Last night at LDNA, the LDP Captain briefed us up on downtown crime, as well as downtown nuisance enforcement (38x public urination arrests in 2012, vs. 3 such arrests in 2010!) One interesting he point he made was about a heroin addict who committed many dozens of vehicle breaks between Gallagher and downtown proper.
He took only the change from vehicles, but it was enough.
Many people who left vehicles unlocked were reporting vehicle breaks and "rummaging" but with apparently nothing taken. Valuables like iPads, iPods, iPhones, etc. were left untouched, but it was clear to them that someone had rifled through their vehicle interior. The lack of anything apparently missing just fed the mystery (and no, there was no strange ending involving a roll of developed pictures and a toothbrush in an atypical spot).
As it turns out, the guy doing it WAS taking something -- all those pesky quarters, dimes, and nickels in the center console. And guess what? It was enough to stay relatively under the radar, and it was easy to convert real hard currency into heroin (no surprise there, right?) The problem with things like consumer electronics is that they're hard to *turn over* and the process itself comes with lots of risks (not only are those items sometimes tracked electronically, but thieves get busted at pawn shops all the time).
As anyone who has ever redeemed a jar full of coins knows, all that stuff often adds up to greater amounts than it might seem at first. For this guy, it was enough to afford 3-4 bags of street-grade heroin each day.
With this single individual now *off the market* for downtown vehicle breaks, expect a big drop in such incidences, at least in the very short-term.
He took only the change from vehicles, but it was enough.
Many people who left vehicles unlocked were reporting vehicle breaks and "rummaging" but with apparently nothing taken. Valuables like iPads, iPods, iPhones, etc. were left untouched, but it was clear to them that someone had rifled through their vehicle interior. The lack of anything apparently missing just fed the mystery (and no, there was no strange ending involving a roll of developed pictures and a toothbrush in an atypical spot).
As it turns out, the guy doing it WAS taking something -- all those pesky quarters, dimes, and nickels in the center console. And guess what? It was enough to stay relatively under the radar, and it was easy to convert real hard currency into heroin (no surprise there, right?) The problem with things like consumer electronics is that they're hard to *turn over* and the process itself comes with lots of risks (not only are those items sometimes tracked electronically, but thieves get busted at pawn shops all the time).
As anyone who has ever redeemed a jar full of coins knows, all that stuff often adds up to greater amounts than it might seem at first. For this guy, it was enough to afford 3-4 bags of street-grade heroin each day.
With this single individual now *off the market* for downtown vehicle breaks, expect a big drop in such incidences, at least in the very short-term.
No comments:
Post a Comment