Car break in's in the long stay car park

Pugetc. Here’s a Spelling/punctuation lesson, for pedants like you:

An apostrophe is not always used to denote possession and that quite a few authorities on English grammar and usage maintain that it is OK to use apostrophes if we want to make a plural form of a noun that does not normally have one. For example, we would normally write “there are too many if’s and but’s …”.

They are also used for abbreviations and for making numbers and letters plural (eg. “always cross your t’s”, “the best music was made in the 1990’s”).

While ‘break in’s’ may look odd to you, most people who know their English grammar would find it perfectly acceptable. Please, no more lectures from you on grammar, OK?

How do you tell a freshly broken window to a non freshly broken window?

Is it like a bannana and goes brown on the inside? 😉

Here’s a thought: corbell@act.gov.au

Take the big profits out of drugs, and all sorts of things like a lot of organised crime would diminish. Take the big price tag off obtaining drugs, and the druggos wouldn’t need lots of money to buy them.

Sure, many of them are criminals, but a lot of that is to do with teh way they have to get their money.By crime. so they mix with criminals and off they go to do crimes. Take away that big money drain, give them their drugs, and they can sit in their smelly flats and drug away happily. And our cars won’t need expensive repairs, and our insurance premiums might even go down.

They don’t.

Junkies that are forced to give up by being in gaol or hospital usually get straight back onto it when they are back to normal life.

Here is a guarantee … turn up at the abovementioned carpark with a baseball bat and just stand there … the cops will definitely turn up as well. Definitely.

Junkies only commit crime because of the cost of the *illegal* drugs.
If you give them FREE drugs, then what? – its like giving an alcoholic free alcohol because they cant hold a job to earn the money to buy their own (because of the alcohol).

Dump them somewhere in isolation (from us and other junkies) for 6-12 months until they’re off the drugs naturally – who cares how “hard” it might be or even if it might kill a few of them. The ones that survive will probably thank us later you know.

Vigilante group with baseball bats, anyone?
Count me in!

Seriously though, There is a certain “secure lock-up” car park on the ANU campus that received 25 break ins on one night last month. This has happened 2-3 times this year! ANU Security blames “organized syndicates” that broke into my mates car to steal 45c out of the ash tray. It’s really starting to get on my nerves. Especially when “glass breaking” is reported, and nobody goes to investigate.

In relation to my post, the guy drove all the cars away (i assume to another location where others were waiting cos minutes later he was back). They were all similar cars (eg. older model holden commodores) and he obviously knew what he was doing.

No, I do not approach dodgy looking characters that are weilding crowbars!
(I just happend to be sitting in my car at first, and then stayed there to protect mine from being next)

The police (in relation to property theft) dont seem to be able to come out straight away and so I guess that guy had a window of time to do whatever he wanted (if they even showed up at all, i didnt hang around afterwards but i suspect they didnt)

My impression is the majority of theft is carried out by a small number of people, that never seem to get caught, and other random offenders being the ones that do.
Probably some guy steals 10 cars, but only gets caught out for 1, so just a slap on the wrist and let out.

^Or maybe just a card or something that you put into a ticket machine, recieve a receipt to display on your car, then you get the bill at the end of the month?

Since the technology clearly exists, what about a camera system that reads your number plate and sends you a bill for your parking at the end of each month? It’s all they have to go on when issueing infringment notices, and they seem to do that with mindless efficency. One camera entering, one leaving, calculated by the minutes. Sounds ideal. Maybe I could make machines and sell them, there should be a market :o)

A market for stolen number plates that is…

Aurelius: It’d be good if parking machines gave change (or even better, our public carparks all just used “e-tag” type technology to automatically bill you) – but another possible solution is just to carry your change around with you like all your other money.

What most of them need, ruffnready, is an attitude adjuster in the form of good old fashioned persuasive percussion. The repeated application of a stout stick across the glutious maximus is the best way.

I think the ‘free smack would reduce crime’ idea is a myth, RuffnReady. Methadone was supposed to replace the smack craving allowing them to live a crime-free life. Bull&$#t.
When they get arrested one of the first things they bleat is “What about me f&%n mefadone?”

Whether they do crime out of habit, or for the rush of getting away with something in their miserable gray little lives, they still keep offending.

Perhaps the Gubmint could install parking machines which only accept credit cards. Understandably the cost of parking would increase accodingly… to pay for all the extra public art…

Let’s face it, a certain small percentage of human beings are always going to be screwed up, usually by some kind of childhood abuse, that then leads to low self-esteem, educational problems, etc. and the downward spiral into drugs. Criminalising these people DOESN’T WORK. We’ve tried it for over 50 years now and it’s only getting worse. So, what do you do? Give them the drugs they need (which cost very little to produce), offer rigorous treatment and support to those who want to clean up, and do your best to address the CAUSES (child abuse, homelessnes, etc).

Everything must change but we all know it won’t because of smallmindedness. We currently blame the victims, who themselves victimise others with their crime – a perpetual cycle of hate and stupidity. 🙁

That’s the way I see it, ant.

I have my moments. 😉

The only problem is how you’d regulate entry to the scheme. And the other thing I’d like to add to it would be a weekly 1/2 hour visit about treatment and support options for those who want to kick.

Why don’t we get the guy who’s been camping in the trees near the theater to patrol the carpark for us? He’s had his little tent set up in there for more than 2 months now…

RuffnReady said :

..a van arrives at said registered junkie’s house at 9am with enough heroin for the day..

Why not just a *little* bit more than “enough” ?

Letting registered drug-heads have their drugs free would be good, remember we tried a heroin trial in, gawd when was it? Only the US gov’t threatened our federal gov’t into threatening the ACT gov’t into dropping the idea.

They’re hooked, they’re goign to get their drugs somehow. So let them have it (they’re growing the stuff anyway in Tassie!) and stop them roaming the streets wrecking our property and stealing our stuff. All this crime sends our insurance up, ties up our (taxpayer-funded) law enforcement and courts.

The old solutions haven’t worked, and won’t. So dole it out to them, and little them drool away in peace. Those that want to try and unhook themselves, great, let’s help them, too. This would be waaay cheaper than what’s currently happening.

This story is a great argument for giving free heroin to the junkies. How about a service whereby a van arrives at said registered junkie’s house at 9am with enough heroin for the day and some food so they don’t have to leave the house. 70% of property crime in the ACT is down to junkies, so you immediately cut that out, police can deal with serious crime, and our insurance rates drop. And if the junkie is really stupid and shoots his three doses at once rather than rationing them out during the day, no more junkie. Works from all angles as far as I can see.

Fcking brilliant idea. And we send the person’s welfare money directly to the service to cover the costs of of the gear and food…

…and we compulsorily remove all children from the home.

I would chain all junkies together and parade them up and down Northbourne Ave all day.
They could all have a shot everytime they get to the end, sit around for 30 mins, then walk back to the other end for some cheap soup.

A bus to a locked rehab would be offered at the half-way point.

The daisy chain of grotty zombies would be a pretty good deterrent to stupid teens considering hard drugs. And it would prevent ODs and break-ins.

Tooks – nah, I’m not tough… but I would be with a baseball bat and five other people carrying them with me! lol

This story is a great argument for giving free heroin to the junkies. How about a service whereby a van arrives at said registered junkie’s house at 9am with enough heroin for the day and some food so they don’t have to leave the house. 70% of property crime in the ACT is down to junkies, so you immediately cut that out, police can deal with serious crime, and our insurance rates drop. And if the junkie is really stupid and shoots his three doses at once rather than rationing them out during the day, no more junkie. Works from all angles as far as I can see.

I don’t give a crap what people put into their bodies, it’s the associated anti-social behaviour that annoys me.

PS We should also get a baseball bat gang together to deal with all queue jumpers. They are the scum of the earth, even worse than junkies, because they have no excuse for their behaviour.

I was on the phone last night with a friend who is a senior Commonwealth public servant, but was recently a long time senior ACT public servant.
He made an interesting point about this.
Carpark ticketing machines do not offer change.
So you *must* carry coinage in your car. Having a fiver in your wallet is going to cut it if you need a pile of silver for your parking.
If cars contain money, they are a more attractive target for break-ins in long stay carparks.
Therefore, we can blame Chairman Stanhope for car break-ins!
(Admittedly, the friend I was discussing this with is an arch-Tory, so inclined to stretch almost anything to blame the Labor administration. But he does have a point – the machines not giving change are ripping us all off)

An argument about grammar… Heres a (probably not so)new low.

In arresting the guy for one break in there are positives:

– the community feels like sometimes the right thing happens

– stupid teenagers / the guy’s friends are deterred from doing likewise

– he starts on the loooong road of minor convictions which sometimes ends in a gaol sentence

– his family becomes aware of what he is doing.

But what about the WPB, wake-up people!

JD114 said :

anyone who tries to pull that wool over our eyes is either stupid or taking the piss. The possessive apostrophe is not meant to indicate actual possession, rather it is there to establish order and association. So any jury that is still out needs to find something better to do with their time as there is no issue except in the minds of some misguided fools.

It is actually a rule that used to be taught by some English teachers, and apparently still is, in some schools. I had never heard of it, and when someone raised it (stating that if any of their staff wrote anything with inanimate possession, he’d not sign it) I went looking on the ‘net, and was surprised to see that no authoritative source was prepared to say it was incorrect.

Even if the Police do apprehend the crook, what then? They have to put him before the earliest available court. A $500 per day smack habit is no bar to getting bail whereupon he will continue to ply his trade elsewhere. Eventually, he wont be charged and convicted with all the break-in’s that WE know about, only that single incident of malicious damage that the cops actually caught him committing. (and possibly possessing the stolen bike).

Result: Either a small fine which will never be paid, or sentenced to sit around smoking on the loading dock of Vinnies for a few Saturday mornings. (otherwise known as ‘Community service’). Neither of which helps people who have to miss spending time with their loved ones while working extra hours to repair the damage.

Our current laws presume reasonable police numbers, a responsible judiciary and a Correctional system which involves restitution. They need updating and overhauling with minimal input by those who profit from the current system.

I wonder if there is a correlation between the brazen car park damage/theft, and the white powder incidents?

WPB (White Powder Bandit) send his special packages to the pollies, waits for pandemonium at parli house, and then BAM!

Has the WPB been unmasked…..

ant

anyone who tries to pull that wool over our eyes is either stupid or taking the piss. The possessive apostrophe is not meant to indicate actual possession, rather it is there to establish order and association. So any jury that is still out needs to find something better to do with their time as there is no issue except in the minds of some misguided fools.

pug206gti said :

Peugeot Person: Spelling/punctuation lesson:… Just to confused those playing along at home, you could however say “The pizza’s cheese” or even more out there “the two pizzas’ cheese”.
Yes, I’m a pedant.
Love, your resident apostrophe nazi.

I’m always glad to see people trying to stem the flow of horrible punctuation. Apostrophes are so annoyingly misused so often.

However, I recently came across a fascinating bit of pedantry regarding possession, and researching the issue on the ‘net, found that the jury is still out on it.

Apparently, according to some people, an inanimate object cannot own anything! So to say the pizza’s cheese, whilst correct use of an apostrophe etc, can be held by some pedants to be wrong because a pizza can’t own cheese (or anything).

However, I disagree and continue to show possession in the way you’ve used in your example, and deplore the semi-literate who sprinkle ‘s through their writing.

Perhaps next time you see this sort of thing occurring, ring the cops and say that the tall lanky guy is carrying a Tibetan flag, and breaking into a DC car.

Your report is almost word-for-word the situation at the Rex carpark in Braddon when I used to park there in teh late 90s/early 200s. Fresh glass every day, people at work reporting their windows smashed to get the parking change they had in the car. My softtop roof was slashed for the same reason (replacement cost then was $1200).

“The guy is around 6 foot, medium build, in his late 20’s early 30’s and was riding a mountain bike. He also had an accomplice acting as a lookout on another mountain bike who was waiting along the edge of London Circuit.”

Hmmm! One day I returned to the Rex carpark at lunchtime as was driving to Sydney. There was a lanky young chap walking in that springy way such people walk, looking in all the cars. And yes, he had a colleague keeping a lookout.

So I got into my car, and rang the police. Got a bored-sounding person on the other end, but I gave them a full report and said the guys were in the carpark NOW. Then I sat there for 30 minutes. Nothing.

And they wonder why we make contemptuous remarks about ACT police.

Detectives, Traffic + Crash Investigation, Beats, Tactical Police (about 200)

The rest are all roles like Communications, Legal, Intelligence, Crime Prevention, watch house, admin policy media etc and so aren’t likley to arrest anybody.

Only about half of the police are actually out and about.

TAD, If there are “150 General Duties Police in Canberra” what do the other 440-odd ACT Policing Police do? AFP annual reports for the last few years show that there are around 590 sworn officers in ACT policing…

The friggin poles in Weston Park weren’t paid for by the Government, and it’s the NCA that’s doing the needless duplication (if the ACT Government abandoned its planning role, the whole Territory would end up like the airport).

You get what you pay for

No we dont – Standope and his coitere of slappers and morons use our taxes to pay for statues of Al Grasby, friggin poles in Weston Park and needlessly duplicating the planning role of the NCA.

There are 150 General Duties Police in Canberra.

Due to shift work about 100 are rostered off at any one time, 8 have leave, court and training and 9 work their shift manning the police station front office.

The 33 poor sods left are expected to police 330,000 people and an area of about 1000km2.

It’s all a matter of priorities and resources. You get what you pay for.

Given that our pollies and the police don’t seem interested in car break ins, it would be very tempting to deal with the matter yourself if you caught the bastard. Make them pick up the broken glass and eat it.

Get all the junkies into one big room and gas the bastards, Where I work is a breeding ground for them, they are everywhere!!!! They are evilllll!!!

I await the day that I return to my car and find it broken into or missing.

Chief Minister talkback on the ABC anyone?

I wonder if the legislative assembly carpark has the same number of break-ins?

I vote we force them to repair the damage they’ve done to the windows by gluing the window back together one chip at a time.

I’m all up for a good Lynchin’. Once we catch em we can poke them with pitch forks all the way back to Garema Pl and string them up in one of he trees there. Learn all them other fockers at the same time.

On a side note that car park has always been bad for breakins. Anyone remember Clea Rose – the coppers were patrolling that car park in an unmarked car. Did nothing as far as getting car theives off the streets – that’s something that won’t happen in Canberra.

To the original poster. Do you know for sure a police car wasn’t sent? Presumably you provided a description of the offender (hopefully better than the description you posted here) and a statement at the station? If not, why? Would be interested in knowing why they wouldn’t send anyone.

Hax – Do you mean he broke into five cars, or stole five? Fair effort stealing 5 in 20 minutes. What did the cops say when you rang them?

RuffnReady – that’s a great idea, you lead the way. You must be tough. You have a tough name.

hax – How does one guy steal 5 cars in 20mins? How many cars did he steal before you thought to call the police? To hax and You, if you see that happen again, grab the steering wheel lock from your car and go make yourselves a citizens arrest!

Vigilante group with baseball bats, anyone?

I’m up for beating on some junkies, and since the cops won’t do anything to stop the crims, I reckon we’d probably be alright beating on the too.

I sa’w ONE guy steal 5 cars from civic carpark one time, in the space of 20 minutes.

The result of stolen goods/cars from the police is always..
Q. “you have insurance?”
A. “yes/no/maybe”
Q. “well thats that then”

This doesn’t help take (especially regular) car thieves off the street.

What chance there is a crime spree on the 24th?

More police for Canberra.

Last election police was an issue, but it seemed to go quiet, and this time around noone is saying anything.

I think aCT police should be split from the AFP, as AFP has more interesting jobs and gets all the good people.

There is only one answer – Trunk Monkey. Have a search on your favourite video sharing site for examples.

I park here daily and have noticed the fresh glass too. It’s a concernIf you were talking about the Honda Civic with the freshly broken window (not mine), that didn’t occur today. It’s the same down at the pool aswell, which is where I used to park.

I’ve been trying to track down one of those cars that looks after itself on the NRMA ad, but no luck so far…..

I actually edited my post, but it appears that the unedited version made it through for some reason.

CCTV?

Spelling/punctuation lesson:

Car break in’s in the long stay car park
number of break in’s during the

Fail. In English there is no apostrophe before the S needed unless there is ownership being expressed. Here we just have a plural, so no apostrophe needed. This also applies when there is a vowel at the end of a word, e.g. pizzas. Just to confused those playing along at home, you could however say “The pizza’s cheese” or even more out there “the two pizzas’ cheese”.

Yes, I’m a pedant.

Love, your resident apostrophe nazi.

(Incidentally, cars being broken into in broad daylight is a worry.)