Ever been the victim of a crime?

[Onkel Neal]

It's 4 am and I just awoke from the most disturbing dream of the last 10 years (don't ask). Can't sleep, so browsing the web, I came across an interesting topic, which I am shamelessly stealing.

Have you ever been the victim of a crime, large or small? Was it reported to the police? Was it solved? Was somebody brought to justice? Did you get your stuff/mojo back? Walk us through it, with details.

[Betonov]

Got my car radio stolen. Never got it back, never reported it. My car was not insured against burglary so what's the use. I was lucky they managed it by pulling back the door with a screwdrver and pull up the pin with a wire, so no damage was actually done to the car itself

[Hottentot]

I was 13 when some approximately 25 - 30 year old dude, backed up by two kids younger than me, tried to rob me in Spain. One of the brats brandished a pocket knife too. It was before the Euro time, I had about 500 pesetas with me. Not really sure anymore how much that would be in modern currency, but it wasn't much. So what to do? Why, be a stupidly stubborn 13-year old and tell them to bugger off in three different languages of course.

They didn't really have guts to take it any further than that, even though we were alone at the street. The brave and exemplary adult kicked me in the stomach and told me to get out. I did. Only when I got back home did the emotions come. Not something I'm going to forget even so many years later.

So I suppose yeah, I have been a victim of attempted crime. Didn't lose anything, so there wasn't anything to get back. A report was filed, but no idea if the police ever caught them. Or rather "him", seeing the other two were just kids. If they did, then all I can say is poor bastards. I haven't heard exactly flattering stories concerning the Spanish prisons, and from what I can tell, it's pretty easy to get in one.

[BossMark]

When I was in Benidorm a few year ago a gypsy woman pick pocketed me when I was going into the Yorkshire Pride pub she got 40 Euros out of my right pocket, if the thieving bitch had gone into my other pocket she would have got over 100 Euros and my moblie. I only noticed when I went to pay for my drinks.

[Skybird]

Once...?

Three times. Street assaults on travels to get my money (twice) or the team eqipment I was carrying (once). No police involved, that is pretty useless in these countries (Algeria and Egypt), and we wanted to move on. I "solved" the issues myself, which was both unexpected and painful to the other side. Well, I was young, and probably stupid. Wouldn't fight these days if it would happen again, but just hand over the money: Im older and fatter . Also, I don't travel anymore.

The appartment of my parents was once broken in.

Some years ago, a junkie on trip tried to stab me, for no reason, on open street, only old reflexes and training helped to to deflect his knife. Left a scar on my hip. After I took him out, I almost got sued for use of excessive violence. It was withdrawn in the very last second. Scum.

And if terror counts as crime, the La Belle bombing in Berlin, 5th April 1986. Three weeks after my 19th birthday, three months after I finished school. I was passing the club in the early morning on bicycle with a friend while we returned from a party, and the club was close to where we lived (our street crossed the main streets vis-a-vis to the club), and when we had turned into the other street we suddenly found ourselves on the concrete, maybe 30 meters away from the club. - whether it was from the blast or from the shock and noise, we cannot say. No pleasant memories, and strangely I have crystal clear and terrible visual images in my head, but it all is totally silent, no sirens, no screams, no voices, no nothing. Scary. Tells me that I have kept some kind of trauma from that night, until today. - Some days ago I read that now (not before now!) they have erected a little plate on that house, saying that there was a bombing attack to which people fell victim - they even had not the courage to mention who ordered the attack and who carried it out, and that it was Libya and Gaddafi. I got very angry some days ago when reading that. Cowardly Berlin azzholes. The city is a prime example of being anti-social and red to the bone. Lives competely on tick, sucking other state's subsidies in by the billions.

They say America is a dangerous place. You should try to live over here.

[The Enigma]

During a holiday we were stolen from a handbag containing our ID's and
credit cards.

That bag was left in the (locked) car for about 10 minutes, while we were
enjoying some spectacular viewpoints at the side of the road.

My wife was looking at a viewpoint just some meters away from were I
was.

When I returned to my car, there was a guy standing next to the car.
He looked at me and said: Are you looking for your wife?

Yes, I replied and he pointed to the second viewpoint and said, she went
that way.

I thanked him and went to her.
After having enjoyed the view we continued our journey.
A kilometer or so from the viewpoints, my wife wondered were the handbag was.

I stopped and we searched the car. The bag was missing.
I turned the car and we went back to the parking were we had stopped just
before.

There we asked several people if they had seen a bag.
Nope they replied. A lady who was selling some touristic gadgets at those
viewpoints told us that we must have been robbed while being away from the
car.

She advised us to go to the police and to take a look in the nearby forest.
Many people get robbed here she said. It's a gang who is specialized in
robbing tourists at these viewpoints.
They take out all the money they may find in the bag and throw away what
they can't use in the nearby forest.

I went to that forest and there I found several belongings from people, like maps,
films, lipsticks, keys and so on. Even empty bags.

Our bag wasn't there.

We went the police were I described to guy who was being friendly to me
while returning to the car.
The police recognized the man immediately.
We know him, he is one of the gang.

He is suspected to actually brake into the car and take out whatever he can
find.
You must have been surprising him, said the police, by returning to your car
so soon, but he was smart enough to fool you.

Since then, we never ever leave anything behind in our car. Not even for five
minutes or so.

[Wolferz]

Leaving valuables in your car even for ten minutes is foolish. It only takes a few seconds to pop the lock on most car doors. My brother used to work for a lockout company that responded to AAA customers who locked their keys in the car. He could open the door before they could say, "How long will this take?" WOT?!?

My apartment was robbed one day while I was at work. I came home and found the door knob in the floor. I did report it to the police. They could do nothing. I did however have a suspect in mind who lit a shuck when I met him on the street and asked him to speak with me. I just let it go.

[mookiemookie]

Five years ago I went through a bad breakup. I moved out quickly, found a nice-ish apartment to live in, and moved. I was there for five days when I came home from work one day to find my front door kicked in.

Someone had come in while I was away during the day. They took my kitchen knives (not even a nice set), a leather jacket, my cologne, my computer. my PS2, my XBox 360, a rolling suitcase and they had moved my TV by the door. They wanted to steal it, I guess, but didn't have time or couldn't carry it. I called the police, they came out and the first question they had was did I have the serial numbers of the things they stole. I didn't, so they said there wasn't much they could do for me. They tried taking fingerprints but couldn't get anything.

I felt raped and violated. It was an awful feeling. I've become security crazy now. I have an alarm, some other security measures, and I have two copies of all my serial numbers off of all my electronics. If you take nothing else from my story, take 10 minutes to write down your serial numbers and stash them someplace safe. It helps for insurance as well as the police.

Have you ever been the victim of a crime, large or small?
Con saw, genny, mig welder, hilti gun, needle gun, compressor, 2 jackhammers, 3 drills(one magnetic), 2 angle grinders, laser station, theodolite.

Was it reported to the police?
Of course.

Was it solved?
Very easily.

Was somebody brought to justice?
12 mths& 9 mths.

Did you get your stuff/mojo back?
Yes

Walk us through it, with details.
Secure vault had the front ripped of with a loading shovel overnight, the idiots left behind one hilti gun that had broken in the afternoon, so only really 3 possible suspects, everything was recovered by lunchtime. The main developers insurance paid for the damage caused and the crooks kindly "donated" all the wages they were owed.

[GoldenRivet]

Have you ever been the victim of a crime, large or small?

Ironic I see this post on Easter Sunday morning... It was around 4am on Easter Sunday a few years back that an arsonist set both my cars and part of my home on fire.

Was it reported to the police?

Yup

Was it solved?

Within 72 hours

Was somebody brought to justice?

By definition, the judge let the man walk with probation despite torching 9 neighborhood cars and causing considerable damage to 2 homes.

Did you get your stuff/mojo back?

Technically, insurance paid the cars off, something I was only a few months from accomplishing myself. I was left on the hook for replacing the vehicles. Homeowners insurance rebuilt the garage.

Walk us through it, with details.

Knock on the door at 4am, I answer it, it's a fireman wanting to know where my fire is. I tell him I've got no fire. I see several firefighters run toward the alley in the back. He joins them. Thinking my aft neighbors house is on fire I run to the back of the house and open the door to enter the garage. I'm greeted by smoke and flame. They fight the fires for about 30 minutes, as the fire chief is discussing possible causes for the fire his radio comes to life with the voice of a dispatcher reporting 2 more car fires in the neighborhood. He says "that's not a coincidence, you can enter the home, don't touch anything ill have an arson investigator here today" at this point the whole army of firefighters rushed a block away to the next set of fires.

They were battling car fires for the next 4 hours

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Five years ago I went through a bad breakup. I moved out quickly, found a nice-ish apartment to live in, and moved. I was there for five days when I came home from work one day to find my front door kicked in.

Someone had come in while I was away during the day. They took my kitchen knives (not even a nice set), a leather jacket, my cologne, my computer. my PS2, my XBox 360, a rolling suitcase and they had moved my TV by the door. They wanted to steal it, I guess, but didn't have time or couldn't carry it. I called the police, they came out and the first question they had was did I have the serial numbers of the things they stole. I didn't, so they said there wasn't much they could do for me. They tried taking fingerprints but couldn't get anything.

I felt raped and violated. It was an awful feeling. I've become security crazy now. I have an alarm, some other security measures, and I have two copies of all my serial numbers off of all my electronics. If you take nothing else from my story, take 10 minutes to write down your serial numbers and stash them someplace safe. It helps for insurance as well as the police.

Good suggestion. I will go around and snap pics of serial numbers with my phone

[Jimbuna]

Stabbed on two separate occasions whilst on duty (so some may not consider it a crime ).

First one was the most serious and required surgery, the assailant got fifteen month.

The second time wasn't anywhere near as serious, the assailant suffered a fractured skull and a broken jaw during the process and was given a three month suspended sentence (the judge obviously took his injuries received whilst resisting arrest into account).

Theft wise, in 1990 whilst residing in Holland I had my bike stolen from outside a restaurant I was at.....I'd been out most of the day drinking with friends and forgot to lock it so I put that one down to life's experiences.

One message I always passed on at every opportunity was 'If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime'.

Very few if any ever listened.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Stabbed on two separate occasions whilst on duty (so some may not consider it a crime ).

First one was the most serious and required surgery, the assailant got fifteen month.

Wow. I think if that had happened over here, the guy would have been in for longer than 15 months. Assaulting a police officer usually brings stiff penalties here.

[Hottentot]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Stabbed on two separate occasions whilst on duty (so some may not consider it a crime ).

First one was the most serious and required surgery, the assailant got fifteen month.

Pretty mild sentence. At least in here any such attempt against an officer on duty would be automatically by the law considered an attempted murder, and murder is about the only crime I can think of for which you can get sentenced to life in jail.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Wow. I think if that had happened over here, the guy would have been in for longer than 15 months. Assaulting a police officer usually brings stiff penalties here.

Originally Posted by Hottentot

Pretty mild sentence. At least in here any such attempt against an officer on duty would be automatically by the law considered an attempted murder, and murder is about the only crime I can think of for which you can get sentenced to life in jail.

I must agree with you both but I obviously had no say in the sentencing process.

Here's one and not a victim but could have been:

On mobile patrol (alone) when I receive a radio message of a bank alarm only a minute or so away from my current location.

Activate the vehicles siren and get there rather promptly...run into the bank armed with nothing more than a 24" carbon baton and a pair of handcuffs and ask who and where said suspected villains are.

The response..."They ran out and headed that way, the one with the gun following the other""