Securing a stolen vehicle

[AMC]

In WA if the car is located, localish to the RO, and is "legally parked" the police will call the RO and ask if they want the vehicle impounded or left in place. Our Dispatchers would then remove the vehicle from the hot sheets. I have had cars removed and added to the hot sheets two or three times in a short period of time because the car thieves got to the car before the RO.

I'm sorry....but that is so negligent it is retarded.

[Lost River]

I'm sorry....but that is so negligent it is retarded.

The word “Retarded” for such policy making is not politically correct.

The correct term is “Captain”.

[Totem Polar]

But, I'm heading out immediately and securing my vehicle.

Sorry to hear that your ride got jacked. I like your plan. I have a friend that had his car (original and the replacement) stolen twice. Each time, the Police notified him of location, and we gave him a lift. 3 people; I had a Glock of one stripe or another with me. That was then, this is now. I think your plan is solid. Put on the cover garment and get to a place where you can move on from this debacle.

I’d add to the voices that would not be surprised to find a ride undriveable; both times we went to fetch our buddy’s errant Honda, the wheels/tires were gone and the catalytic converter was cut out. The doors, shifter, and steering wheel were also sprayed with WD-40 (pro tip: a good dose of WD-40 will obliterate prints from a surface), but I digress.

[Clusterfrack]

Sorry to hear that your ride got jacked. I like your plan. I have a friend that had his car (original and the replacement) stolen twice. Each time, the Police notified him of location, and we gave him a lift. 3 people; I had a Glock of one stripe or another with me. That was then, this is now. I think your plan is solid. Put on the cover garment and get to a place where you can move on from this debacle.

I’d add to the voices that would not be surprised to find a ride undriveable; both times we went to fetch our buddy’s errant Honda, the wheels/tires were gone and the catalytic converter was cut out. The doors, shifter, and steering wheel were also sprayed with WD-40 (pro tip: a good dose of WD-40 will obliterate prints from a surface), but I digress.

Thanks. Fortunately it wasn't mine--it was a buddy's Jeep. And he got it back without problems.

I started this thread so we can discuss what to do if/when this happens.

[Lester Polfus]

My strong hope is that if one of my vehicles is stolen it is either not ever found, or if it is, it's totalled.

Having said that, fuck getting in a shooting or gunfight in Portland over recovering a car. I would not be in a big hurry to gun up and go over there in recover my vehicle from the Mad Max wasteland Portland has become. They are creating the perfect shit storm where the cops aren't doing anything, but if you smoke a couple local residents over your property the cops aren't protecting, you'll go to prison real fast.

I guess my option would be to wait for daylight hours, get a local towing company to meet me there, snatch it as quick as possible and get it towed somewhere I can assess what's going on with the vehicle.

[kwb377]

My strong hope is that if one of my vehicles is stolen it is either not ever found, or if it is, it's totalled.

Especially if any type of pursuit is involved.

{phone call from PD} "Mr. 377, we've recovered your vehicle."
{me} "Was it set on fire?""
{PD} "No sir, it appears to be drivable."
{me} "Can you set it on fire?"

[Malamute]

To put this situation in the context of not being in Portland, and this being a difficult time to find replacement vehicles, would it be appropriate to go to the vehicle and put a "Club" type steering lock on it until it can be recovered/towed to keep it from driving away again?

I often spent a fair amount of time and effort getting my vehicles as functional for my uses as I can, starting over is probably not going to be entirely covered by insurance, and would still require more time and effort to duplicate if even possible compared to recovering a non-destroyed vehicle back in possession and good working order.

[Lester Polfus]

Especially if any type of pursuit is involved.

{phone call from PD} "Mr. 377, we've recovered your vehicle."
{me} "Was it set on fire?""
{PD} "No sir, it appears to be drivable."
{me} "Can you set it on fire?"

I actually had some other thoughts I deleted from that post, lest somebody be confused that I was advocating for insurance fraud.

[Totem Polar]

My strong hope is that if one of my vehicles is stolen it is either not ever found, or if it is, it's totalled.

You just reminded me that another friend of mine had his car stolen, maybe, 15 years ago or so. Car was found 3 days later, on the outskirts of town behind a grain elevator, with the dash torn apart (stereo), the cat cut, 300 extra miles on it, and a smattering of used needles scattered inside.

Car gets towed to his place. The next night, after work, he is out there, in his jeans and hoodie, with rubber gloves on and a bucket of disinfectant, trying to clean up various stains of undetermined origin. Unbeknownst to him, his neighbors—who he got along with great—see some guy in a hoodie out fucking around in the car at 11 at night, and they think “Oh no you don’t! Not this time…” and they call the cops on what they think is a car theft in progress.

Hilarity ensued, complete with a half-dozen drawn guns. Fortunately, a bright yellow soapy sponge is pretty easy to separate from a weapon upon snap ID, even under stress. Plus, the local blue is pretty darn well trained. Could have been… not good.

At any rate, carry on. Just another data point.

[WDR]

And here in Portland, LE is not coming to recover it.

I may be way out of my lane on this... but what an absolute crock of shit that is. Absurd.