So thieves broke into your storage unit again • Hacker News Board

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#161

Post by PaulDavisThe1st » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:33 PM UTC

_dain_ wrote: post #131

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations. And yet this level of incarceration does not seem to have had the effect you want. It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur. While there are arguments for this sort of thing, it is also based on a wilfull…

>The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations because it has vastly more crime than comparable nations. you have to look at what happens to crime in the US over time, when you are more or less stringent about jailing criminals; predictably as you fill the jails, crime goes down, and when you empty them, crimes goes up. >It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to th…

we incarcerate at a higher rate per capita, not just in absolute numbers. based on your apparent view of things, that ought to result in less crime per capita, but it does not.

> more or less stringent about jailing criminals

is quite different than "fill the jails, empty the jails"

Quite a bit of research on the effect of deterrence on crime seems to strongly suggest that it is the level of certainty of being caught and punished that has a deterrent effect, not the severity of the sentence. This would correlate with "more or less stringent about jailing criminals".

> the primary purpose of jail is not rehabilitation, it is to protect the public from criminals

This is a statement of belief, and there are people who believe otherwise. I don't have a strong position either way, but I don't like people asserting that their opinions are self-obvious truths about the world.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#162

Post by Karellen » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:34 PM UTC

s1artibartfast wrote: post #43

praptak wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I live the "accidental" part doesn't really get you off the hook. Negligence is better than intention but still. If it kills someone or causes grievous bodily harm, it's still on you. Yes, even if it's a burglar. You also have to think about the fully legal situations when it's firefighter or a cop with a warrant. Or an edge case like a stupid kid.

Where I grew up, problem thieves would just go missing, to be found years later dead at the bottom of a mine shaft.

So that's what happened to Captain Carnage!

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#163

Post by cantSpellSober » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:43 PM UTC

treflop wrote: post #85

Don’t buy insurance from the same company giving you the service. Insurance is for you and you should pick it from your own choice of company and you should tailor the policy for your own needs. Same with financing. In my case, I get a lot of my insurance from a guy in my town and he has an office that I can walk into if I need help.

How to with rental cars?

I don't own and no local insurers will offer me non-owner insurance. I have to get the crappy expensive insurance at the rental car desk.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#164

Post by tightbookkeeper » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:47 PM UTC

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #153

The key takeaway I think people are overlooking is that there’s a level of intelligence and persistence in thieves that make physical security an intractable problem with exponential cost scaling as you patch “holes.” So from a systems approach, the better solution likely is something like: Employ and provide safety for the people stealing from the units so they do not feel compelled to steal. Imagine if the money sp…

You’re partly conceding that this level of corrupting and mistrust is just what we have to live with. It has not always been this way though.

Side note. If I also accept it this is why cryptocurrency being able to reduce the cost of securing a transaction is still interesting to me. When you use a bank you don’t see the army of night guards, vaults, auditors, and IT people keeping it safe.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#165

Post by BrentOzar » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:49 PM UTC

cantSpellSober wrote: post #163

treflop wrote: post #85

Don’t buy insurance from the same company giving you the service. Insurance is for you and you should pick it from your own choice of company and you should tailor the policy for your own needs. Same with financing. In my case, I get a lot of my insurance from a guy in my town and he has an office that I can walk into if I need help.

How to with rental cars? I don't own and no local insurers will offer me non-owner insurance. I have to get the crappy expensive insurance at the rental car desk.

> How to with rental cars?

Some credit cards like American Express offer their own insurance as part of the membership fee as long as you pay for the rental with their card, and decline the coverage offered by the rental car company.

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#166

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:49 PM UTC

cantSpellSober wrote: post #163

treflop wrote: post #85

Don’t buy insurance from the same company giving you the service. Insurance is for you and you should pick it from your own choice of company and you should tailor the policy for your own needs. Same with financing. In my case, I get a lot of my insurance from a guy in my town and he has an office that I can walk into if I need help.

How to with rental cars? I don't own and no local insurers will offer me non-owner insurance. I have to get the crappy expensive insurance at the rental car desk.

[deleted]

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#167

Post by tightbookkeeper » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:50 PM UTC

bko wrote: post #104

The indifference of this by everyone involved is infuriating. This criminal activity is treated as natural as rain, just something us 98% of people have to endure. It's important to remember that accepting crime, especially low level crime like this is a policy choice. It's the same people doing the same crimes over and over. They have run ins with the law and they just get let go to continue terrorizing the rest of…

One of the costs of low trust society is it forces everyone to think short term. You can’t save if your money will be inflated. You can’t collect if it will be stolen and no party will take responsibility for protecting it.

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal”

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#168

Post by zimpenfish » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:51 PM UTC

smeeger wrote: post #108

crazygringo wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't have space in your apartment or home for items you want to keep, then where else are you supposed to store things? Obviously it's up to you to figure out if it makes financial sense. But for people in urban areas with small apartments, it can be a heckuva lot cheaper than upgrading to an apartment with another bedroom.

its almost as if people really shouldnt live inside glorified cubicles… as if they should in something larger. and maybe have a space with grass and also a little accessory structure with a door large enough to fit a vehicle. such a thing doesnt exist unfortunately

Please let me introduce you to the insanity of UK house prices...

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#169

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:52 PM UTC

smeeger wrote: post #132

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US already incarcerates vastly more people than most comparable nations. And yet this level of incarceration does not seem to have had the effect you want. It seems that you imagine that the crime is somehow intrinsic to the current group of people committing it, and that by removing them from society, their behavior would not recur. While there are arguments for this sort of thing, it is also based on a wilfull…

american style incarceration breeds criminals. it isnt a form of punishment for the vast majority of people who end up in prison or jail. its details like these that bleeding heart people gloss over.

[deleted]

Re: So thieves broke into your storage unit again

#170

Post by dimensi0nal » Sun, Oct 06, 2024, 5:53 PM UTC

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #109

smeeger wrote: post #106

he gives a list of things to do or consider. supporting laws and politicians that catch and punish criminals effectively is somehow not on that list…

What laws do you believe would be more effective a catching and punishing criminals? AFAIK, there is reasonably clear evidence that deterrence has a very low impact on this sort of crime, so laws based on deterring through fear-of-sentence would not seem to be likely to have much effect. What is it that you're proposing/desiring?

Incapacitation, not deterrence? If someone is in prison, they can't reoffend.