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Train burglaries in LA

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Re: Train burglaries in LA

#511

Post by asdff »

Ansil849 wrote: post #91
Doxin wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Turns out it's pretty tricky to make a padlock secure against bolt cutters. Of course improving the security of the lock would soon lead to thieves cutting off the locking bars on the container instead.

It doesn't have to be the lock that's secured. What about a hinge mechanism which takes a programmable amount of time to open the container door? If it takes 10 minutes for the door to open, the lock doesn't matter as much, since the thieves have a very limited amount of time before the trains start moving again, apparently.

Way too complicated. Apparently shippers are opting to start just welding the door shut and unwelding it at the destination.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#512

Post by serious_habit »

screye wrote: post #460

Kind of related : America Is Falling Apart at the Seams https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/opinion/america-falling-a... A loss of civic sense and cultural criminality are incredibly hard to weed out of a population, once it has taken root. I worry that the a mix of pessimism and a loss of civic sense is sending non-elite America into a death spiral. Opponents of return-to-normalcy claim that these are temporary and a…

Outrageous behavior is being glorified because it drives clicks.

So many of these Alex Jones wannabe 'anti-maskers invade a store protesters', schoolboard meeting ravers get publicized because they get people fired up and drive clicks and ad revenue.

It's normalizing that the way to handle disagreement is to act out.

I'm sorry to say that this onslaught of terrible behavior isn't because people are tired of lockdowns, it's because it's great for driving ad traffic & getting $ from voters.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#513

Post by givemeethekeys »

rjbwork wrote: post #502
screye wrote: post #460

Kind of related : America Is Falling Apart at the Seams https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/opinion/america-falling-a... A loss of civic sense and cultural criminality are incredibly hard to weed out of a population, once it has taken root. I worry that the a mix of pessimism and a loss of civic sense is sending non-elite America into a death spiral. Opponents of return-to-normalcy claim that these are temporary and a…

In no particular order: The rich are getting richer faster than the rest of us. Real wages are stagnant. Social safety nets are constantly being removed. Labor protections have been being rolled back or enforcement lax since the ATC strike. Atomization and alienation have taken root. The mythos of the nuclear family being paramount is fully embedded in the culture, destroying the older concept of a broader family and…

> The mythos of the nuclear family being paramount is fully embedded in the culture, destroying the older concept of a broader family and community taking part in the rearing of the next generation and just general socialization.

I think we're past "nuclear family" at this point. Getting married is actively discouraged by our legal system.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#514

Post by Scoundreller »

adrianmonk wrote: post #484

Comment from someone on Reddit ( https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/s2sjxj/los_angeles_th... ): > It’s not just in LA, theft and vandalism have gone way up on all the rail networks. My company is experiencing some of the worst loss numbers while in rail transit. We just announced that all transport carts will be welded shut and unwelded when it gets to the destination. Even locks aren’t enough.

Just the next iteration of bike theft.

Same tools, bigger rewards.

Of course, we did nothing when it was just bikes being stolen because it was just hippy car-free bike riders impacted.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#515

Post by Scoundreller »

siruncledrew wrote: post #467
rdtsc wrote: post #3

Wonder how organized that looting is. Is just individuals over many months or years, or a large gang over a few weeks time. On the one hand it’s shocking to see it in LA in US. On the other I am surprised it’s not happening more often. In large cities, some of my acquaintances had to get PO boxes as their packages kept getting stolen. But why bother wasting time going house to house, when you can hit a whole train ca…

I was wondering the same thing about seeing the aerial footage in the Twitter thread. I don’t even know that amount of stuff could be opened, filtered for valuables, and transported within a few hours time without dozens of people and some mid-size cargo trucks. This seems like enough organized logistic planning that a bunch of homeless people or youth gangs would not be able to pull off at this level.

It’s minimally above bike theft. Same tools. If the train goes slow enough/stops, start cracking open containers and throw as much on the ground as you can while you can.

Then sift through it for the next hours.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#516

Post by tamaharbor »

Over the past several months I have had more delivery problems with Amazon than ever. Things scheduled, out for delivery, and sometimes ten spots away on a map, just seem to disappear. I wonder if these (and similar) thefts have anything to do with it.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#517

Post by desmosxxx »

Seattle3503 wrote: post #18
fblp wrote: post #12

Sigh - Any resourced and competent police or security force should be able to catch or deter thieves that are stealing packages from the same location . Additionally, mail theft laws which include prison as a consequence should be extended to package thefts if they don't already cover them.

> Additionally, mail theft laws which include prison as a consequence should be extended to package thefts if they don't already cover them. But it is a nonviolent crime. It seems like finding some way to prevent the thefts is better.

> it is a nonviolent crime

This doesn't really mean anything. Non-violent crimes range from personal drug use & speeding to ponzi schemes & drunk driving.

There is a difference between theft (a victim exists and can inflict either physical or emotional damage) and something like personal light drug use (mostly victimless).

Theft not only robs a victim of their time & resource but it can also inflict emotional damage. A broken car window means you're out whatever they stole + glass (often a week or more of wages) and the emotional stress & time to fix it. These packages had recipients - the PPE is obviously important but each of these packages could have been someones anniversary gift or important medical device.

If we're talking about the moral severity of the crime itself, theft is pretty close to assault in my book and should be punished accordingly.

We can work on preventing the desperateness that leads to theft while still having strict punishment. What we shouldn't do is not address the root cause AND let such crimes go essentially unpunished.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#518

Post by rjbwork »

givemeethekeys wrote: post #513
rjbwork wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In no particular order: The rich are getting richer faster than the rest of us. Real wages are stagnant. Social safety nets are constantly being removed. Labor protections have been being rolled back or enforcement lax since the ATC strike. Atomization and alienation have taken root. The mythos of the nuclear family being paramount is fully embedded in the culture, destroying the older concept of a broader family and…

> The mythos of the nuclear family being paramount is fully embedded in the culture, destroying the older concept of a broader family and community taking part in the rearing of the next generation and just general socialization. I think we're past "nuclear family" at this point. Getting married is actively discouraged by our legal system.

True. I certainly am not. Definitely part of Atomization. Large swathes of the country, especially the religious and conservative still buy into this mythos though.

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#519

Post by Scoundreller »

threatofrain wrote: post #42
rdtsc wrote: post #3

Wonder how organized that looting is. Is just individuals over many months or years, or a large gang over a few weeks time. On the one hand it’s shocking to see it in LA in US. On the other I am surprised it’s not happening more often. In large cities, some of my acquaintances had to get PO boxes as their packages kept getting stolen. But why bother wasting time going house to house, when you can hit a whole train ca…

It’s not the LAPD’s role to get involved with this, but instead this responsibility falls upon special agents dedicated to these train lines. Their HQ is in Omaha Nebraska.

Does LAPD have zero jurisdiction on rail lines that have their own private police?

Or is it a case of “well, someone else could deal with it, so we’re out”?

Re: Train burglaries in LA

#520

Post by uejfiweun »

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #495
y4mi wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that ... Theory about the lockdowns supposedly not being because of the virus but to hide a larger financial crisis/weath reallocation is spreading quite quickly at least at far as I can tell. That's not going to reduce tensions in that regard, that's for sure. There is only circumstantial evidence but the story sounds plausible. If things continue like this, I'd wager that trump will return in 24

Quoted post unavailable.

This is a very insulting comment, and seems to have been prompted by practically nothing at all. I'd urge you to consider how your condescending attitude appears to anyone who doesn't agree with you.
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