PERSONAL SAFETY
some recent ‘Einsteins’ of the World of Crime STAY SAFE Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “View from a Cop.”
I have spent most of the last 20 years talking about crime prevention and stressing the point that crooks are not masterminds, but rather creatures of habit, working with the Risk vs. Opportunity formula. I also wrote about the dumb crooks I labeled as “Einsteins” of the criminal world. There has been so much redirecting of my attention over the past couple of years that I’ve gotten away from it, so I would like to look at those lovable and despicable morons who, this year, strived to make the rest of us look smart. For instance, a woman in Canton, Ohio, told cops that she found a burglar napping in her guest bedroom. Apparently, he helped himself to the pool and the family’s leftover chicken. She found that he had taken her son’s underwear and left his wet trousers after his swim. Her husband, who left the house at 4 a.m., said he saw a shirtless man walking down the street and waited until he was out of sight before leaving for work. Cops later found an intoxicated man and soon discovered he was the same man who was in the woman’s home, according to the New York Post. On that note, if you see a shirtless man walking down your street, especially at 4 a.m., call the police. Here are short versions of more Einsteins: A thief in Cairo Egypt, stole a reporter’s phone and overlooked the fact the reporter was live streaming at the time, hence placing his mug all on over 20,000 Facebook pages, according to the website Newser. The stream shows the man running while smoking a cigarette and looking back. He
didn’t need to look back because his face was all over the place. He was arrested a few hours later. The Staffordshire, U.K., police reported they received an emergency call (999, England’s version of 911) and the cops essentially listened to the burglary in progress because one of the two burglars accidently butt-dialed the number, the Stoke Sentinel and others reported. The two burglars, both in their late 40’s, were arrested. And yes, some referred to it as a “bum rap.” Here in Georgia, Cherokee County deputies pulled a car over for a tag violation. The passenger opened the door and fled the scene, leaving his backpack. The cops later posted on Facebook, congratulating the man and telling him his winning, $100 lottery ticket was at the sheriff’s precinct waiting to be picked up. Sure enough, according to CNN the man arrived to pick it up and was arrested, partially for the methamphetamine that was also in the backpack. Two men were arrested in Florida after a trooper clocked their car at over 95 mph. Following the traffic stop, the trooper discovered one of the two had an active felony warrant, and so the officer called for backup. A sheriff’s K-9 unit arrived and after an open-air sniff, the dog alerted and the cops searched the car, Newser reported. They found methamphetamine, GHB (also known as “The DateRape Drug”), fentanyl, cocaine, MDMA (also known as “Ecstasy” or “Molly”). The drugs were found in a bag labeled “Bag of Drugs.” A thief in Riverside, Calif., had his caricature drawn by an artist. When the artist finished, the man stole $500 dollars from his earnings and then fled. Although the caricature shows exaggerated facial features, NBC reported, cops used it for the public lookout. And finally, in Colorado Springs, Co. thieves drove a stolen van through the front of a marijuana dispensary, grabbed as much
marijuana from the display cases as they could carry and then fled, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported. The only hitch in the plan was that they actually stole oregano instead of marijuana. The owners of the dispensary used oregano for “display purposes,” for exactly that reason. This is one of those cases where I really wished I could see the crooks utilizing the stolen goods. So, the list goes on and on. Crooks are much like their intended victims. They need the opportunity to steal. The victim needs to reduce that opportunity which in turn, creates the risk. Don’t give them credit they deserve. A little creativity this holiday season will go a long way. For
instance: ■ Congratulations on that new seventy-five-inch television but don’t leave the box intact and on the curb. Cut it apart and put it out inside out, so all you see is cardboard. ■ Don’t advertise your holiday out-of-town trip on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. ■ Arrange your schedules or make arrangements to have your delivered packages picked up ASAP after delivery. Crooks are known to tail delivery drivers. ■ Take your items out of the car, even when the car is in the garage. Lock it up, too. Just put some “What If’s” into your thought process during the holiday and be “systematically unsystematic.” Zig when your normally zag. And remember, please call 911 when you see suspicious activity, including a shirtless man walking down the street at 4 a.m.
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