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Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

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Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#21

Post by Teever »

gnicholas wrote: post #13
nostromo wrote: post #3

Some people don't know that you absolutely are allowed to take back your stolen property. You don't need to involve the police unless you want to. Repo folks do this all the time. Keep an extra key for your car at home and put an Airtag in your car. If it's stolen, just go get it back when it's safe to do so. Calling the police in most American cities won't get you far. They usually can't pursue a speeding car anymor…

Question: someone steals your car and you go to take it back. When you drive off with it, the thief's backpack/laptop/etc. are in the back seat. Can you now be prosecuted for theft? Obviously most people wouldn't want to hang around long enough to fully inspect the vehicle to make sure they're not taking anything that doesn't belong to them! My inkling, as a former lawyer, is that this would not be theft if you didn'…

I would imagine that legally speaking that it is no different than the situation an Uber driver faces when someone leaves their backpack/laptop/etc. in their car.

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#22

Post by tempnow987 »

One note, in some cities the parking folks don't talk to police, so if your car is stolen you can start checking for tickets. This used to result in pretty quick hits. I had my car stolen 3 times and recovered it each time, unfortunately in progressively worse condition.

Once I found folks in it. Cops said basically nothing would happen to them if I tried to pursue anything so I didn't do anything because they were in neighborhood and I didn't want a beef with them if there was really no consequence.

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#23

Post by retrac »

gnicholas wrote: post #13
nostromo wrote: post #3

Some people don't know that you absolutely are allowed to take back your stolen property. You don't need to involve the police unless you want to. Repo folks do this all the time. Keep an extra key for your car at home and put an Airtag in your car. If it's stolen, just go get it back when it's safe to do so. Calling the police in most American cities won't get you far. They usually can't pursue a speeding car anymor…

Question: someone steals your car and you go to take it back. When you drive off with it, the thief's backpack/laptop/etc. are in the back seat. Can you now be prosecuted for theft? Obviously most people wouldn't want to hang around long enough to fully inspect the vehicle to make sure they're not taking anything that doesn't belong to them! My inkling, as a former lawyer, is that this would not be theft if you didn'…

IANAL either but the mens rea doesn't exist, right. There's also another angle: if I opened up your car and tossed my backpack in knowing it's a random stranger's car that might not be there when I get back, I have abandoned my property and have no claim against the car's owner. (It's more complicated with an honest mistake, though.)

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#24

Post by nomel »

retrac wrote: post #18
recursive wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really don't think it's so much worse than walking into a situation with unknown criminals, which most of us probably do on a consistent basis. I would definitely just go get my car back. I would probably try to do it at a time when there wouldn't be a confrontation, but it may happen.

The difference is you are directly challenging them. Many thieves will respond to taking their stolen car back the same way most of us here would. Anger and it's personal -- you're stealing from them! And they're probably more impulsive and less risk adverse than the average person. Now I'd totally hop in and drive off if it's left unattended at the curb or whatever though. Just be quick, bring friends, and avoid con…

> The difference is you are directly challenging them. Many thieves...

The tricky part is figuring out if the thief is in this "many" or not. Good luck, since you can only choose wrong once! Don't forget, they know where you live!

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#26

Post by dreen »

seibelj wrote: post #7
nostromo wrote: post #3

Some people don't know that you absolutely are allowed to take back your stolen property. You don't need to involve the police unless you want to. Repo folks do this all the time. Keep an extra key for your car at home and put an Airtag in your car. If it's stolen, just go get it back when it's safe to do so. Calling the police in most American cities won't get you far. They usually can't pursue a speeding car anymor…

I mean what are they going to do, call the cops?

They may come back for more than the car.

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#27

Post by abyssin »

recursive wrote: post #9
awb wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walking into an unfamiliar situation without training and potentially being confronted by known criminals does not sound like a great idea to me. Sorry, but my property just isn’t worth the risk. It’s replaceable, I’m not.

I really don't think it's so much worse than walking into a situation with unknown criminals, which most of us probably do on a consistent basis. I would definitely just go get my car back. I would probably try to do it at a time when there wouldn't be a confrontation, but it may happen.

What if the car is used to store valuable and illegal goods? And a big amount of them? Now you’re the target of both the criminals and the police.

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#28

Post by itronitron »

null0ranje wrote: post #20
sbierwagen wrote: post #15

"Homemade"? This is a post on the official company blog of a commercial product.

The entire article had an odd vibe to it. Either the crime didn't actually happen, or it's just a distasteful example of turning the victims of a felony into a marketing opportunity.

Yeah, it's either a total fabrication or a great example of how to write up a true story that sounds like BS.

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#29

Post by rahimnathwani »

tempnow987 wrote: post #22

One note, in some cities the parking folks don't talk to police, so if your car is stolen you can start checking for tickets. This used to result in pretty quick hits. I had my car stolen 3 times and recovered it each time, unfortunately in progressively worse condition. Once I found folks in it. Cops said basically nothing would happen to them if I tried to pursue anything so I didn't do anything because they were i…

"I had my car stolen 3 times"

I'm curious: does the above make you think the car will be stolen again pretty soon? If so, does that cause you ongoing stress?

Re: Car stolen with homemade GPS tracker in backseat

#30

Post by hnxs »

awb wrote: post #6
nostromo wrote: post #3

Some people don't know that you absolutely are allowed to take back your stolen property. You don't need to involve the police unless you want to. Repo folks do this all the time. Keep an extra key for your car at home and put an Airtag in your car. If it's stolen, just go get it back when it's safe to do so. Calling the police in most American cities won't get you far. They usually can't pursue a speeding car anymor…

Walking into an unfamiliar situation without training and potentially being confronted by known criminals does not sound like a great idea to me. Sorry, but my property just isn’t worth the risk. It’s replaceable, I’m not.

You could just hire someone for repossession (aka “repo”)
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