14 August 2005

What can be done to stop it happening again. [Clea Rose Tragedy]

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Following in the wake of the most hotly discussed topic on Riotact – The hit and run on Clea Rose – I propose a civilised discussion on how to fix the problem.

Ask any Copper and they could probably tell you the names of 10 car theives who are out on bail and continue to steal cars,without even thinking about it. They would also tell you that everyone of those car theives would run from Police becoming a potential tradgedy like which befell Clea Rose.

The change I believe needs to come at a legislation and Court level.

Currently there is no offence which adequately reflects the danger the public is in when someone runs from Police in a motor vehicle. There are plenty of traffic type offences that can be applied although nothing specific like ‘ using a car to get the hell out of dodge while putting the public at serious risk of death’.

Is a serious type offence the answer? Does there need to be mandatory sentencing for people who run?

Does there need to be legislation changes to require engine imobilisers on all vehicles to stop the cars being stolen in the first place? Does the Govt. need to subsidise the imobilisers? Is the cost of subsidising imobilisers less than the cost of car thefts? I would think that the friends and family of Clea would agree that any cost is a viable option to stop this type of thing happening again.

Who needs to be lobbied for this to happen? Can Riotact back something along these lines if people agree – some sort of partition.

G

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i heard on the radio this morning that clea has died. can anyone confirm this and if so when? its so sad, i went to school with her nad although i didn’t know her i knew of her and you could tell she was a wonderful person.

I agree with you all, but unfortunately we have to look at reality, yes we can have all the latest technology but not every Joe Blow is going to be able to afford it. Until all older cars are removed from the roads this wil be an ongoing problem.

These thieves who killed Clea are responsible, nobody else, why should we live in a world where minorities rule? Make it clear to them you steal my car, you go to jail, no two buts about it. Too many goody too shoes agencies around the ACT put pressure on the people who are ultimately held accountable for these kids. Until somebody has the nuts to call a spade a spade and lock them up, we will continue to hit our head against a brick wall….

Maybe link this in with the extra speed camera vans story. Grab the cash and put it somewhere usful.

Something along those lines would be fantastic. I think there is a more cost efficient method.

They say 99% of crime is conducted by 1% of people. I would tend to agree with this. The car thieves who keep getting put back out there are the problem. That is why I mentioned legislative changes or stricter Court sentencing.

It seems to be just you and me having this conversation.

G

G, I agree that the cost would be high. This thread is in relation to what can be done to stop the Clea Rose incident happening again.

Is the cost too high to be compared to a human life ?

Just how much is a human life worth ? $2000 for every car in Australia ?

I think I can see just about every sattelite communications expert wetting themselves as they process that little calculation.

And I was being extravagant on the cost as well. The actual cost would be substantially subsidised by bulk buying power and government subsidy.

I think this is a good starting place for our traffic fines revenue to be directed.

Mael, Its a great plan that would catch a large number of car theives. But the costs involved would be fairly high I would think. Hence only installed on BMW, Porsche etc..

Mobile phone tracking system or mobile phone based imobiliser regardless of keys would be something worth while. I’m all for it.

Mobile phones can be activated by the carrier and their position triangulated. This is only done in emergencies though. Technology is a fantastic thing.

G

funny isnt it :

[link]

SG what would you like to hear ?

People should be forced to walk around in protective armour ?

I think that the reason this thread is silent is due to the fact that pretty much everybody agrees that the solutions can be brought down to some basic concepts;

1. Stop car thieves
2. Stop ability of car to be stolen
3. Stop cars ability to go to public place (bollards)

All of these solutions have costs attached. The way forward is to choose one solution and stick with it, Australia wide.

Seemed to be that everyone and their dog had plenty to say when it was bagging the Police, Government, witnesses and spelling although when it comes down to something actually constructive all I hear is silence from some of the most outspoken. (except for 4 comments.)

What about you JB – you had plenty to say about how screwed up it is. Whats your ideas on a solution?

G

Good points made by all. I’ve now decided to get an immobiliser installed in my car, as my partner found clear evidence of an attempted break-in. That probably happened at home one night a couple of weeks ago, because I’ve been getting into the habit of leaving my car parked on the street. It will be garaged forevermore and an immobiliser is most certainly now on the agenda.

An endorsed sattelite controlled immobiliser system which is compulsory on all modern make vehicles (can’t see you fitting it to a model T – but I can’t see a model T running over a pedestrian) would obviously be an appropriate measure.

The problem with introducing such a measure, is are the public prepared to wear the costs ? I am, but I can see a public who are sick to death of knee jerk reactions that are applied post incident, that the people who it would affect won’t adhere to anyway.

There needs to be a real and tangible effect implemented for the theft of a vehicle. Banning somebody from a city seems appropriate, albeit a little ‘John Rambo’. (referring to the sheriff who tries to move rambo out of town). Implementing that would be yet another problem for the police to deal with. I suggest tattooing to enable the public to assist the police.

Getting the press alongside with a ban on reporting stories dealing with the criminal side of stolen vehicles other than obituaries would be another option.

DNA locked ignition systems ?
Thumbprint authentication ?

All possible. The only way to remove this threat to public safety is to remove the cause which is the ability of a theif to steal cars.

Same thing happened to me too seepi; you’d think they should have noticed when they are putting five or six little yellow envelops under the wiper on consecutive days…

Immoblisers are a great idea and relatively cheap provided there can be greater control and guidance as to what is being put into a car. What I’ve seen from WA is tht there are heaps of dodgy places installing dodgy immobilisers just to get the car over the pits. For the sake of fifty to eighty dollars people are taking shortcuts and suffering later.

Perhaps we could alos look at erecting semi-permanent bollards in the interchange area after certain times. The taxis ranks can be shifted elsewhere and we could ensure the safety of pissed folks and innocent bystanders.

This would also be of benefit during festivals, new years, parades etc.

Any comments?

I’ve got one big tip on stolen cars. Parking Fine Staff should have the database of stolen cars in their little hand held machines. Then when they put int eh numberplate to give you a fine, it would beep at them if it is a stolen car, and they could alert the police.I had a car stolen, and then received a constant stream of parking fines from the same three streets in inner sydney, for months afterwards. So they could find my car to fine it, but not to return it to me…Obviousely the govt puts more money into parking fines than finding stolen cars.

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