool used by machinists: A spring-loaded center-punch. Position it at a corner of a door window and press until the punch fires. The window just disintegrates into a thousand pieces.
  - 41b696ef1113 5y ago
    They sell these (with seat-belt cutters) for $5-10. Billed as a way to get out of a car that is sinking into a body of water (does this happen to more than a couple of people a year?). Alternatively, if you are in a cab/uber that locks the doors and traps you inside. Or if you just want to break into some cars.
- asddubs 5y ago
  i've heard if you throw the ceramic from a spark plug, the window will break silently
  - dotancohen 5y ago
    The window does break, but not silently.
    - 8note 5y ago
      Does anyone actually care about the noise?

libertine 5y ago

Well, I guess it's time to up the game and add a new layer of social engineering: "people who install cat protector shields have flash-bangs installed inside in case of glass break, and tires filled with some toxic gas, for the inconvenience of the thieves being inconveniently upset". Slap this in some social media groups, have some loud guy say it on TikTok video and some fake video of it happening.

echelon 5y ago
It's illegal to booby trap your property in a way that could cause harm to a vandal. Even if you don't agree with this, there's the chance that such mechanisms could misfire and hurt someone innocent. A better solution would be to add more surveillance sensors. Unfortunately this drives up the cost for people looking to protect their property. I had my catalytic converter stolen as a college student, and it was a huge pain in the ass. Not to mention costly at the time to replace.
- Digit-Al 5y ago
  OP is not suggesting actually booby trapping cars. Having the sentence in quotes is the giveaway. He is saying to spread the myth that this is happening so thieves aren't sure if it is real or not and might be put off stealing them.
mc32 5y ago
I know you’re saying put out misinformation but not really do the boobytrapping just make them think it’s a thing. People from ZA tell me people there actually boobytrap their vehicles[1] and some carry flame throwers when they go on the road. That was a few yeasts ago and not sure if it’s still a thing. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_(flamethrower) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_(flamethrower)

yuppie_scum 5y ago

They will see really fast that there is a shield or whatever and move onto another car that doesn’t.

Pxtl 5y ago

That smells like the same kind of urban myth as the "guys driving without headlights are gangsters who will shoot you for flashing your highbeams at them"

pkrotich 5y ago
This is a new one for me! I do it all the time as a courtesy - now I would have to think twice, thanks to you! lol
- silisili 5y ago
  They even made a movie where the whole story unfolds based exactly on this scenario, which I'm sure doesn't help anything - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Sentence_(2007_film) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Sentence_(2007_film)

lb1lf 5y ago

-I used to visit inmates at a prison nearby (I've since moved too far away for it to be feasible to go on a regular basis) During my first visit, the guy I spent a couple of hours chatting with suggested I never, ever remove the visitor's parking pass from my car - as 'even speed freaks' (in his words) would be reluctant to break into the car of someone on the visitor's service. While one data point is hardly evidence, there was a number of smash-and-grabs from curb parked cars on my street - my car was indeed untouched. (Which, of course, might as well be because I never ever leave any visible valuables inside...)

PeterHolzwarth 5y ago
Your comment ("visitor's service") seemed to indicate something more formal/organized than a simple one-off visit, leading me to find the National Association of Prison Visitors website. https://www.naopv.com/ https://www.naopv.com/ Fascinating! I had not head of this before, and if that is in fact what you were involved in, good on ya.
- lb1lf 5y ago
  -Yes, it was basically my country's equivalent of this - you're being vetted (basically no convictions; no associating), are being briefed on what not to discuss with whoever you end up visiting, then you get scheduled visits at regular intervals. Once the inmate is released, you're not supposed to stay in touch - though in the small town I lived in at the time, you were bound to bump into each other on the street every now and then; when we did, the rule was that the former inmate initiated contact if he'd like to have a coffee or just say hi - after all, it could quickly become awkward if I greeted someone and their company asked where we'd met, for instance. Most interesting, if nothing else I came to realise that just about anyone could end up doing something which landed them in prison. (Plus, inmates make for excellent conversation partners - after all, they have all the time in the world to ponder all sorts of things.)
robocat 5y ago
Have you had any problems with police seeing the sticker, and assuming your support of convicts is bad? The opposite is the black rat sticker: https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/features/bikes/the-history-of-the-black-rats-londons-traffic-police https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/feature...

Someone1234 5y ago

It seems like nonsense someone made up. People committing catalytic converter theft want to be in and out fast and quiet. They want to hit X vehicles a night. Including multiple in the same street. They often run across vehicles that aren't theft compatible (e.g. parked on a hill, already missing cat/not installed, etc), if they took the time to commit loud and pointless damage that is time they're not using stealing more catalytic converters elsewhere (and increase the chance of being spotted). Likely someone just had criminal damage committed against them and because they had a cat-shield device installed arbitrarily decided A+B=C. Here are security camera videos showing how quick and almost professional cat theft is: - 90 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93r5PSP2rI4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93r5PSP2rI4 - 1 minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnaUL7d1YBQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnaUL7d1YBQ - 1 minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHL-rSV8_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwHL-rSV8_M

tomc1985 5y ago
There was a video a while back on reddit of an old man who got knocked out trying to stop a bunch of street racers doing donuts in an intersection. The camera then shows the guy unconscious on the ground, and some kid in a hat comes up and quickly steals his wallet. When he finds that the mans pockets were empty he kicks and punches the guy then runs off.
dylan604 5y ago
Sure, there are some smart crews out there, but by and large, most criminals are dumb. Never underestimate the rationale of a criminal who may or may not be sober during the "heist".
jccooper 5y ago
Even if it is true, windows and tires are cheaper and easier replacements than a cat.