Originally Posted by MaryB
Uh, do you really think someone would steal a can full of something and not check to see what's in the can before pouring it into his tank? No matter what label is on a can I SERIOUSLY doubt anyone would be dumb enough not to at least sniff it before pouring it into his tank, on second thought there are some dumb hombres that "might" do such a thing but they would be the rare exception.
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
I think a thief would take a 5 gal gas can out of the back of a pickup and assume that it is gas. If it’s 75% methanol and 25% gas he’d likely never notice.
Parking two vehicles very close together to block access would help. Putting a trip wire between them that sets off the car alarms would end the problem pretty quickly.
I do like Mary’s purple die!
Unfortunately that too is a booby trap and unfair that it may seem (unfair it is actually) it would be illegal and a very dangerous thing to do. If the perp is injured in any way, hit in the eyes for instance, or even just wanted to try and collect for damages he could cause the owner a world of hurt! You might even be able to get a conviction based on the dye but likely only for trespassing (remember he will be hit BEFORE he actually commits the crime!) while the owner would be liable for any sustained injuries, phony or otherwise, plus they could be charged with setting the booby trap.
Fellas all these get even feel good stories are all a recipe for disaster, like it or not setting a trap, any kind of trap that could potentially cause injury (and yes dye or ink would be an injury) is just not legal and would likely cause the owner far more trouble than the perp would suffer. Some of these guys are very much aware of how the law is written pertaining to traps and if you catch one of those guys he could very well take you for a ride -a very expensive ride! All these suggestions of traps such as even the dye are REALLY BAD ideas no matter how much someone wants to believe otherwise, don't believe me? Just talk with a lawyer or call the county prosecutors office, calling the police could get you some really poor advice so go higher than that and at least call that prosecutors office.
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
Make sure you post current No Tresspassing signs up. Bought a place that had them up and when broken into knowing who did it cops said I didn't put the signs up so don't matter.
No trespassing signs are a very good idea as is "private property" in addition but whatever else DON'T post any "at your own risk" warning signs anywhere on your property! "enter at your own risk", "Warning Guard dog", etc can and will get a person in a lot of trouble if someone gets hurt on the owners property even if the perp is trespassing! Again, just like some of the seemingly good idea traps and pranks to spring on an unsuspecting perp a warning sign can cause the owner more trouble than the trouble maker! The problem is that the law does NOT consider a warning sign as a fair warning that shifts the burden of responsibility to the intruder it instead considers such signs as an admission by the property owner that they are aware that a danger exists and have not taken proper steps to protect anyone who might be exposed to such danger. An example that is commonly used goes like this, if you have a dog that bites someone but you DO NOT have a warning sign in place warning the person of the danger of a biting dog then you can at least claim you didn't know the dog bites and thus you might lessen your liability or even shift all the burden of reliability to the victim depending on the circumstances (suspected thief, etc). However if you DO have a sign such as "warning biting dog" or even worse "warning attack dog" then the law again does not consider that a fair warning that relieves the owner of liability but rather it considers it as proof that the owner was aware that the dog was dangerous but did not sufficiently restrain it from biting!
The bottom line is the courts do not look at warning signs as a warning but rather as proof that the owner failed to take sufficient steps to prevent potential injury, whether or not the person was on the property legally or not it in a sense is based on the same thinking as setting booby traps.
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
Let your neighbors know something is going on so they will keep a eye out for strangers cruising the neighborhood and , contact the local police go through the trouble of reporting the crime . The squeaky wheel gets the grease so start squeaking .
More very good level headed advice!
This is the way these things need to be dealt with, pranks and such directed at the perp usually don't even work, despite the feel good stories, and can very easily cause even more unwanted headaches from things such as revenge retaliation to law suits or even criminal charges against the owner. As frustrating as it may seem the law expects the owner to rely on it to deal with these situations and anything we do that could in any way cause harm to the perp, even minor injury such as dye, ink or paint for instance, can backfire on the owner in ways they might never imagine. Whether we agree with it or not a perp is just as entitled to protection from injury or humiliation as the next guy until he has been formally charged, tried and convicted and even then we as the aggrieved still have no legal right to exact any retribution upon that individual except as pursued through the courts!
Some of the suggestions so far have ranged from comical to dangerous but before doing anything other than calling the police and maybe trying to get identification of the perp it's a good idea to take a REALLY good look at what's being considered and the possible consequences of such actions! My wife is a retired paralegal and she can tell of cases that would curl your hair from the seeming unfairness to the victim(s)! These laws are not without sound reasoning and are meant to protect everyone, even the perp is entitled to the same protection until they are convicted, until then they have the same rights as anyone else which in the overall scheme of things is as it should be. We have no right to vengeance, period! We may not like it but it's the law and it's meant to protect EVERYONE, imagine how it would be if it were legal to take vengeance on someone you THINK has done you wrong? Thank God we are ALL entitled to a presumption of innocence until convicted in a court of law and not subject (legally) to the wrath of vengeful individuals or vengeance committees (vigilantes). This is why these seemingly unfair laws exist and while they may seem to favor the perp they actually are meant to guarantee as much as practical that the wrongfully accused will not have to suffer undeserved punishment.
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
if you post no trespassing and not responsible to accidents signs then it is on them. if you think not just tell me how do you keep what you have ? I had a eye witness and the cops knew who the thieves were and where they lived and still would do nothing. I even had the tag number of the truck they drove.
We have a good Sheriff and reasonable Deputies here in Northampton County .
Unfortunately it is not on them, the no trespassing sign is a very good idea because it makes it illegal for them to be on the property and they can even be charged with that. The "not responsible for accidents" sign however is a real no-no, first the law does not allow you to shuck responsibility just by posting a sign! In fact such a sign does nothing at all to shift the liability of an accident from the owner to the other person, rather than shifting the liability "to them" it is instead seen by the courts as an admission by the property owner that they are aware a dangerous condition exists or might exist and still they took no steps to prevent an unsuspecting person from getting hurt, it matters not in the least if the victim was trespassing or not that would be a different matter.
Under the law a property owner has the liability of reasonable protection of anyone on the property and such a "not responsible" sign does not in any way relieve the owner of such liability. Without the sign the property owner might reasonably claim they had no such knowledge of any danger and this could help a great deal in a liability suit. WITH such a sign posted however the owner is in the eyes of the law posting reasonable admission of an awareness of danger but took no other or insufficient steps to protect someone on the property. It's just another variation on the "biting dog" warning sign I used in the post above, signs meant to protect a property can cause them serious problems instead sometimes!
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
I still chuckle thinking about Marys dye pump. What does that setup look like?
That security camera footage in court is hard to refute and chances are it will solve some other cases in the area....they don't just steal from you. Talk to the local law , they might just lend you a camera to help solve the crimes. Camera footage and DNA will send you straight to jail .
Certified Cajun
Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
" Let's Go Brandon !"
A janitor in building I worked in had similar, if not identical problem, with petrol siphoned out of his GMC truck, followed by perps actually drilling a hole in (I don't remember) either his fuel tank or a line to it after he purchased and installed a locking tank cap. In summer time, he elected to leave his push lawn mower out adjacent to his garage, with an almost full fuel can adjacent to it. (He had mixed a goodly amount of cane sugar in with petrol) Just a few days later, he saw his grandson on side of road with grandson's friend's truck having hood up trying to determine what made his engine seize. It put the janitor in an awkward spot, albeit I doubt if he ever owned up to what he had done. And... the petrol pilfering ceased.
I have setup trail cameras around my shop in the past , all I got were pictures of stray cats .
I had a problem neighbor a couple years ago, called the police and the problem was solved.
The officer I spoke to said someone a couple blocks away had some high school students that kept stealing from their carport. He said they put up trail cameras and that was enough to put a stop to it. I don't remember if they were fined, jailed, or anything.
Last edited by ThomR; 10-01-2018 at 05:43 PM.
Cheap motion sensitive car alarm, add a light under the vehicle for effect.
and/or https://picclick.com/Chrome-Fuel-Gas...829720203.html
You may think it's not okay for the banks to do it but they do:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/question671.htm
So much for that opinion.
Not even close to the same thing!
There is a world of difference between a legal and approved device designed to stain stolen money and only in a controlled situation, controlled in that it is manually passed to a robber and done so in full view and control of just who is receiving it vs a rigged booby trap that is designed to HIT THE PERSON (ANY PERSON) and in an uncontrolled autonomous way that could easily involve an innocent person as an unintended target. Believe what you will and I fully expected someone to point at that but it is an entirely different thing than a rigged booby trap!
Rig up a dye gadget like what was suggested and it is AN ILLEGAL booby trap that could easily get you in serious trouble, call that county persecutor and see what they tell you! It's easy to argue such a point here on an internet forum but that comparison would get shot down in a heatbeat in a court of law!
For a true comparison a bank would have to, for example, rig up a dye bomb in ATM machines set to go off and hit the robber if the machine were to be tampered with or broken open! ATM machines are often a target but have any been set up to do such a thing or in any other way harm a thief? Obviously not and it would not be legal for them to do so just as the suggested dye trap is not legal and could easily lead to the person who set it being in deep trouble!
Last edited by oldred; 10-01-2018 at 07:22 PM.
Statistics show that criminals commit fewer crimes after they have been shot
No chance of eyes, went off as soon as the door was opened and painted his hands
Small 3 oz tank, tiny 12v pump, door pin switch, piece of tubing and a homemade nozzle. Went off as soon as the door was opened and painted his hands.
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