Two, no, three things since the prowled car news earlier this month.
Subaru owners beware!
“If you drive a Honda Accord, Honda Civic or Subaru Legacy—or a car that was made before 2002—there is a greater chance that auto thieves may target your car,” according to a somewhat confusing release this week from the Seattle Police Department.
There were 525 reported auto thefts in Seattle during the month of October and a total of 4715 through the end of October. That’s a 38 percent increase from last year during the same time period.
According to our crime data, 77 percent of cars stolen in Seattle are model year 2001 or older. The top three cars stolen in Seattle year to date are Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Subaru Legacy.
If your car was made in 2001 or older – or you drive an Accord, Civic or Legacy – please consider purchasing a steering wheel lock anti-theft device at a reduced price from the Seattle Neighborhood Group. Follow this link for details.
Second, after another embarrassing incident, police say they will find a way to track stolen devices, according to our news partner The Seattle Times.
“On Friday, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole announced creation of a position to help patrol officers track down stolen phones and other GPS-enabled electronic devices.”
And this morning police announced they caught thieves leaving a stolen car in the Haller Lake neighborhood (North Northgate Way and Aurora Avenue North).
Seattle police captured two suspects hiding in a cemetery after the suspects jumped from a moving, stolen car late Friday night.
Officers, while on an Anti-Violence Emphasis patrol, were keeping their eyes open for a stolen SUV believed to be connected with a number of recent incidents throughout North Seattle.
The officers spotted the stolen vehicle, now sporting stolen license plates, at Aurora Ave North and North Northgate Way around 11 p.m. Meanwhile the suspects, realizing they had been spotted, drove a short distance before jumping out of the moving SUV….
The officers were able to stop the run-away car before they gave chase to the two suspect who ran into a cemetery. Additional officers streamed into the area and quickly surrounded the cemetery, forcing the suspects to hide.
Overhead the King County Sheriffs Guardian-1 helicopter helped vector officers to the hiding suspects and both were arrested.
The cops don’t do much of anything here in Seattle. Its great if you are a dope smoking junky looking for quick cash.
Dan: Sorry to hear that; sounds like you did everything right.
They don’t do stolen bikes either; I’ve seen more than one story of someone that gets their stolen bike back by arranging to meet the seller, taking it for a test ride, and never returning.
Tim – Reported it stolen. Easy case for the cops but they said they don’t deal with stolen iphones, they get stolen constantly. Also encouraged me not to confront the thief at the address and just call it a loss. Pretty much about just as helpful when my house was broken into a few years ago. Heck, when I had a stolen car crash into the ditch by my driveway and teenagers run away, it took cops almost 4 hours to come out. I just don’t think Seattle cops care about local crime very much. Get good insurance, that’s the only way to protect yourself.
That last story must have been the same guys that stole my 2001 Honda Accord from my carport at the end of April. I was out of the country at the time but SPD wouldn’t let me report it until I returned (5 days later). It was eventually “found” in that area at the end of July. Three weeks after the insurance company paid out.
Dan: Some details are missing so I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it sounds like they may have lacked probable cause. Was it reported stolen or did you just use an app to show a dot on a map? If the latter, I can’t say I blame the cops.
My wife had her phone stolen, the tracking told us exactly what house it was in but the police absolutely refused to help, I had to go there an confront the thief myself. I have little faith this position will end up in police actually helping track down stolen phones, even when you can provide them the exact location of the stolen device. They just don’t care.
And if you’re wondering why those old Hondas and Subarus are targeted so much:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/upshot/heres-why-stealing-cars-went-out-of-fashion.html
I am liking Ms. O’Toole.