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Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

bbc.co.uk

31–40 of 81 posts

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#31
post #25

Ah, those law abiding thieves will surely stop procuring themselves those devices now that they are illegal.

It will reduce supply, but it will also make it easier to prosecute those that have these devices. I frankly don't understand the sentiment. Should we not outlaw murder because "ha, surely criminals won't murder anymore now"?

Murder and stealing are the the things that are outlawed already.

The equivalent argument would be banning knives so people don't commit murder.

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#32
post #25

Ah, those law abiding thieves will surely stop procuring themselves those devices now that they are illegal.

It will reduce supply, but it will also make it easier to prosecute those that have these devices. I frankly don't understand the sentiment. Should we not outlaw murder because "ha, surely criminals won't murder anymore now"?

We should not outlaw tools. Lock picks are fun and some ordinary people have a hobby of lock picking. You shouldn't go to jail because you possess a lock pick. Electronic devices are the same.

It's dangerously close to the "thought crime".

In the IT world that would mean going to jail if you have John the Ripper installed.

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#33
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will reduce supply, but it will also make it easier to prosecute those that have these devices. I frankly don't understand the sentiment. Should we not outlaw murder because "ha, surely criminals won't murder anymore now"?

Murder and stealing are the the things that are outlawed already. The equivalent argument would be banning knives so people don't commit murder.

The equivalent argument would be banning something that makes murder really really easy without much training or willpower. Killing with a knife is hard, and just not very accessible (if you doubt me, try going hunting for deer with a knife instead of a rifle). The equivalent would be some device that made killing really easy, eg something that supported point and shoot. Like, if someone invented a ray gun that you could just point at people and they would die, that would banned really quickly even by the most libertarian governments (because society doesn’t survive very long with them around, or society doesn’t ban them and is just replaced by another society that does).

Lock picks at least take some skill, they aren’t super accessible. But an RF repeater seems to be fairly accessible according to how quickly it spread (although most modern fobs stop transmitting when stationary, so these are only effective for people who carry fobs in their pockets all the time).

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#34
post #25

Ah, those law abiding thieves will surely stop procuring themselves those devices now that they are illegal.

It will reduce supply, but it will also make it easier to prosecute those that have these devices. I frankly don't understand the sentiment. Should we not outlaw murder because "ha, surely criminals won't murder anymore now"?

Stealing is already outlawed, so banning the devices is not comparable to murder. What would be comparable if the government decided to ban knives and hammers? Those "devices" are used to commit murders, and anyone possessing them could be prosecuted for the crime of murder.

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#35

This is a confusing article. I'm not sure what 'scrambling' means here: Keyless repeaters and signal amplifiers scramble the signal from remote key fobs inside people's homes, enabling criminals to unlock cars. And it talks about banning 'signal jammers'. How is a signal jammer useful for stealing a car? Wouldn't a signal jammer prevent someone from unlocking a car?

[deleted]

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#36
I'm always amused when law makers try to fight crime by making new laws. Because that affects exactly everybody except criminals who - by definition - don't care about laws.

Like, I can really imagine the reaction of professional car thieves when they heard of this new ban: "Damn, Bobby, let's pack it in! I guess we're not allowed to use those jammers any more. Too bad, they served us well."

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#37
> "These devices have no legitimate purpose, apart from assisting in criminal activity, and reducing their availability will support policing and industry in preventing vehicle theft which is damaging to both individuals and businesses."

Now I wonder what devices are going to be banned by this law that have a legitimate purpose which they actually want to ban. Will they use this law to ban SDRs or something?

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#38
post #25

Ah, those law abiding thieves will surely stop procuring themselves those devices now that they are illegal.

It will reduce supply, but it will also make it easier to prosecute those that have these devices. I frankly don't understand the sentiment. Should we not outlaw murder because "ha, surely criminals won't murder anymore now"?

Then you should outlaw knife, all cleaning chemical, hammers, amateur radio...

But not guns. They are fine.

Re: Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

#40

This is a confusing article. I'm not sure what 'scrambling' means here: Keyless repeaters and signal amplifiers scramble the signal from remote key fobs inside people's homes, enabling criminals to unlock cars. And it talks about banning 'signal jammers'. How is a signal jammer useful for stealing a car? Wouldn't a signal jammer prevent someone from unlocking a car?

You can sit around a car park with a jammer and jam the signal as people walk away from their cars - some people don't notice that their attempt to lock the car just didn't do anything.
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