Local news: Stay safe Crunchers

Yea, I read yesterday about a woman walking out of the mall with a bag from a high end boutique at our fancy shopping mall and got mugged in the parking lot  as she was trying to get in her car. 

Bay area has been getting real bad :(

That's the "Defund the Police Bay" area. Correct?

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/redwood-city-armed-robbery/2972244/

Home surveillance video shows Shawa driving up to his home in a white Mercedes. Not far behind was what appears to be a dark-colored BMW.

Are we being asked to believe that someone was followed all the way home and didn't notice? Get some situational awareness. Use the mirrors.

"The other kid said 'Get the wallet, get the wallet,'" Shawa said.

Oh, it was only kids. I hope this is not a racist dog whistle.

Police said criminals have become bolder because there is a growing belief that even if they are caught, they could be back out of jail in a matter of hours.

I wonder where they got that idea?

Only lived here about seven years but I've noticed. What's in the water over here?!

Yeah, I'm not in the luxury segment myself but it still makes me question what to wear where I go.

My neighborhood in California doesn't really allow one to wear long sleeves very much during the year.

Thanks for finding and sharing link, this is the incident.

More chances are taken the more hungry one becomes. 

This i don't know. But I also don't know if police just magically show up at the instant a crime is committed, whether they're funded or not.

The Time Teller YouTube channel has done some episodes on Cali crime and watches. 

The police can not be everywhere and protection of your welfare and personal property are your own responsibility.  Fortunately, the supreme court realizes this and recently handed down a decision in the Bruen case which allows citizens to carry guns to protect themselves. A few dead watch thieves will go along way to stop the practice.  

The police response varies greatly based on where you are in the country. I used to live in the Bay Area, and stuff like this, aside from the cost of living, was my reason for leaving. When the elementary school I planned on sending my child to was the location of a shooting, it became the last straw. That being said, the police response time in Fremont was excellent. (<1 minute) Unfortunately, I had to find that out myself.

Waving a $15,000.00 watch around is asking for a criminal response. Criminals are everywhere in every city so driving luxury or wearing it will interest them greatly. I know smart very wealthy men who drive common cars and do not show any bling to anyone but their inner circles who have never been even insulted. Personal safety is acting responsibly in public by not flexing your loot so you can keep it.

Agree 100% especially since high end watches (and pretty much everything else) are so easy to sell these days. The internet makes everything legit and the not so legit) super convenient. 

Given that most of these articles seem to be about Rolexes, I wish Rolex would resurrect its stolen watch registry and post the list online for anyone to look up (won't stop the thefts but would at least create a little friction). I'm not sure why they killed the stolen watch registry in the first place.

Yea, maybe, but there's more to it than that. Firstly, one must have situational awareness to even be able to use a gun. I'd imagine most of these crimes involve the element of surprise. By the time you figure out what's going on, they already have a gun pointed at you. Secondly, pulling out a gun has a chance of starting a gun battle, which includes a chance of getting shot, or even worse, getting an innocent bystander shot. 

Personally I believe not allowing yourself to become a target (i.e. don't wear your Rolex out, or if you do, wear long sleeves) is a far more effective plan.

I disagree with all due respect. The simple act of someone wearing a stainless steel Rolex, Omega, [insert luxury brand here]) outside the confines of one's own home should not in any decent society be considered "asking for a criminal response." When we start to justify criminal behavior as an acceptable outcome to living one's life then it ruins it for everyone no matter what economic position you occupy in life.  This is not a "rich" person's problem. This is a societal problem.

 

There's just one thing I don't understand. This may sound silly, but how do they know, from afar, that it's really a Rolex / what are people wearing? Let's say, it's a Timex Pepsi, or a Steinhart Hulk, something with a very similar design.

If I wear my "bling" shiny and bulky Casio, will they know from a few feet away that oh, that's a $30 p.o.s, not worth the effort? There are so many nice watches that aren't even close to the cost of a Rolex, but still look expensive. Will they take those, too, assuming they're worth a lot more than they actually are?

Wei Koh just posted a second video in a series of what to wear not to be robbed and there was a story of someone getting mugged wearing a fake RM and the thieves realized it a few seconds later and actually returned it ….

sorry but this is the world we live in. we can only adapt to the situation we find ourselves in. Police are only reactionary and being proactive gets them in trouble. If your rich don't flaunt it or risk theft. Such is life.

Speculation in other cases was that restaurant waitstaff were on the lookout and would e-notify their compatriots. As you state, it's hard to positively identify a brand marking from less than a foot or two.

They didn't kill it; Rolex USA still keeps an internal database of reported stolen Rolex watches - as long as a police report was filed too. Here's the PDF to submit to the company in case anyone ever needs it (hopefully they don't!).

easier said than done but common sense?; have a law that prevents weapon/gun ownership.

I live in Singapore where Its illegal to be armed in public, even with a knife. Everyone here is comfortable wearing their Rolexes, APs, Pateks, Birkins, etc etc. heck wearing a Tudor here makes you look poor. 

More reasons not to buy a Rolex, AP or Richard Mille...or anything that looks too much like them.

Sad state of affairs across this civilized world, but income disparity combined with politicians stoking class warfare definitely is a breeding ground for crime.

I grew up in NY - my wife still remembers me telling her to turn her diamond ring around to the inside when walking in the streets. It's dangerous enough without flashing/flexing your wealth.

It's not just California - it's many major cities, especially in Europe. Here's another watch enthusiast vid about it.

https://youtu.be/9E4z1EeduCU

Crime is everywhere (and always has been). It's an unfortunate part of human history and it will be with us forever.

Act smart, be aware, and be safe. Insure your expensive pieces. Keep records of your serial numbers. In the end, it's only property and it's not worth any injury or loss of life.

Did you guys see the next video Wei did where he showed video of a thief stealing at gunpoint a guy's "Richard Mille" in Naples, Italy - only to come back and return it to him because it was a fake. Start at about 1:26 of the video - this would be hilarious if not so scary:

https://youtu.be/n2ocyziGuhk

Sad about San Francisco. I'll keep the rest of my thoughts to myself.  

I wasn't paying much attention to these stories until this happened less than 5 miles from my home:

https://www.mdjonline.com/news/police-douglasville-woman-arrested-for-stealing-50-000-watch-in-powder-springs/article_c3454362-1d81-11ed-aa00-376ac0f0004b.html

Phillips drove herself and another unknown party to Grandberry’s residence, where they used a crowbar to break open the front door, according to the warrant. Once inside, Phillips approached Grandberry, pulling a Glock 31 out and pointing it at him, and then grabbed a watch off of his person with an estimated value of $50,000.

Thats the most sad part about wearing a high luxury watch and some watch thief bum comes and robs you like that. Most devastating thing to go through.

dumb is what dumb does 

what mall was this?