Broken Window Twice Within Two Weeks

[mvotb]

This could become a big problem for Tesla. $1100 for a small piece of glass to be replaced, body work sky high. Some insurance companies will drop Teslas and the ones that are left will charge grand theft dough for insurance. That doesn't bode well for sales or the value of our cars.

 

[brockm]

Catch and then what? It's not even a real crime, breaking into cars is like jaywalking in California.

Just drive a beater car to San Francisco or San Jose. The vandals target expensive cars because they are more likely to have something valuable inside.

I know people keep saying this. But it’s not true. Even with the criminal justice reform, breaking into a car is still a felony. And if caught in the act, you will be arrested.

 

[gilscales]

I know people keep saying this. But it’s not true. Even with the criminal justice reform, breaking into a car is still a felony. And if caught in the act, you will be arrested.

Then why are the crooks so brazen about it, why have so many police been instructed to not pursue these criminals and even if you do not believe this is the case then why are only 2% being prosecuted?

 

[mvotb]

I know people keep saying this. But it’s not true. Even with the criminal justice reform, breaking into a car is still a felony. And if caught in the act, you will be arrested.

Oh really. Then post the section of law that states this is a Felony, because everyone in law enforcement seems to be missing it.

 

[Cheburashka]

I know people keep saying this. But it’s not true. Even with the criminal justice reform, breaking into a car is still a felony. And if caught in the act, you will be arrested.

No, you're wrong. It is not a felony, and you are not likely to be arrested for it.

 

[TEG]

A lot of reasons why people would continue to do this:

* Quick, easy money.
* Even in crowded areas people tend to walk away and not want to get involved.
* Some of the thiefs are minors which tend to not be charged with adult crimes.
* It is rare for the police to actually catch someone in the act. Easy to say you found the laptop/backpack/purse on the ground.
* The police don't want to bother because they have too many worse crimes to deal with.
* The police don't want to start a car chase where someone could end up injured or killed.
* The police don't want to start a gun fight over this type of crime.
* The DA doesn't want to prosecute these "petty" crimes because the prisons are already overflowing.
* Easy access to simple tools to shatter car windows.
* Society blames the car owner for leaving flashy objects in plain site and consider it attracting the theft. ("Victim was partly to blame.")
* Some of the thiefs are high on drugs and are acting irrationally.
* Some of the thiefs live in a gang area where getting shot is a daily risk, and being in prison could be safer.
* Some of the thiefs are pressured by local gangs to do this crime to show their loyalty to the gang (or else they get shot back home.)
* Some of the thiefs enjoy the thrill of doing something risky and getting away with it.
* Some of the thiefs are hopelessly brainwashed by a consumer marketing society that says you have to have piles of bling to be liked.

Also, in California one has to prove that the car was locked to prove that they "broke in"...
California Senate Bill Targets Loophole In Auto Burglary Law

 

[roblab]

When I was younger I read stories about car owners in, as I remember, Africa. Seems cars were desirous, so people would stand near a stop sign and when a car stopped, would open the door, shove out the driver, and drive away.

The deterrent I remember was flame throwers put in the door outer keyholes. If anyone walked up reaching for the door, the push of a button tended to discourage grabbing the handle.

I would love to hear of someone fixing a car up with high voltage electricity (hey, we have 75 - 100 kW here) set to short through the steering wheel to the seat, from hands to thighs, of anyone who didn't know where to disarm it. Not to kill, but to make it uncomfortable.

Problem is, as I have heard, you can go to jail for that. I hear the same thing about a fellow who caught a thief against a wall, pinned him there with his car while he got the police. The fellow suffered a broken leg and sued.

I suspect that even if you had a sign in the window warning of high voltage, you'd still go to jail. Sad day in California law enforcement.

 

[TEG]

Add to my previous post:

* You tempt people to attack you for which you can sue them.

"Vigilante justice" to stop the "pretty crime" can be a worse legal situation for the attacker.
You may also get sued for your ingenious device that attempts to injure the thief.

I think that is why we don't see cars loaded with flamethrowers, bear traps, and auto activating tasers.
Plus, you risk accidentally hurting yourself and your family with those sort of contraptions.


Personally I think catching this stuff on camera and posting it publicly is one of the better approaches. Hopefully their family sees what they did and shames them for it.

 

[ucmndd]

Oh really. Then post the section of law that states this is a Felony, because everyone in law enforcement seems to be missing it.

Second degree burglary (which vehicle burglary almost always falls under) as defined in CA PC 459 is a "wobbler" that can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor at the prosecutor's discretion.

No, you're wrong. It is not a felony, and you are not likely to be arrested for it.

You're both wrong. Or both right, depending on how you look at it.

I find it hard to believe that someone physically caught in the act of smash and grab vehicle theft is "not likely to be arrested".

 

[gilscales]

I find it hard to believe that someone physically caught in the act of smash and grab vehicle theft is "not likely to be arrested".

the fact that police know that it is basically a waste of their time and that foot pursuit is not an option would limit it to someone in a vehicle caught in the act

 

[SMAlset]

A lot of reasons why people would continue to do this:

* Quick, easy money.
* Even in crowded areas people tend to walk away and not want to get involved.
* Some of the thiefs are minors which tend to not be charged with adult crimes.
* It is rare for the police to actually catch someone in the act. Easy to say you found the laptop/backpack/purse on the ground.
* The police don't want to bother because they have too many worse crimes to deal with.
* The police don't want to start a car chase where someone could end up injured or killed.
* The police don't want to start a gun fight over this type of crime.
* The DA doesn't want to prosecute these "petty" crimes because the prisons are already overflowing.
* Easy access to simple tools to shatter car windows.
* Society blames the car owner for leaving flashy objects in plain site and consider it attracting the theft. ("Victim was partly to blame.")
* Some of the thiefs are high on drugs and are acting irrationally.
* Some of the thiefs live in a gang area where getting shot is a daily risk, and being in prison could be safer.
* Some of the thiefs are pressured by local gangs to do this crime to show their loyalty to the gang (or else they get shot back home.)
* Some of the thiefs enjoy the thrill of doing something risky and getting away with it.
* Some of the thiefs are hopelessly brainwashed by a consumer marketing society that says you have to have piles of bling to be liked.

Also, in California one has to prove that the car was locked to prove that they "broke in"...
California Senate Bill Targets Loophole In Auto Burglary Law

I'm pretty sure I just read that that law about proving the car was locked has been changed. New for 2019.

 

[October]

Yep. It's the real deal but you have to understand what it is and what it isn't.

C-Bond I is what you'll get for cars. Historically, window tint is applied using soapy water (I'm simplifying). C-Bond I is an additive that increases the effective strength of the glass and tint barrier. But understand - it's maybe 2:1, meaning 100% better, but still, that buys a little time - not a complete solution.

C-Bond II is the bulletproof stuff that requires an anchoring system. Intended for commercial and residential - not practical for cars yet.

Google for the YouTube video at Extreme Autowerks for an example of C-Bond applied to the shop's front door and the number of baseball bat strikes from the owner, staff and customers before the door gave in. I don't remember if that was C-Bond I or C-Bond II.

You can get C-Bond I applied to just the rear triangle windows for not a lot of money if you've already got tint applied to the car and don't want to redo all of it.

C-Bond also makes an effective exterior windshield coating with a good warranty. I picked up 2 stars in my windshield for the 2nd car (new front end is a bit of a rock magnet for windshields) in the first 6 weeks of ownership, learned of the C-Bond product thereafter, and in the almost 2 years since, have picked up zero additional stars. Anecdotal? Sure. Sample size of 1. But from where I sit, tens of thousands of miles later, it was money well spent.

Glad to see others picking up the C-Bond torch.

Now, additives aside, I also had the alarm enhancement installed a couple of weeks ago. It's nifty and yeah, it works. Remember to disable it before taking a nap in yer chariots, folks. Totally unobtrusive and imo should have been standard equipment in the States from Day One.

Two sets of dashcams for near-360 degree coverage (do compare the 4K versus the latest non-4K model specifically with regard to night vision/clarity before buying), a 24/7 mobile hotspot for cloud storage (see the ZTE Mobley or Skyroam's Solis orange hockey puck) C-Bond, and the alarm enhancement for glass breakage and tilt monitoring. Best solution I can figure at this juncture.

Yeah, locking mechanisms to secure the trunk better would be a whole lot easier, but given that it took 6 years to get glass breakage monitoring in the States, I'm not holding my breath.

I applied the C-bond Nanoshield to the windshield of my S100D when new (4 months ago). Had one pebble strike on the highway thus far with no damage. The C-bond website performance validation videos of the product is pretty convincing ..... http://cbondsystems.com/
No brainer $20 investment to protect glass on the Tesla, esp windshield. The company is a penny stock (ticker CBNT) though, so not sure about its business viability despite great proven technology.

Yep. It's the real deal but you have to understand what it is and what it isn't.

C-Bond I is what you'll get for cars. Historically, window tint is applied using soapy water (I'm simplifying). C-Bond I is an additive that increases the effective strength of the glass and tint barrier. But understand - it's maybe 2:1, meaning 100% better, but still, that buys a little time - not a complete solution.

C-Bond II is the bulletproof stuff that requires an anchoring system. Intended for commercial and residential - not practical for cars yet.

Google for the YouTube video at Extreme Autowerks for an example of C-Bond applied to the shop's front door and the number of baseball bat strikes from the owner, staff and customers before the door gave in. I don't remember if that was C-Bond I or C-Bond II.

You can get C-Bond I applied to just the rear triangle windows for not a lot of money if you've already got tint applied to the car and don't want to redo all of it.

C-Bond also makes an effective exterior windshield coating with a good warranty. I picked up 2 stars in my windshield for the 2nd car (new front end is a bit of a rock magnet for windshields) in the first 6 weeks of ownership, learned of the C-Bond product thereafter, and in the almost 2 years since, have picked up zero additional stars. Anecdotal? Sure. Sample size of 1. But from where I sit, tens of thousands of miles later, it was money well spent.

Glad to see others picking up the C-Bond torch.

Now, additives aside, I also had the alarm enhancement installed a couple of weeks ago. It's nifty and yeah, it works. Remember to disable it before taking a nap in yer chariots, folks. Totally unobtrusive and imo should have been standard equipment in the States from Day One.

Two sets of dashcams for near-360 degree coverage (do compare the 4K versus the latest non-4K model specifically with regard to night vision/clarity before buying), a 24/7 mobile hotspot for cloud storage (see the ZTE Mobley or Skyroam's Solis orange hockey puck) C-Bond, and the alarm enhancement for glass breakage and tilt monitoring. Best solution I can figure at this juncture.

Yeah, locking mechanisms to secure the trunk better would be a whole lot easier, but given that it took 6 years to get glass breakage monitoring in the States, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[TEG]

I'm pretty sure I just read that that law about proving the car was locked has been changed. New for 2019.

Well I looked up the one reported in the article and it says that bill died...

Bill Status
"Inactive Bill - Died"
"11/30/18 From committee without further action."

Car break-in crackdown bill made perfect sense. California lawmakers killed it
"Car break-in crackdown bill made perfect sense. California lawmakers killed it"

Looks like the 2019 news is that they are trying again with a new bill:
California bill would simplify prosecution of vehicle break-ins

...
A similar effort from Weiner one year ago failed to advance from the Senate Appropriations Committee to the Senate floor for consideration.
At the time, in comments provided by the committee show that creating a new term of incarceration could result in an increase in prison terms. The panel added the result would be an exacerbation of prison overcrowding....

 

[RyanS]

Well... my wife’s MS got the same treatment in Sacramento a couple of days ago.

I just saw a posting in a M3 forum that a POS broke a small window; even though, back seats were down, had a window alarm/sticker, and while passenger was sitting in the car. It’s out of control.

I have an idea for CA cars. How about when someone approaches the car, rear windows automatically come down, partially. I will call that “I give up” mode or “white flag” mode. F$%#$ers don’t need to brake any windows. Just flip down the seat and find nothing. In a busy parking lot, windows will be coming down very often so it needs to monitor battery drain. Rain sensor will need to disable this during a heavy rain. This could be a good addition to the Sentry mode. Car can still take video of intruder and automatically upload to YouTube.

 

[TEG]

I have an idea for CA cars. How about when someone approaches the car, rear windows automatically come down, partially. I will call that “I give up” mode or “white flag” mode.

And for good measure, quickly auto roll up the window with arm inside just to keep them on their toes.

 

[IchDochNicht]

And for good measure, quickly auto roll up the window with arm inside just to keep them on their toes.

And make the motor strong enough to cut off blood supply, or even the whole forearm?

Hey, there are cultures where things like this are done to thieves...

 

[energy7]

I finally got the Anti-intrusion installed. Tesla disconnected my dash cam since I was using the tap that they needed for the security system so I purchased the parts to make a bypass cable from Teslatap.com. Everything seems to be working, looks like it takes a minute or two after closing the door before the intrusion is activated. Once activated, with the windows down, if you reach your hand inside, it will start honking the horn. I did not receive an alert on my Tesla App though, which was disappointing.

 

[Boom]

I finally got the Anti-intrusion installed. Tesla disconnected my dash cam since I was using the tap that they needed for the security system so I purchased the parts to make a bypass cable from Teslatap.com. Everything seems to be working, looks like it takes a minute or two after closing the door before the intrusion is activated. Once activated, with the windows down, if you reach your hand inside, it will start honking the horn. I did not receive an alert on my Tesla App though, which was disappointing.

View attachment 374560 View attachment 374561

How long does it take to install? Do you get a loaner?

 

[sjoshuaj]

Here is the POS that broke into my car in SF. Anyone have good video editing skills to better enhance this? This was taken from the rear camera. I already up'ed the contrast as it was very dark and my window is tinted.

with the original video I could do more....

 

[TomHudson]

One of these days someone's going to get fed up, set up a bait car and have a couple of guys with baseball bats waiting nearby, then sit back and wait for someone to try to break in...