Any good ideas about where to park free of window smashing?

[pizzacamp]

My girlfriends back window was smashed last night on 3rd street just south of Girard. Is there any recommended safe street parking or advice on this matter. I'm fucking livid. Any information would be helpful. Luckily they made off with her dirty yoga bag and nothing else.

[carpetbagger]

yea, that area can be quite the spot for thieves, probably because they can easily scurry down girard/hop on a bus/trolley. cambridge and parts of 4th, too.

we should have a banner on the message board that says: "leave nothing visible in your car!!" ... even a gym bag full of dirty clothes.

[Dan]

Some blocks might be better than others (I'm not too familiar with the individual blocks in that area though), but your best bet is to have NOTHING visible in the car, otherwise your car can be broken into no matter where you park.

[christina]

Sorry to hear that. 3rd st. just below Girard is dark and quiet, not much foot traffic at night. I used to walk my dog around that corner, but stopped after seeing guys hanging out in the darkness. I have seen alot of broken car window glass in my part of the neighborhood lately. 4th from Girard going south has quite a bit, and that is just across the street from the firehouse. Cambridge St. 3rd to 4th has lots of glass. I also noticed a car up on plastic boxes(all 4 wheels missing) yesterday at 3rd and Poplar st. I will post more as I see it. Must be a new crew of thieves in the neighborhood. I am amazed at the valuables(laptops, cameras, purses, gym bags, money-bills as well as change) I see in cars while walking my dog. Take all of your stuff out of the car!

[Kent]

yeah, ditto the rest of the advice. Don't leave -anything- visible. You may know that gym bag just has dirty socks in it, but the thief doesn't know that until they've smashed your window. I accidentally left a shopping bag with a $3 can of store-brand coffee in the foot of the front seat last night and I was relieved my windows were still there when I got up this morning.

Well-lit blocks in front of houses are probably better than blocks that are dark and are in front of businesses that are empty at night.

Usually the thief is only going to break into one or two car windows on a block... make sure there is nothing in your car that makes it more alluring than the other cars they have to choose from.

[CaponesDad]

WHERE ARE THE POLICE AT, ESPECIALLY IF THESE CRIMES ARE OCCURING IN A 3 BLOCK AREA? FREAKING PATHETIC!

[Flanderpants]

It's clear that there is little to no visble police presence in our neighborhood. Perhaps this is because No Libs is cut right down the middle between the 6th and 26th police sitricts - each clearly having other priorities and under the false impression that this neighborhood is too safe to warrant any real efforts on their part.

This article appeared in the Daily News last week about a neighborhood in Philly that got sick of a similar situation and hired their own sercurity.

http://articles.philly.com/2012-08-10/n ... ce-captain

Ofcourse the police have "only ones" syndrome and consider this an affront but it is an interesting option to consider. It would definately continue the tradition of this neighborhood succeeding despite city hall policy rather than because of city hall policy.

I'm curious to hear the thoughts of others on this issue.

[mythaeus]

It's a crapshoot wherever you park, a well-lit street may reduce your chance a little, but don't count on it. What really disheartening is that it doesn't matter if the entire neighborhood is swarming with cops, the criminal "justice" system of this city is atrocious. It does nothing but breeds more criminals through its laziness and incompetence. Remember this incident here: http://www.northernliberties.net/msgboa ... 9546#p9546 ? Call me pessimistic, but I have no hope for more cops patrolling or if more cops would solve the actual underlying problem in that post there.

Since there's no hope of fixing the system, as car owners we must be smart. I try really hard to refrain from blaming the victims, but I just find it incredibly irresponsible that people still leave valuables in the car, visible or not. I can sort of understand if you forgot, but I can't remember how many times I read complaints on this board about smashed windows and out-of-sight valuables intentionally left in the car were taken. Even if you put your GPS nav or items that can be sold/pawned in the glove compartment, it can still be discovered and taken after the car is broken into. This will only perpetuate break-ins because they know that for every 10 cars broken into, there are bound to be 1 or 2 that will yield some pay. Until they figure out that no one leaves valuables in their cars anymore, the break-in will stop. I have no hope that people will all wise up either, though.

Al

[Jordan]

Fishtown. :-P

[TheSomers]

This sucks. Sorry to hear about it. This is one of the situations that the neighborhood struggles the most with. The NLBOA was proposing a camera project with a grant from the PTSSD, but not sure where that stands. There was a lot of push-back from those that did not want cameras as it represented "big brother". But perhaps until there is something like this in place, these types of crimes will continue. I know some private owners have released their cameras of break-ins of cars in front of their house. Increased lighting and not leaving valueables out is really the only immediate solution in addition to the camera program if that ever gets off the ground.

[kevinhernandez]

Best advice-

Don't leave anything visible in your car.

I leave nothing in my car-even trash on the floor-no City Papers left on my floor. People are not going to break in if they don't see anything to steal.

[K9Interests]

It is upsetting to have your (or your girlfriend's) vehicle broken into. I just replaced a window, which cost a couple of hundred and I have nothing in my truck. Unless recycling counts? Oh and dirt. Anything else was taken the time before, besides the really stubborn dirt.

We've had a lot of that on the 900 block of 5th. Within the past few days, three car windows that I know of were broken and my neighbour's truck got the window/door jimmied (yup, no need to break glass) and lost all her car records from the glove box. Me, I carry mine, as I'd rather not go through the extra hassle of replacing registration etc along with my scratched CDs and broken window.

Hey, my friend had all four of her wheels lifted. I have a picture of her SUV up on Pepsi crates. These guys are organized! This is not some kid looking to score a GPS! Then, after everyone got over the shock and the towing company were persuaded to get her vehicle to a shop...it happened to her again. I began to wonder about her...(!) Anyway, she said to me as they only took two of her wheels this time, "At least crime is down 50%."

So. Seek humour, as we live in a world of thieves? Your being livid won't help fix the window or get the dirty clothes back. Be happy no one got hurt? Yet! But be sure to report it to the police, by calling the District's non-emergency number, as if we do, then they can see where the crimes are happening and handle that as they are able, what with short funds and manpower.