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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jul 28, 2019 3:08:47 GMT
Always in public. Although we don’t lock the car in the garage - it’s a shared garage in our building with about 25 spaces. Those car owners are the only ones who can get into the garage plus building staff. We had a mini crime spree in the neighborhood a few years ago. The thieves just walk into the building because people prop open the main doors or the garage door because they're moving in and out... or the thieves push all the door buzzers and people let them in without asking who it is... or the thieves just hide and sneak in after a car leaves the garage. Then anything unlocked in the garage is fair game. (Management has since installed cameras, since apparently people don't understand what DON'T BUZZ IN STRANGERS and DON'T PROP OPEN THE DOORS mean.)
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Post by twistedscissors on Jul 28, 2019 3:13:28 GMT
Locked and in the garage
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,135
Location: New York, NY
Jun 26, 2014 18:02:19 GMT
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Post by christinec68 on Jul 28, 2019 3:43:31 GMT
Always in public. Although we don’t lock the car in the garage - it’s a shared garage in our building with about 25 spaces. Those car owners are the only ones who can get into the garage plus building staff. We had a mini crime spree in the neighborhood a few years ago. The thieves just walk into the building because people prop open the main doors or the garage door because they're moving in and out... or the thieves push all the door buzzers and people let them in without asking who it is... or the thieves just hide and sneak in after a car leaves the garage. Then anything unlocked in the garage is fair game. (Management has since installed cameras, since apparently people don't understand what DON'T BUZZ IN STRANGERS and DON'T PROP OPEN THE DOORS mean.) The way the garage is set up, it’s virtually impossible to sneak into the garage and there’s no way to get out without the garage door remote or specially programmed key fob and getting into the building doesn’t give access to the garage. But I do get what you’re saying and we definitely have a false sense of security.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 28, 2019 4:37:02 GMT
A crime spree here in the Twin Cities involves breaking into cars in driveways and using the garage door opener to access homes while people are sleeping. Thankfully we park in the garage and have a security system. Yup that’s exactly what I was talking about! I always park my car in the locked garage and DH has the remote for the door opener hidden where it’s not visible to someone looking in. We also set up security cameras on the driveway, front door and back deck patio door that transmit the photos to the cloud wirelessly, so even if someone attempted to disable the camera the images of them climbing up to do it would be saved in the cloud. (Plus we get a ding on our phones anytime the cameras are recording movement so we see who is coming or going in real time.)
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Post by papersilly on Jul 28, 2019 4:52:11 GMT
Always. Even when I'm home. Even when it's parked 20 away from me at work at I have it in plain sight.
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Post by Merge on Jul 28, 2019 5:00:31 GMT
A crime spree here in the Twin Cities involves breaking into cars in driveways and using the garage door opener to access homes while people are sleeping. Thankfully we park in the garage and have a security system. Yup that’s exactly what I was talking about! I always park my car in the locked garage and DH has the remote for the door opener hidden where it’s not visible to someone looking in. We also set up security cameras on the driveway, front door and back deck patio door that transmit the photos to the cloud wirelessly, so even if someone attempted to disable the camera the images of them climbing up to do it would be saved in the cloud. (Plus we get a ding on our phones anytime the cameras are recording movement so we see who is coming or going in real time.) We don’t use a garage door opener remote for this reason. Cars parked in the driveway should have nothing in them of value or that could be used to access the house.
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luckyjune
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Jul 22, 2017 4:59:41 GMT
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Post by luckyjune on Jul 28, 2019 5:42:18 GMT
Religiously. Our neighborhood is a bit off the beaten path, but I'm pretty sure there are people prowling nightly, checking for unlocked cars. I can't believe how many people leave their wallets, purses, debit/credit cards in their cars and then are shocked they've been stolen.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jul 28, 2019 6:07:18 GMT
Always.
Locking my doors turns off my lights, though my car also auto locks itself after a few minutes. I also do not keep anything in my car that looks valuable. I keep reusable grocery bags in my car, but they are a jumbled mess so it doesn’t look like there’s anything valuable in there either.
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me2
Full Member
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Oct 3, 2016 3:32:09 GMT
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Post by me2 on Jul 28, 2019 6:43:37 GMT
I always do. My car was stolen a few years ago. I was staying with a friend. I was babysitting her kids because she was at a funeral. The guy went into my room and stole my car. It was retrieved with a garbage bag of clothes so jokes on him.
Now if anyone tried to steal it they’d be confused. I just replaced the cylinder where the key goes in so it takes two different keys to get in.
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wellway
Prolific Pea
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Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Jul 28, 2019 8:33:25 GMT
One thing in films that causes comment in our house is why characters leave their cars unlocked and/or windows down. The answers here explain a lot
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eastcoastpea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Jul 28, 2019 8:45:02 GMT
This thread makes me think of my nephew who recently posted on Facebook that someone stole his prescription sunglasses out of his car a few weeks ago. The car was parked in his driveway and not locked.
Now while I don't like to see anyone victimized I couldn't get worked up about it. Nephew, you have had people walk onto your property and steal vegetables out of your garden, and people have stolen some of your cut wood that you use for your wood stove. When people are bold enough to do that extra caution is in order.
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SuPeaNatural
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AUSTRALIA
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Jun 27, 2014 8:49:11 GMT
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Post by SuPeaNatural on Jul 28, 2019 10:37:55 GMT
My car is always locked when I'm not in it, even if it's in the garage.
It's so hard for me not to post a "well, what did you expect?".
We had a rash of car break-ins here a few months ago, and they were posted in the town FB group. All whinging about their wallet\$1,000 camera\laptop (etc etc) that were stolen, most after being left on the seat in full view. But did others take heed of the first few posts, and take their valuables inside? No, of course not. The group just got bombarded with posts for weeks about thefts. Hey dopey - if you're reading multiple stories about thefts - don't leave stuff in your car. It's not rocket science, and you get no sympathy from me.
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Jul 28, 2019 11:16:12 GMT
Yes, but I park in my locked garage.
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Post by monklady123 on Jul 28, 2019 11:17:21 GMT
Lol at all these neighborhood list serves/FB groups where people complain about this...we have the exact same thing going on! Someone will post that their car was rifled through, money stolen, or whatever. Someone then will ask (and they phrase their question the same way every time, on purpose...hahahaha) "omg that's awful! Which window did they break to get in?" lol. Then the original person will reply "oh the car wasn't locked, in was just in my driveway." hahaha They don't even seem to be aware how stupid that makes them sound. I mean it's not like we haven't seen this before. Funny how dh and I have never had our cars "rifled through". Funny how my immediate neighbors have never had it either. And of course the reason is that we lock our cars! How hard is it to push a button as you get out of the vehicle? Honestly, I feel no sympathy. Now obviously if people reported that the car windows were smashed and someone got in that way, well that's different. Although even then they shouldn't have left anything valuable in there. I remember years ago a friend of mine stopped at a drugstore on the way home from the gym. She always worked out really hard, and took a shower before she left the gym. She ran into the drugstore and left her car unlocked. Came out to find her gym bag stolen. hahahaha The bag with the sweaty workout clothes in it. lol... joke's on that thief.
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Post by Patter on Jul 28, 2019 11:48:43 GMT
Always, and I am surprised when people don't AND the things they keep in their car and just leave it there--purses, wallets, IDs, jewelry, guns, etc. My daughter gets calls ALL of the time for car break ins. When she interviews the car owners, a majority have left their cars unlocked! Even her department's website posted this last week:
"OK (city name), we have had several car break-ins where the doors were unlocked. Please lock your doors, hide your valuables, and take your keys."
I don't get it.
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Post by mrssmith on Jul 28, 2019 11:58:53 GMT
Yes, because we've had people walk along the block at night trying all the doors to see what's unlocked and taking stuff from those that are. I don't keep valuables in the car, but one time I did leave the doors unlocked. They took some change and a car phone charger.
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Post by compeateropeator on Jul 28, 2019 12:03:43 GMT
I replied only at certain times and places. There are often times that I don’t lock it, but I really don’t have anything in it at those times. And, truthfully, I have had my card broken into a few times. All times the car has been locked, so not only have I had to deal with the loss but also had to replace windows. I would almost rather leave my car unlocked and just deal with the theft and not the replacing of broken windows.
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ddly
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Post by ddly on Jul 28, 2019 12:04:42 GMT
I don't when I'm at home or at school. I keep minimal things in my car. I think I have a winter hat and an umbrella plus my car stuff in the glove box. When I'm shopping or in a place I don't know, or I have anything in it, I do lock the doors.
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Post by just PEAchy on Jul 28, 2019 12:07:24 GMT
I always do, except when it’s in the garage.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jul 28, 2019 12:33:01 GMT
I consider locking my car doors similar to wearing my seatbelt. Simply an automatic habit I do every time I use my car. My current vehicle has side mirrors that fold in when I touch the 'dimple' to engage the locks. I like that because I can SEE that the car is locked. I despise people who have to punch the key fob button multiple times and make their car beep-beep and boop-boop out loud. A crime spree here in the Twin Cities involves breaking into cars in driveways and using the garage door opener to access homes while people are sleeping. I've always thought garage door openers were a serious loophole in most people's sense of home security.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 28, 2019 13:28:20 GMT
I replied only at certain times and places. There are often times that I don’t lock it, but I really don’t have anything in it at those times. And, truthfully, I have had my card broken into a few times. All times the car has been locked, so not only have I had to deal with the loss but also had to replace windows. I would almost rather leave my car unlocked and just deal with the theft and not the replacing of broken windows. When DH’s sister was going to college, she rented an apartment in a sketchier part of town the last couple years. She always locked her car doors at night, and one night someone broke the car window to steal a handful of coins in the cup holder, some CDs and other things of minimal value. The broken window was by far the more expensive thing to replace, and she thought the same as what I bolded above. Until a couple months went by and some squatter slept in her car to get out of the wind one night and took a dump on her driver’s seat! 😧💩💩💩 After that, she decided maybe it was best to keep the car doors locked after all!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jul 28, 2019 13:37:21 GMT
I consider locking my car doors similar to wearing my seatbelt. Simply an automatic habit I do every time I use my car. My current vehicle has side mirrors that fold in when I touch the 'dimple' to engage the locks. I like that because I can SEE that the car is locked. I despise people who have to punch the key fob button multiple times and make their car beep-beep and boop-boop out loud. A crime spree here in the Twin Cities involves breaking into cars in driveways and using the garage door opener to access homes while people are sleeping. I've always thought garage door openers were a serious loophole in most people's sense of home security. I have a keyless ignition so my key fob almost never leaves my purse. I push the door lock button inside the door when I’m getting out. A tiny light on the lock lights up so I can see it’s locked before I even close the door. No beep-beep needed. ETA: My cell phone also works as a key fob to open the doors. And ITA with you that it doesn’t make sense to have a garage door opener inside your car if you’re not parking it inside the garage. Our garage doors have the code box thing on the outside so you wouldn’t need an opener in the car to get into the garage.
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Post by ajsweetpea on Jul 28, 2019 15:24:20 GMT
Always! We have a two car garage so my husband and I park our cars in there overnight. When we were looking for a house, if it didn't have a two car garage that was a dealbreaker for me! (My husband didn't get it at the time. but after two hurricanes and a bunch of snow storms and ice storms and car break ins, now he gets it!) But I always lock when I am in a parking lot, etc. Our town Facebook page is FULL of posts about people having their car broken into and inevitably, they admit to leaving their doors unlocked.
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,183
Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Jul 28, 2019 15:24:22 GMT
I consider locking my car doors similar to wearing my seatbelt. Simply an automatic habit I do every time I use my car. My current vehicle has side mirrors that fold in when I touch the 'dimple' to engage the locks. I like that because I can SEE that the car is locked. I despise people who have to punch the key fob button multiple times and make their car beep-beep and boop-boop out loud. A crime spree here in the Twin Cities involves breaking into cars in driveways and using the garage door opener to access homes while people are sleeping. I've always thought garage door openers were a serious loophole in most people's sense of home security. We realized years ago that having the garage door open, like when doing yard work, presented an easy opportunity for anyone to enter the open garage and then just walk into the house. Especially when one car was obviously gone and my husband could be working in the back yard, anyone could have entered the house, taken whatever they wanted and been gone before he’d ever know. We added a keypad lock to the door from the garage into the house, and the door is set to lock automatically whenever it is closed. Yes, someone could still steal something from the garage when I’m working in the backyard with the garage door open, but there’s not such easy access to the house.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jul 28, 2019 15:52:52 GMT
Always. We don't have a garage and live in an older more urban neighborhood. Most houses don't have garages or only a one car that a modern car won't fit in. We have groups of young adults that walk through in the middle of the night checking all the doors looking for an open one and rifling through anything left inside. We don't leave anything of value in the car. We also had a period of time where people would break into homes during the day when people were in the back doing yard work, etc. A few older neighbors were surprised in their homes by thieves from leaving their front doors unlocked. People here need to realize this is the largest city in the state and our metro is pushing 1 million. It's not our farmhouse out in the hinterland surrounded by nothing but fields.
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Post by cmpeter on Jul 28, 2019 16:06:47 GMT
If it’s not parked in our garage, it’s locked.
I’m surprised by folks who leave things like their purse or laptop in their cars, parked on the street overnight and complain about break ins/thefts.
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Post by MichyM on Jul 28, 2019 16:17:37 GMT
It’s locked and in a secure garage.
Kills me to see the posts (several times a week) from my neighbors on Nextdoor listing all the (expensive and difficult to replace) things taken out of their car at night. I live next to downtown, so car prowls are a big thing here. What kills me even more is when I see these posts from people who admittedly have had their car prowled more than once. Come on people. I’m the first one to sit on the “rose colored glasses” bench, but even the Pollyanna in me learns from my mistakes.
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Post by curiouscrafter on Jul 28, 2019 16:27:51 GMT
I lock my car, that sits in my garage, that leads to a locked door to the inside.
My friends don't 1) understand why I lock my car in a garage and 2) understand why I lock my house door to my garage.
I'm like "are you crazy?" If the door has a lock on it, I lock it...kinda the point of a lock...
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Post by Patter on Jul 28, 2019 16:32:12 GMT
I replied only at certain times and places. There are often times that I don’t lock it, but I really don’t have anything in it at those times. I would almost rather leave my car unlocked and just deal with the theft and not the replacing of broken windows. My daughter says that people tell her that a lot (she is a police officer). However, the fact is when most of these things happen, she said that the thieves are in a hurry, try doors, and run. For instance, they might hit a hotel by a freeway. They might have 6-8 cars that get broken into one night but they were car with doors open. If it's locked, the thieves are more than likely to leave it alone. They want easy and fast.
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Post by Eddie-n-Harley on Jul 28, 2019 17:46:49 GMT
I replied only at certain times and places. There are often times that I don’t lock it, but I really don’t have anything in it at those times. I would almost rather leave my car unlocked and just deal with the theft and not the replacing of broken windows. My daughter says that people tell her that a lot (she is a police officer). However, the fact is when most of these things happen, she said that the thieves are in a hurry, try doors, and run. For instance, they might hit a hotel by a freeway. They might have 6-8 cars that get broken into one night but they were car with doors open. If it's locked, the thieves are more than likely to leave it alone. They want easy and fast. This is the info from our police as well. Around here, a lot of it is juveniles being stupid with their friends, so a locked door really does work as a deterrent.
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