• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.
  • Several Regions have held meetups already, but others are being planned or are evaluating the interest. The Calgary Area Meetup is set for Saturday July 12th at 10am. The signup thread is here! Arbutus has also explored interest in a Fraser Valley meetup but it seems members either missed his thread or had other plans. Let him know if you are interested in a meetup later in the year by posting here! Slowpoke is trying to pull together an Ottawa area meetup later this summer. No date has been selected yet, so let him know if you are interested here! We are not aware of any other meetups being planned this year. If you are interested in doing something in your area, let everyone know and make it happen! Meetups are a great way to make new machining friends and get hands on help in your area. Don’t be shy, sign up and come, or plan your own meetup!

Tips/Techniques LEGAL non harming booby traps for thieves

Tips/Techniques
Sorry for that financial loss.

Cameras are to keep honest people honest - they will not deter theft. They cannot stop theft.

Sure you can add a horn / light but these are similar to a camera setup - they will not physically stop theft.

You need better system for locking your truck - i.e. tougher physical barriers followed by human based security (as we don't have robots yet widely available).

Don't go into illegal means - not worth the trouble.
 
If the point of entry was a side window or the rear window, there are transparent and tinted Mylar films available which will prevent the smash and grab operators. Not recommended for windshields of course. The 8mil film is extremely tough and will certainly do the job unless the vermin is particularly determined.
 
I have no suggestions for you that would be effective, nor legal. Just sympathy for having to deal with this futile situation. A good insurance plan is about all you can do now. Law enforcement isn't really interested in solving anymore, even with undeniable proof, and to be fair to them, their hands are tied anyway. Pick them up and they're back out before shift change. Zero consequences. Groudhog day......Build a bigger shop to park your work truck inside maybe?

About 20 years ago one of the local contractors had his van and trailer ransacked by some teenagers one night (I think it happened a couple times prior too). He caught them in the act, and really roughed up one of them on the way to taking him back to where he lived, and then went to work on the Dad too. Even small town 20 years ago he was lucky that he didn't get charged. Big dude, and he probably held back a little. No more thefts around town though (for a while anyway).....It's a different world now.....and it's not for the better.

Not sure how to fix it, but I do know what we're doing now isn't working, so it's time to make some changes to the way we handle these situations.
 
Parking inside is not an option due to you guys convincing me to get into machining.

My work truck is actually too big to fit in the garage anyway, even if it was empty. Long box, crew cab, F350 with a big service topper.

The motion sensitive pager would be sweet actually. If it’s only one thief, I’m confident that the situation would be handled due to wrestling/bjj experience….

Even if I could get notified properly, I could follow the thieves with my drone…. And turn them over to law enforcement.
 
@BaitMaster - The only thing I can suggest is really loud noises. The kind that make a crook shit themselves. Air horns, sirens, etc. Preferably accompanied by really bright lights and video recording. Then post on line so everyone in the area can help ID the pricks.

Drone following is an expensive exercise in futility. It can't chase a vehicle parked around the corner.

My security isn't perfect. It's based on letting crooks know that this heist ain't gunna be easy. Crooks are lazy. Second is imminent intrusion detection. I get alerted BEFORE anything serious happens - this can be silent, quiet, or loud. Third is actual intrusion alerts. These go to me AND a security monitoring outfit.

Dogs are a good deterrent. But mine are all dead now.

I like radio based video footage.

Of all of these, deterrents are the most important and most effective.
 
Have an audible alarm trigger a message that is very loud and followed by a count down timer starting at 10, "releasing poison gas", then, just so they don't get too brave and think you're bluffing, have it release a really strong fart gas. They might think twice about what they inhaled (should be legal)? Follow up with 2nd countdown timer announcing electric discharge in 10 seconds...

Seriously speaking, being a work truck, maybe some reinforcement at the entry points, slow them down enough that they can't get in and out quick, along with loud sounds and lighting / flashes (if you are lucky you can trigger an epileptic seizure in them).
Theft always sucks, insurance is a pain and doesn't compensate for your time to replace the items / tools or lost time while without whatever was taken.
Another thought, is a hidden air tag in one tool, that way it can be traced if it does get taken (not by you but the police can follow up on it).
Also be careful of them taking the whole truck, engine immobilizer / wheel boot of some sort is recommended for that (or nightly disconnect of important parts).
 
Well that’s terrible!
Hate is a strong word. But I hate thieves!
Good loud train horn and a strobe is all I can suggest. Park as close to the house as possible. I don’t have air conditioning so my windows are wide open and I pretty much hear anyone. I am in the country so any vehicle coming down the road is easy to hear.
 
Setup an alarm that is piercing loud. Friend did this with a motion light sensor. First the lights a bit down the drive way would go on. If the motion kept moving up then it would trigger the alarm. He had lots of break ins before this. They are in north west edmonton. Camera's are not a deterrent, neither is lighting. The sound tho scares em. He had video of a guy who walked right up his driveway, triggered the lights. Kept on walking like it was nothing. Walked up to the point the alarm went off, looked startled and he booked it. We have the ring light camera's and I have been thinking of setting up an alarm as well. Sadly dogs do not work as these thieves are more then willing to kill them with poison or hit the dogs with sticks or bats.

We live in violent times and its tough to secure our belongings. Its tough to defend property with our current laws and the courts. If you do end up in an altercation it can go badly for the home owner. If the courts see you as the aggressor. There have been cases that did go for the home owner but those cases are not common and they hinged off the fact that the criminals were armed.
 
Oh man I feel your pain. Lost all my portable tools from my garage when I lived in Edmonton. :(
I agree with the motion activated alarm/siren.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top