UKH

Footpaths open again - and people leave cars. Guess who's coming to break into them? Yup, car crime is on the rise again in the Peak (and one presumes other parts of the country, but do we not hear about them so much? Do tell).

The BMC reiterates the guidance: always lock your car, and don't leave anything in it. Our extra guidance, make it plain that you're not hiding anything (put hatchback boot shelves down, for instance; leave gloveboxes open). We could add the advice given for years on uk.rec.climbing, which was to leave some women's knickers in the back. Failing that, a baby's nappy: you'd smell the crims for miles. (OK, we never knew if this worked. But it sounded interesting.)

Other details at the UKClimbing news pages.

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:
Good job we pay our bloody taxes so the Police can get posters printed saying "Leave no valuables in your car cos we will make no attempt to catch the crims cos we're too busy setting up speed traps to get cash from (almost) law abiding citizens"

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:

I think it was 'Top Gear' a couple of years ago, but some car type program did an article on crime prevention measures around the world. One device, which they said was legal in South Africe (still not sure about this), consisted of a very short range high-intensity flame thrower that went on the underneath of the car and vapourised peoples legs from midway down the shins to the floor if they tried to tamper with the vehicle. I think theres a lot of scope for it going horribly wrong, and you'ld probably go to prison for a long time if you used it, but it would only take one incident at Stanage on a packed Saturday and I bet all the local car crims would think long and hard about another proffesion

Izzy

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor: In addition to the above Parking in a designated car park [and paying] will significantly reduce this risk of a break in as the Car Parks are regularly visited by the Wardens and Police.

Remember isolation = opportunity whereas crowds = security.

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:

could someone explain the bit about women's knickers please, i'm slightly confused.

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:

Best thing to do is leave car unlocked and empty!

Just make sure you have a good imoboliser.

In reply to Tom O:
Didn't do my friend in Durlston Country Park anygood. Full alpine rack cleaned out. Nor another friend in Surprise View carpark anygood either; he was cleaned out too.

In reply to Tom O: "In addition to the above Parking in a designated car park [and paying] will significantly reduce this risk of a break in as the Car Parks are regularly visited by the Wardens and Police"

Dont kid yourself Tom. Our car got broken into at Plantation Car Park last year (yes we did pay and it still got broken into). It was a Saturday afternoon and therewere about 10 cars. The warden said they had stopped at Popular End Parkng forst, where there were about 15 cars.

In reply to Chris Fryer:

Yep, crouds dont mean sh*t, infact it can provide a sort of camoflage. We saw two youths ripping the speakers out of the rear boot of a flash audi at curbar gap car park a couple of years back. People having picnics and everything. Only when we stopped packing and kind of gathered to look did they calmly get into a adjacent mondeao and drive off. (took the reg and informed police). on closer inspection, the audi had the stereo, speakers, glove compartment and tool box totaly ramsacked.

Broad daylight, Sunday afternoon

Only answer is to drive a crappy car and leave nothing in it.

In reply to Bob:
They were in Burnt Yates yesterday nicking some poor twat.
But when My car was nicked from Caley a few years ago & turned up in Leeds I asked them if they had finger printed it, had they Bolax. But why it was worth several thousand pounds. How do they expect to make a real impact if they dont realy care.
At the end of the day a crime was commited & all they could do was give me a quick lesson in how to hot wire it and how to jirk the wheel to get passed the steering lock on corners, just so I could get it out of the police station. Pretty poor I woulsd say.

In reply to Anonymous:

Yeah, that is the effect psychologists talk about - crowds can actually induce people to do *less* because everyone thinks "Oh, someone here will do something about it."

The point about having a crap car and leaving it unlocked.. well, if the immobiliser is top quality.

There's also the trick of taking out the spark plugs if you go down this route, though it might start seeming like more hassle. But it would sure defeat them. (Of course your car by now is broken into, etc.)

The Stanage bus however is still running. This allows you to adopt the "Penguin Approach" (which they use when wanting to know if there's a predator in the water where they want to swim): go in someone else's car. (The penguins sort of udge any other penguin in, so they can see without having to find out.)

Charles

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor: last tue at burbage south we came back to the car in the little car park and two yank lads who we had seen car had been done ,welcome to the peak

My (crap) car was broken into at Bosigran car park last year. The place is notorious for this, apparantly. On another climbing evening around the same time, a friend's car was broken into at the NT car park for Trewavas.

In reply to Izzy: I think the flamethrower car security system was for protection against car-jackers (who stick a gun at you while you wait at traffic lights, etc), rather than an anti-tamper device for unattended vehicles...

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor: I got rid of my flash car in April, and since then I've been using public transport to get to the crags. Makes me feel very environmentally friendly, I can tell you Oh, and much better off financially.

Would anyone here like to collaborate on a 'Peak climbing by bus' article I'm thinking of writing? All the timetables are on the web already, so it would basically be bus routes that are good for various crags, which stop to get off at, etc.

Cheers

In reply to Nick Smith: Also the parking for Carn Kendijack just South of Bosi always has a glass scattered about and is a bit of a hotspot.

In reply to Nick Smith: I sent Charles a top 10 months ago of winter climbs in Scotland that could all be done by bus in a day from Glasgow. I thought this served the environment and pointed to some great climbs. Charles seems to have lost it! ooops.

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:
Blackest of black spots in in Wales is the remote Bryn Gwyn parking spot in the Nantlle Valley.As used by climbers/walkers approaching Cwm Silyn.The carpet of broken windscreen glass is a bit of a givaway.
Tan y Grisiau near Blaneau Ffestiniog is bad too.The Quarry CP under Cwm Orthin is a scally hot spot.

In reply to Charles Arthur, UKC editor:

A few years back I heard of some cavers who were having gear knicked on a regular basis, so one day instead of going down the cave they hid behind the wall with a few camera's etc.
Sure enough along came the thieves who were filmed breaking into the cars etc. The film / photos were passed onto the cops who when they arrested the thieves noticed that they appeared to have rather more cuts and bruises than were on the photographs. Also it turned out that the culprits were also cavers from another area.