Thieves balk at 13-inch CRT television, refuse to steal
By Darren Murph 
posted January 27th 2007 4:02AM
posted January 27th 2007 4:02AM
Although we've seen our fair share of zany criminals pulling off (or at least attempting to) incredible feats in order to snag a few good pieces of electronic kit, it seems that our era has all but eliminated the value previously associated with low-end, old fashioned electronics. Sure, there's a few folks out there shopping for bulky, cumbersome, and cheap 13-inch CRT televisions, but in numerous dodgy neighborhoods in and around Canada, researchers simply couldn't convince thieves to take one. In a ploy to track a thief from the moment the crime happened to where it ended up, the crafty schemers discretely installed a GPS device in the TV, and then proceeded to leave the functioning set in various unlocked cars around less-than-amicable boroughs for thieves to jump on. After nearly a month of trying to get a single thief in all of Canada to jack this thing, their attempts proved overwhelmingly futile. So while there's no exact moral to this story, we'll just assume that potential larcenists might be a tad more apt to pass on by your crib if you're caught watching snow-filled soaps on a 1982 RCA than say, a $10,000 plasma, but you already knew that, eh?[Thanks, Camperton]
Should have put the GPS in a Wii and left *that* in an unlocked car. Probably would have dissapeared in minutes.
Canadian research grants at work
They should have included a 386.
I tried the same experiment with a 386 and someone pooped on it.
Fortunately, the authorities were able to identify the owner of the poop. Steve Jobs
I sold the poop on ebay as "iPoop" and make a tidy sum.
Maybe they'll learn to not assume all poor people are thieves.
Or maybe they'll learn from this that the real theives are the rich.
yes paint the victim.. they are so evil assuming poor people are thieves aren't they? Maybe, just maybe, its possible that they looked at crime statistics and not income statistics when choosing places for the tv to sit. Maybe even likely? but no.. you're right they decided it would be easier jsut to assume poor people are evil and put it there.
"Maybe they'll learn to not assume all poor people are thieves."
Or at least they want something half-way good. Anyway, they were only looking for one thief. I don't think the assumed *ALL* poor people are thieves.
Kumbaya my friend, Kumbaya.
In South Africa the results would have been vastly different. The car, crt and gps module would have disappeared in less than 5 minutes in every case. In half those cases the gps module would have been deactivated. On at least four occasions the researchers would have been hijacked while setting up the experiment, their own car also stolen and they would have been forced to the nearest ATM to withdraw the maximum amount. Depending on the time of day it is also likely that they would have been shot at least twice, one of them being fatal. And according to statistics, at least once the set would have been stolen from the car by a police officer or security guard. Sad thing is, I didn't make this up, that is the current state in the country. Canada or bust!
How glib. With such an astute power of observation, I can only assume that you have a Ph.D. in Socioeconomics and its relation to race in technologically advanced societies.
Well, I'm sure the resale of a 13" TV is, like, $2. I've bought two 26" CRT TVs second hand (legit), one was $85, and the other $50. I can't imagine what a 13" would go for.
The only way I could see someone stealing one is if they have a definite use for it in mind (ie. they have a small space in their room where the TV would fit nicely, or something).
There is crime in Canada?
Apparently not.
Isn't it obvious? It's a cop. The thief is a cop that's why he knew not to take the crt.
I was robbed in Canada once, the villian was very polite, and afterwards let me use his cellphone to call the RCMP, then gave me receipt for the $20 he stole, then when I said I was from the US he felt sorry for me and gave me $50 to get taxi. Bastards.
So they learned that people don't want to steal things that are worthless, heavy, bulky, and easily noticeable?
And they wasted a month with this???
There's probably a size/technology point where stealing the TV becomes too much of a hassle. Certainly, no one is going to jack your 100" screen -- you needed a forklift to get that installed in the first place -- and probably any CRT is going to be not worth the effort (either it's too small and therefore worthless, or it's large and backbreakingly heavy). But a 32" LCD is nicely portable.
Say, you're a thief and you see a 50" plasma. Can you reasonably steal it, given it's weight and bulk? I have a 46" DLP, and, while light, it's cumbersome, and I'd expect someone to grab the iPod or laptop before they take that.
Greater Vancouver is now all of Canada???? What about the other 9,981,792 sq. kms of land area?
Thieves WILL steal bulky and heavy stuff if it is somewhat valuable and they really want it badly enough...
I had a pair of 12" subwoofers in the back of my SUV in a sealed enclosure made from 1" particle board. The box had a 500 watt amplifier attached to it. That assembly was rather large and HEAVY! Granted, I did not bolt it down but I would have thought the weight and bulk would make for a sufficient deterrent. Nope...They broke out my back window and out it went.
same thing happened to my sister in germany 2 years back. Her hand bag was stolen at a trade show, but dumped it around the corner in the next booth (she was an exhibitor and it was set up day). The perk took her wallet, but there was a really nice looking film using (not digital) brand new camera in it and he left it in the bag, I told her she should take this as a hint and go digital as the thief didn;t even want it for free.
For what reason? To prove that you have poor financial management skills coupled with poor impulse control?
Nope, we got it 3 years ago, and it's a 61", it was well worth it, it still looks absolutely stunning with HD input, and even DVDs are just amazing on the thing. Sony made the most beautiful Plasma displays ever made, with a huge panel of glass that extends a couple inches past the panel, and it looks just awesome.
Well it wasn't all of Canada :) I have to make the correction since I live in the city this happened :)
It is in Vancouver, BC... and the paper here wanted to track where the TV eventually ends up. They kinda gave a lot of credit to our bait car program here (pretty big problem with stolen cars here) but like you, it was pretty stupid to leave such an unattractive item in hopes someone is stupid enough to waste their time and steal it!