bad times I guess..stealing

ronbre · #1 09/04/12, 12:34 PM

the threads about the cattle, maple syrup and other things being stolen ..and I heard that in our area people are having all their hay bales and sometimes trailers stolen..this is a scarey time for people..

with the lack of food for animals and people..esp in areas like Michigan where all the fruit blossoms froze and there was an unusual drought..things are getting downright dangerous.

I think more and more it is a good idea to try to find a way to block the vision from the road of your food crops ..trees..etc..and to find ways to keep them safe.

I tried with the puppy thing, but Ron didn't last through that and we had to rehome her, but we are in the process of growing more and more trees along the road view of our gardens and house..and I would suggest quickly growing hedges along the roads for people who have obscure access to their property.

Also we may need to get a little more active with our no trespassing signage and finding other ways to protect the food we have for our selves or our animals..as well as other things besides food ..but with the extreme food shortages this year we may have to begin to thing differently than we have in the past.

||Downhome|| · #2 09/04/12, 01:01 PM

that is a double edged sword.

I would much rather have a clear field of view then provide potential adversaries cover.

as far as safe storage well I'm keeping those Ideas to myself.
Wont be as practical if every one knew about them.

chewie · #3 09/04/12, 01:31 PM

I thought that too, with things getting ugly, ppl will be too. fella in town recently got caught dipping in the kitty at work. it was rather a shock to everyone, not like him. but, maybe he's getting desparate? I will admit that if MY babies were starving or cold, I might do things that weren't so upstanding. I just pray I never find out where that threshold is.

there was a time that we were pretty low on food. and NO money. hubs went out and got us some wild game, on private land he was allowed on. no, not really 'right thing to do', but tell that to my little ones at the time, who went to bed with full tummies instead of hungry. we didnt' hurt anyone or take what would be someone else's living, just took what we needed. not a highpoint for me either, I can tell you that. but if someone else was in that situation, I hope they do the same.

lemonthyme7 · #4 09/04/12, 02:11 PM

We have heard in our area that if a house stands empty (or even when some people were on vacation) that all the copper piping has been ripped out.

7thswan · #5 09/04/12, 02:23 PM

Yes, we had a trailer loaded with hay Wendsday. I asked Dh if it was safe. He said he was going to take the straps off,noone would be able to steal it without them,the bales would fall off. Then he has a buyer from craigslist, the buyer says $ 4.50 a bale right? No... and Dh had to correct him. The guy hands DH the cash, and it's a hundred 30 short. Then he writes Dh a check for the extra. Boy was I bummed. Before the guy could come over in the morning with the $, I had looked up some of his info. by the time he pulled in the drive with the $. Back in the 70's (Carter was in office) my ex and I actually had our hay cut and taken off a field-and the nearest neighbor-didn't See a thing.

CIW · #6 09/04/12, 11:25 PM

A time will soon come where the green fruit will be stolen from the branch and vine.

geo in mi · #7 09/05/12, 06:36 AM

In the large manufacturing corporation where I worked(the one that went bankrupt), we went by the MOM theory. Motivation, Opportunity, and Means. When those three converge, you'll have a theft. Not too much we can do about motivation during hard times and with strangers, but you can take a look at your own situation and take away the opportunity by locking things up, putting things out of sight, having lights on at night, and so forth. Preventing losses by taking away the means includes gates, alarm systems, Barking dogs, bells, instant on security lights, and guineas, chaining things down, safes, anything to break a routine, and anything that keeps things from "walking away", and measures to keep "most trusted employes" and neighbors from being too friendly and neighborly.......

And one more, doing a Crazy Ivan once in awhile. The Russian submarine captains, during the Cold War era, used to let the US subs track them, but they would suddenly put the sub in reverse and nearly run into the American submarine...........making the American captain very wary of old Crazy Ivan........ I did that Monday morning-- while everyone was having a late Labor Day Holiday brunch, I was down in the woods banging away with the twelve guage........ just a little "target practice" to keep anyone that needs it on the edge, or off balance........

geo

Kazahleenah · #8 09/05/12, 09:35 AM

Places all around us have been being thieved from. a few places even had their kids' 4-H poultry (turkeys and chickens) stolen! Our place is famous for both the dogs and the guns, so far, we've been left alone...... so far.

farmerstac · #9 09/05/12, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CIW

A time will soon come where the green fruit will be stolen from the branch and vine.

The time is already here I lost tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe this year. I know the watermelon was green.

Chickensittin · #10 09/05/12, 10:34 AM

We had copper stripped from our irrigation equipment this past winter. We knew it was happening, but just couldn't catch the thieves. Finally, the sheriff worked with the scrap place & caught the thieves when they brought the scrap in. It ended up being a man & his future son-in-law. The sad part of this story is that the $ they got from the scrap was in no way close to the replacement value. Our insurance guy was a jerk and told us we had to file 9 separate claims and this would increase our insurance (we're no longer with him) AND the older thief was a life-long criminal and stated that he just wanted to go back to jail.

frogmammy · #11 09/05/12, 01:47 PM

Well, the question (to me) is, are they stealing because "times are bad" or are they stealing because "everyone" steals, or are they stealing because if caught, they'll just get their hand slapped?

Mon

Silvercreek Farmer · #12 09/05/12, 02:08 PM

Times might be tougher now compared to a few years ago, but the fact is, there have always been rotten people and there always will be.

oregon woodsmok · #13 09/05/12, 02:19 PM

[[[[........fella in town recently got caught dipping in the kitty at work. it was rather a shock to everyone, not like him. but, maybe he's getting desparate? ....]]]]]]

If he was stealing at work, he was getting a paycheck and so "desperate" is not an excuse. The man wasn't stealing because he was desperate, he was stealing because he has no morals and is a thief.

It's pretty low to steal from the people who are giving you a job and a paycheck. So I hope the thief gets some hefty jail time.

Stop making excuses for people who steal. There is no justification. They are thieves, nothing else to it.

Ozarks Tom · #14 09/05/12, 02:30 PM

I'm a big believer in alarms systems. We've got 5 Dakota Murs Alert sensors, painted to match backgrounds, discreetly mounted around our place. We put 2 on the driveway, as with just one we tended to chalk it up to deer. If the second one, about 100 yards from the first goes off we know someone is in the drive. A couple Gamecams around just for the heck of it. Paranoid? Maybe. Secure? You bet.

where I want to · #15 09/05/12, 02:30 PM

A small bit of the increase in stealing may be due to "hard times." But most seems to be the result of increasing reward for stolen goods. IE when the money for stuff goes up, especially when people get scared of shortages, then the thief can get a good return on their efforts.

KentuckyDreamer · #16 09/05/12, 04:32 PM

I accept that I may be wrong, and that there are always exceptions, but....I do not believe the majority of theft is due to a family being hungry or cold.

I will never forget the day 22 years ago when I stood outside a Kroger store crying, thinking, all that keeps me and my children from all that food is a wall of glass. I swallowed my pride and went to the welfare office. I cried, I was ashamed, and every time I used the food stamps I wanted to fall through the ground, but I never thought of stealing....and I do not think I am that unusual.

My grandmother tells of her relative stealing a truck of meat during the depression. She could not eat it, saying she would choke if she tried. On the other hand, I have plenty of thieves in my family and it is not for food or the sake of their families.

pamda · #17 09/05/12, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KentuckyDreamer

I accept that I may be wrong, and that there are always exceptions, but....I do not believe the majority of theft is due to a family being hungry or cold.

I will never forget the day 22 years ago when I stood outside a Kroger store crying, thinking, all that keeps me and my children from all that food is a wall of glass. I swallowed my pride and went to the welfare office. I cried, I was ashamed, and every time I used the food stamps I wanted to fall through the ground, but I never thought of stealing....and I do not think I am that unusual.

My grandmother tells of her relative stealing a truck of meat during the depression. She could not eat it, saying she would choke if she tried. On the other hand, I have plenty of thieves in my family and it is not for food or the sake of their families.

Times are tough, but the theives around here are tweekers, funding meth and other bad habits. I have lost my ability to care these days after helping someone and then having them send others who cased the place while being asked to leave then coming back to steal all the scrap I was using for garden money and chicken feed. I work hard to do what needs done, and feel some satisfaction that I lead the police to this creap and his ring of theives. Back to the joint fella, herion addiction and all.

JackDeePeyton · #18 09/05/12, 06:10 PM

The other day my wife and I stopped by a place down the road from us, it has been empty for 2-3 years. The folks who owned it, just walked away and moved out of state. Its a beautiful location, 120 acres with river frontage. Anyway, I just wanted to look around and have been thinking about making an offer at the bank. We walked around the home, nothing fancy but looks good till we looked around the back of the house. Someone had stolen the A/C unit, broken the back door in, took all of the kitchen cabinets, most of the light fixtures, everything in all bathrooms, nothing left,,,,most of the trim.......it looked pathetic, just a shell of a house left, matter of fact it actually looked like a home that had been gutted. After looking at it, my stomach turned sour and I got mad. Absolutely a beautiful home that I had been in many times over my life time. Hard to say what it would take to bring it back but I am now determined to own it and have an appointment with the banker friday. I have a vision and a dreamer, but also not afraid of hard work.

GrannyG · #19 09/05/12, 08:33 PM

Lots of gas drive-offs being reported around here...so sad....

Wendy · #20 09/05/12, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Times are tough, but the theives around here are tweekers, funding meth and other bad habits

Exactly what I was thinking. I think more thieves are stealing to get money for drugs than any other reason. They are too lazy to work or can't pass a drug test to get a job, so they have to get money from somewhere to support their habit.