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Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

washingtonpost.com

51–60 of 338 posts

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#51
post #11

> He called police, who got a search warrant Kind of sad, that I was surprised they did that. It's definitely a local thing. I'd expect the police to shrug, and say it's too bad, just file a report to use for insurance. I remember people saying "so what if you have tags, police won't do anything and you shouldn't be confronting thieves anyway". Apple, on the other hand, is also explicit about tags not to be used as a…

Also not to be used for tracking someone you are stalking.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#52
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The roots of police departments are the paid security forces of business owners, and their values as organizations reflect this. Business owners worked with local governments to create police departments to socialize some of the cost of securing their private property; their rented homes, their warehouses, their stores. And they reflect this to this day. Individual property crime doesn't mean shit. A criminal can sel…

Where did you get this idea about the origins of police? It doesn’t agree with the history on Wikipedia, or my understanding of their origin (having more to do with rulers maintaining order). Corporations, and what you call ‘businesses’ are a very modern concept, long predated by rulers, courts, and police. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police

OP’s description of police sounds very similar to the history of the Pinkerton organization in the U.S.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_(detective_agency)

Fast forward to today and it’s very common for private security to be composed of ex-cops and former military, creating a very fluid dynamic of all policing as a paramilitary organization in support of capitalism.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#53
post #46

In the video that shows the stolen tools in the warehouse, there are hardly any Ryobi tools (HomeDepot's cheap tool brand). This is in stark contrast to many of the recent woodworking videos on Youtube that feature craftspeople using Ryobi tools (without explicitly mentioning an HD sponsorship). The thieves know a good tool, and HD is trying to fool the rest of us that their Ryobi tools are any good.

Almost nobody think Ryobi is the best, and almost everybody agrees they’re plenty good for a non-professional toolkit.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#54
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The roots of police departments are the paid security forces of business owners, and their values as organizations reflect this. Business owners worked with local governments to create police departments to socialize some of the cost of securing their private property; their rented homes, their warehouses, their stores. And they reflect this to this day. Individual property crime doesn't mean shit. A criminal can sel…

Where did you get this idea about the origins of police? It doesn’t agree with the history on Wikipedia, or my understanding of their origin (having more to do with rulers maintaining order). Corporations, and what you call ‘businesses’ are a very modern concept, long predated by rulers, courts, and police. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police

From your link

>The first example of a statutory police force in the world was probably the High Constables of Edinburgh, formed in 1611 to police the streets of Edinburgh, then part of the Kingdom of Scotland. The constables, of whom half were merchants and half were craftsmen, were charged with enforcing 16 regulations relating to curfews, weapons, and theft.

That sounds a lot like businesses working with government to secure their property.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#55
post #46

In the video that shows the stolen tools in the warehouse, there are hardly any Ryobi tools (HomeDepot's cheap tool brand). This is in stark contrast to many of the recent woodworking videos on Youtube that feature craftspeople using Ryobi tools (without explicitly mentioning an HD sponsorship). The thieves know a good tool, and HD is trying to fool the rest of us that their Ryobi tools are any good.

FYI. Ryobi has nothing to do with Home Depot. It's owned by a Hong Kong power tool manufacturer, and used to be Japanese (in fact, Ryobi still exists as a tool manufacturer, just not the power tool division)

Probably the reason they're not in any of the hauls is because they have a reputation for not being very good, and are harder to sell/fence...

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#56

"But AirTags aren't for finding stolen things!", someone asserts every time someone mentions wanting to use AirTags for finding stolen things.

There has to be a shady operator somewhere with no scruples, who sees the market demand for this use-case.

GPS trackers with SIM slots and cell radios have been available for ages, and easily enough found for purchase that I don't think mentioning them here adds meaningful risk. AirTags distinguish on Apple's UI polish - including the care for stalking mitigation - and platform integration, rather than their basic functionality.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#57
post #11

> He called police, who got a search warrant Kind of sad, that I was surprised they did that. It's definitely a local thing. I'd expect the police to shrug, and say it's too bad, just file a report to use for insurance. I remember people saying "so what if you have tags, police won't do anything and you shouldn't be confronting thieves anyway". Apple, on the other hand, is also explicit about tags not to be used as a…

"OK, I have a gun and I'll go get my stuff myself" is not illegal to say and 100% gets police to show up. Source: tried it more than once

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#59
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The roots of police departments are the paid security forces of business owners, and their values as organizations reflect this. Business owners worked with local governments to create police departments to socialize some of the cost of securing their private property; their rented homes, their warehouses, their stores. And they reflect this to this day. Individual property crime doesn't mean shit. A criminal can sel…

[flagged]

I went to read a bit more about this - as this was something I was only vaguely aware of: https://theconversation.com/the-racist-roots-of-american-pol...

It seems there were police in the States before the Slave Patrols though.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I pointed the police to someone who was selling fifty plus obviously stolen MacBooks and iPhones, including mine (all described as "locked", "no charger, no accessories", etc., etc.) and the could not possibly care less. "He probably was not the one who stole them." "Isn't it still a crime to sell stolen goods?" "Shrug."

The roots of police departments are the paid security forces of business owners, and their values as organizations reflect this. Business owners worked with local governments to create police departments to socialize some of the cost of securing their private property; their rented homes, their warehouses, their stores. And they reflect this to this day. Individual property crime doesn't mean shit. A criminal can sel…

> A criminal can sell your Macbook if they like, but if they steal from Apple itself? Oh man there will be hell to pay.

Where do you get the idea that there will be "hell to pay" if you steal from Apple itself? People regularly run out of Apple stores with tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and never get caught.

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