[Summit] Laptop theft from car parked on Fifth at Hope - Fri, Feb 23

Tue Feb 27 16:47:25 UTC 2007

You are not alone in being victimized this way. I live on Lafayette St. in Pawtucket now (though I have been a long time SNA member, and Summit resident for over 30 years previously). Three of my neighbors that I know of have either had their homes or cars broken into recently. One neighbor on Pidge St. reported there has, according to the Pawt. Police been a rash of break-ins and 'smash and grabs' in the area for weeks now. On Lafayette St.,  2 neighbors had their cars broken into 3 times in a manner very much like your account, and a laptop was stolen on one of those occasions. A vehicle was spotted on 1 or more occasions that waited nearby to take the thief away from the scene, so there had to be 2 people involved in the thefts. Neighbors are advised to keep a sharp look-out, get license plate numbers and car descriptions if you see anything suspicious, do not leave your cars unlocked and do not  leave anything of value in your cars, especially not in sight. One car on Lafayette was broken into just for coins laying on the seat!

-----Original Message-----
From: tadams at verisign.com
To: summit at sna.providence.ri.us
Sent: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:42 AM
Subject: [Summit] Laptop theft from car parked on Fifth at Hope - Fri, Feb 23

I'm a resident of District 8. Last Friday evening (02-23-2007), between 6:15 and 6:45 PM, my car was burglarized while I was parked on Fifth Street, just off Hope Street, waiting to pick up some food at Not Just Snacks.

While I was waiting for take-out, the perpetrator broke out the left rear passenger window and grabbed my laptop bag, crossed to the other side of Fifth Street and rifled through the laptop looking for items of value, discarding the rest along the sidewalk and into the bushes. An IBM ThinkPad T60, its charger, and a black video Ipod 60G were stolen.

The stolen items are replaceable (approx. $2200 in value). The window is repairable (approx $400). Some of the data on the laptop was not backed up so I suffer here for not following best practices. But that sense of safety I had in my own neighborhood cannot be recovered quite so easily.

After doing some research, I came to realize that this type of crime is not uncommon in our neighborhood, that I'm not the first and most likely won't be the last. In fact, the latest blog entry on the SNA website details recent crime stats for District 8, with 11 larcenies from motor vehicles between January 1 and January 28 alone. That is an alarming number, in my opinion, for any neighborhood, a theft every 2.5 days.

Had I been more in tune with the pulse of my neighborhood, I certainly would have understood the need to employ the same safety measures I do when traveling into unfamiliar areas, stowing my laptop bag in the trunk or at least covering it with a blanket or coat.

Be aware of individuals 'casually' looking into cars parked along the street. They may seem to be checking their hair in someone's rear view mirror, but are probably casing the items within and waiting for the right moment to strike. I witnessed a vehicle larceny in broad daylight several years ago while dining up near Federal Hill. That was the approach used then and is probably a common tactic.

Also, I would urge everyone to spread the word and raise awareness about the state of our neighborhood. And certainly take precautions with what you leave in plain view within in your vehicles or you may unfortunately find yourself in the same state.

Tony Adams
Resident  - District 8
Providence, RI 02906

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