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Electronic devices used for car thefts set to be banned

bbc.co.uk

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

#41

Post by BiteCode_dev »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #33
parineum wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 c…

Like power tools ?

They make opening a locked doors very easy.

Or regular non ray guns ? They make killing super easy. And you definitly don't need those for most people.

But oil as well, I mean it makes arson so easy and you can burn entire houses with people inside.

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

#42

Post by karlkloss »

How about banning the sale of cars that don't use time of flight measurement in their keyless go system?

The problem isn't thieves using easy to get standard equipment for car theft, the problem is car manufacturers making it pretty easy for them.

Remember when you could open cars using an old coat hanger? Did they ban steel wire to prevent this?

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

#43

Post by r0ckarong »

_trampeltier wrote: post #14

"Making or selling a signal jammer could lead to up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine." I can understand you like to make some devices illegal. But really, five years prison, unlimited fine. Is everybody insane now.

You're talking about the UK here, have been insane for centuries. And then George Orwell wrote a manual.

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

#44

Post by deergomoo »

superkuh wrote: post #4

So this is a change from the status quo where actually transmitting an interfering signal is illegal to one where having a device that might theoretically transmit an interfering signal is illegal? It sounds like ordering all pencils be made illegal because they can be used to write threats. I can see why they might want to make this change but I can't see how it can feasibly be defined and enforced without making ev…

> It sounds like ordering all pencils be made illegal because they can be used to write threats

My country enacting overreaching and ill defined laws concerning technology? Colour me surprised…

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

#45

Post by woodruffw »

kleiba wrote: post #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."

This is shoddy reasoning: you don’t have to care or not care about laws to not want to receive the deterring effect of incarceration. Laws, in their most basic form, exist to dangle that threat and others like it.

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

#46

Post by Ekaros »

Real failure is the unwillingness to spend resources to track the stolen vehicles and apprehend the responsible. UK is an island, proper tracking in ports of exit and quick response should be possible.

Or just add enough surveillance so you can track the stolen cars to logical points where they dissapear.

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

#47

Post by friendzis »

rahimnathwani wrote: post #6

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?

> How is a signal jammer useful for stealing a car?

I can't vouch for UK in particular, but generally having some sort of tracker (level x security system) is mandatory to insure more expensive/exotic cars. A signal jammer prevents the tracker from calling home and, well, the stolen car being tracked before the tracker is found, disconnected and destroyed.

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

#48

Post by [deleted] »

Symbiote wrote: post #22
nubinetwork wrote: post #5

Did they seriously try to call an RF transceiver a jammer? Also you can literally "jam" anything with anything, I used to have a pair of walkie-talkies from the 70s that were designed to use (what's now used as) the CB band... is that considered a jammer now?

They call them "Keyless repeaters and signal amplifiers", but say people also refer to them as "jammers".

[deleted]

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

#49

Post by optimalplusone »

_trampeltier wrote: post #14

"Making or selling a signal jammer could lead to up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine." I can understand you like to make some devices illegal. But really, five years prison, unlimited fine. Is everybody insane now.

Standard UK culture. You can be arrested for social media posts.

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

#50

Post by throw9494949 »

_trampeltier wrote: post #14

"Making or selling a signal jammer could lead to up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine." I can understand you like to make some devices illegal. But really, five years prison, unlimited fine. Is everybody insane now.

In UK it is a crime to silently pray at your own home. It is a different culture, court decides who is a criminal. There are no civil liberties or constitution like in US!
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