Who's they? The thieves -- or would-be thieves, that is.
Yep, my car was the latest to be broken into in the area of Market and Queen streets, a window smashed to pieces.
The cars of at least four other people I know have been broken into in the area in the past six or nine months.
Of course, it's no secret that break-ins like this are a common occurrence in the city. A simple search of the York City Police log shows that. (Try a search for "criminal mischief" -- and that's just the incidents in which nothing was taken.)
Luckily, I keep nothing of value in my car, unless you count some
MP3-burned CDs that were in there. There were two actual CDs, but those
weren't taken either. I guess the thieves weren't fans of The Tossers
or Flogging Molly, both bands of the Irish-punk flavor.
The faceplate for my stereo was safely in my apartment. Maybe they thought I removed it only to put it in the glove box. There was barely even any change in the center console.
I still, of course, had to pay for the window repair. Luckily, I recently changed my comprehensive deductible to $100. Not that a Benjamin is small peanuts for me; I work hard for the bit of money I have.
To rub salt in the wounds, this occurred Saturday morning and I found it when I was heading off to work -- just before the short but torrential downpour that turned the downtown streets into small rivers. Water didn't do too much damage, but there's still a lot of dirt to clean up inside.
So what's the solution here? Better patrols? Better lighting? This area is pretty well lit and heavily traveled, even late. Almost enough so that it's fairly brazen to throw a brick through a window any time of night. A complete change in policing philosophy?
I'll be honest, I know nothing of policing. I have no criminal justice background. That's why I work at the place that reports on crime, not the place that fights it.
What I do know is that I work nights, and often stay up well into the early morning hours, so I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open (even more so than before) in hopes of catching someone in the act.
And calling it in. As mad as it makes me, I won't be a vigilante.
The faceplate for my stereo was safely in my apartment. Maybe they thought I removed it only to put it in the glove box. There was barely even any change in the center console.
I still, of course, had to pay for the window repair. Luckily, I recently changed my comprehensive deductible to $100. Not that a Benjamin is small peanuts for me; I work hard for the bit of money I have.
To rub salt in the wounds, this occurred Saturday morning and I found it when I was heading off to work -- just before the short but torrential downpour that turned the downtown streets into small rivers. Water didn't do too much damage, but there's still a lot of dirt to clean up inside.
So what's the solution here? Better patrols? Better lighting? This area is pretty well lit and heavily traveled, even late. Almost enough so that it's fairly brazen to throw a brick through a window any time of night. A complete change in policing philosophy?
I'll be honest, I know nothing of policing. I have no criminal justice background. That's why I work at the place that reports on crime, not the place that fights it.
What I do know is that I work nights, and often stay up well into the early morning hours, so I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open (even more so than before) in hopes of catching someone in the act.
And calling it in. As mad as it makes me, I won't be a vigilante.
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