Thursday December 13, 2001
My Car is Gone!
Many of you probably picked up on the “most stolen car list” that the National Insurance Crime Bureau posted this week. That was the list that said the Camry and Accord were the top choices for car thieves.
The thieves act differently in different cities. Here is a city by city list of the hottest cars.
In Baltimore, the hottest car for thieves is a minivan
In Atlanta thieves like the Chevy Caprice
In Cleveland the Olds Cutlass is the car of choice
Detroit thieves like the Jeep Cherokee
and in Memphis, thieves are looking for pickup trucks.
1.7 million vehicles were stolen in 2000.
There are few crimes that touch people in such personal ways as much as car theft does. First of all, it is so common, it is so difficult to prevent, and even if they find your car, the darn thing is often wrecked or stripped. It always costs you something, from a Deducible to lost days trying to get the thing fixed or filing police reports.
Car theft detectives are hard working and often interesting folks who know every alley and car thief. Follow a detective on a routine day, see the people at the moment they discover their car is gone. Be there as the detective starts the search for the car-the routine he/she will go through time after time, especially on a Monday morning. Does your police department fully staff the car theft bureau on Saturday and Sunday? I have found, when I did this story years ago, that many police departments don’t staff for the busiest theft days, so they really don’t launch much of an investigation until 24-48 hours after the car is gone. The trail is cold. 1/3rd of all car thefts are not never recovered.
“Even though overall vehicle theft rates have declined in recent years, thanks to the effective efforts of law enforcement and the increasing use of deterrent devices, vehicle theft remains the number one property crime in the country, costing more than $7 billion dollars each year,” said Robert M. Bryant, NICB president and CEO. Approximately 1.1 million vehicles are stolen nationwide each year.
How are thieves treated by the courts?
Who are the repeat offender thieves?
Sometimes weak car title laws help thieves launder parts and cars. This story is WAY better than a list about the hottest cars.
Equal Space for Bell Ringers/Union Organizers
(thanks to Bill Bouyer for this tip) Here is and editorial from the Cumberland Times (Maryland) Union– U.S. labor laws require retail stores to provide access to all groups if they allow just one organization to solicit on their property. Under the law, Wal-Mart, which has long allowed Salvation Army bell-ringers outside its stores, would have to grant equal access to The United Food and Commercial Workers union, which has attempted numerous times to unionize Wal-Mart workers. The union has acknowledged that it will try to use the Salvation Army fundraising to force the store to open its doors to labor organizers. To get around the law, Wal-Mart must limit bell ringers to just 14 days at each store, and no more than three days in a row. The Salvation Army is trying to get the most bang for its limited bell-time by limiting its ringers to holidays and weekends, but the restrictions will undoubtedly hurt.
-Walmart evicts Salavation Army donation trailers in South Carolina
Shoe Repair Business Steady
The Washington Post says when economy dips, repair biz picks up
When Emergency Delays Mail-Future Late Fees to be Waived
Leaders in the financial services industry agreed to a procedure this week to waive late fees and other penalties for late payments caused by a widespread delay in mail delivery, such as occurred during the recent anthrax crisis. Financial companies signing on to the procedure included Morgan Stanley, MasterCard, CitiGroup, Bank of America, American Express, Capital One and Visa. The announcement came at a news conference in Washington. The procedure would be activated when the U.S. Postal Service determines there has been a significant disruption of mail. The postal service will notify Congress, regulators and financial industry associations of the dates and ZIP codes affected. The trade associations would then notify creditors and the public about the areas affected. The creditors could not charge any late fees, increase a consumer’s APR, provide damaging credit information or take any other negative action against people who live in affected areas.
