View Full Version : Robbed!!!!
Alpinestarhero
19-03-07, 06:26 PM
Bit of bad news from the Alpinestarhero's today...
...Miss Alpinestarhero (maria) had £25 odd quid taken from her purse in the university library. She saw someone messing around near her bag this morning and stormed over to him, and told him to get away from her bag. The guy had his hands in his own bag, so maria assumed he was just looking in his own bag (which he also said to her). Anyway, I asked maria for some change to get a drink and maria said it had all gone, and her 20 pound note had been taken too (it was a crisp, shiny new one too!). This was about 2 hours after the "leave my bag alone!" incident. Anyway, she's gone to security who have caught the guy red-handed on CCTV
I'm now thinking of a trap to set up to try and catch the guy myself...(which is quite dangerous but could be a good way of getting his ID if i take a good photograph).
Not so upset because it wasnt alot of money, but then it was kinda - it was half of the money for food this week (but we got more than enough to make up).
But the cheek of the guy, to walk into a crowded library and do that!
Grrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :smt092 :smt011 :evil:
Matt
Cheeky mofo, hope that he gets caught and what he deserves!!! :smt092
TBH, Universities seem to suffer from this sort of theft. I guess it's partly down to the slightly lax attentions of the students (Not saying Miss Alpinestarshero was lax at all, very on the ball to have noticed the guy), leaving bags and laptops around. Plus it can be very straightforward for a non-university person to walk onto a campus and get anywhere they want.
Many moons ago, when I was at uni, there was a case of two guys walking into one of the computer labs behind a proper student who opened the lock for them, and proceeding to nick 10 computers, just walking out the door with them and loading up a van!
To be honest, it's a very vulnerable place to leave stuff around. Everyone assumes that if your on campus, you're meant to be there, and no one will challenge any one.
At least now Maria will be more aware. Still not a nice thing to happen .... go and make some tights for her ;)
Cheeky mofo:smt092sounds like Dr Rich:smt103
Alpinestarhero
19-03-07, 06:59 PM
Rigor, you are right - uni's are an unsafe place to be - I always take my phone, keys and wallet when I get up to go for a book or get a magazine from the rack, I might only be gone 30 secs but its enough isnt it?
I do often think there should be tigher security at the Uni, perhaps a swipe in system with the uni ID cards or something.
Least it wasnt alot of money, or even her cards...
...as for the tights...
Matt
Hmmm. Security. How much money you got to spend? :D
As for catching someone in the act:
1) Why?
2) Dangerous, and could be viewed as an invision of privacy & therefore human rights.
3) Entrapment.
4) Why?
The guy was caught red handed on CCTV you said. So why?
Right, that out of the way. Items needed:
Duct Tape
Maria's bag (empty of everything valuable)
Rape Alarm :D
You & maria agree a specific point to place the bag. When no-one's looking, Maria places the bag in the quietest spot you can find in the library :D Put the rape alarm under the bag, and tie the rape alarm string to the underside of the bag. Leave the bag unfastened, but closed, with something tempting (empty wallet?) sort of sticking out a bit (but enough that you have to open the bag to get it out).
Use the Duct Tape to secure the rape alarm in place.
Maria walks away "looking for a book" (asking library staff rather loudly as she does).
Victim spies bag (hopefully) then CACKS themselves when the rape alarm goes off in a quiet library. Just before it does, you take a picture.
Walla. *takes a bow*
P.S. If you want something more elaborate, something can be arranged, I design & build security systems for a friend that owns his own security firm.
sounds like Dr Rich:smt103
I'm one Rich but not the Doctor :lol: Must be a name thing!!!
thedonal
19-03-07, 09:46 PM
Jeez- sorry to hear that Matt. Not nice thing to have happen, despite the relatively minimal loss.
If Miss A.S.H spotted the thief and security have it on film, maybe they'll catch him? At least they'll be alerted and if it is a student, surely an easier catch. It's nice to see that the CCTV footage was captured- I often wonder how many of them cameras are actually recording... (we have the highest no. of securiy cameras in the world here in the UK- but probably most have no film!!).
It's nice to see that the CCTV footage was captured- I often wonder how many of them cameras are actually recording... (we have the highest no. of securiy cameras in the world here in the UK- but probably most have no film!!).
Something like 6/10* systems use rotation. Eg, 6 cameras, each camera is connected to the recorder for 10 seconds, cycle every minute. Problem here is that you have a gap of 50 seconds on every given camera, so it's actually not recording more than it is!
2/10* systems use split screen (eg, show 4 camera's constantly). Advantage is that all 4 camera's record constantly, but image size & quality suffer. Sometimes these are used in a rotation, so you always have 4 camera's on screen, but each is only on screen for a given time.
1/10* systems use motion detection to activate recordings. Disadvantage here is the fale positives. Try setting up motion detecting cameras in a busy clothing shop during opening hours. It just won't work. Some have manual over-ride.
1/10* systems simply have no tape in, or the tape used is VHS style & is so poor you can't see anything anyway! Tape rotation is notoriously bad for this.
*Figures plucked from thin air for demonstrative purposes :)
Has the crime been reported to the Police and the CCTV saved?
Ch00
Miss Alpinestarhero
21-03-07, 05:08 PM
Has the crime been reported to the Police and the CCTV saved?
Ch00
I went to the police station in person the next day and reported it (as advised by university security) and i had to fill in a minor-theft sheet. The police then said they will get back to me in 3 days....
CCTV has been saved and university security said he was possibly on a laptop and logged in to the internet so they can try and trace him that way.
I doubt anything will happen though, they showed me the CCTV of him going through my bag (wasnt nice to watch) and another shot of him walking towards the camera - the picture quality was pretty crap when they zoomed in on his face.
We'll see what happens anyway!
Maria
I went to the police station in person the next day and reported it (as advised by university security) and i had to fill in a minor-theft sheet. The police then said they will get back to me in 3 days....
CCTV has been saved and university security said he was possibly on a laptop and logged in to the internet so they can try and trace him that way.
I doubt anything will happen though, they showed me the CCTV of him going through my bag (wasnt nice to watch) and another shot of him walking towards the camera - the picture quality was pretty crap when they zoomed in on his face.
We'll see what happens anyway!
Maria
Was the picture quality crap before zooming in? If it was fairly reasonable, it was just the hardware you used to view it that couldn't handle interpolation properly.
The police have better rigs for CCTV zoom. If it'd of been handled inside the University, I could of offered to help clean up the image a bit, but not now it's in police hands.
It is better that it's a police matter though.
Good luck with it :)
PsychoCannon
21-03-07, 05:16 PM
A lot of places use CCTV as a deterent but skimp out on the kit so they end up with video that isn't very useful for identifying people.
It's a shame as there isn't THAT much cost increase for a decent quality increase, even the extra storage space required isn't huge, especially if you do a short time lapse rather than constant feed.
Miss Alpinestarhero
21-03-07, 05:21 PM
Was the picture quality crap before zooming in? If it was fairly reasonable, it was just the hardware you used to view it that couldn't handle interpolation properly.
The police have better rigs for CCTV zoom. If it'd of been handled inside the University, I could of offered to help clean up the image a bit, but not now it's in police hands.
It is better that it's a police matter though.
Good luck with it :)
It was reasonably ok before zooming in. I mean, they showed me the suspect walking towards the camera (before showing me the one of him in my bag which i thought was a rather clever idea) and asked if it was him - i recognised him pretty much straight away.
University security still have the CCTV image - it wont be given to the police unless they ask for it (which they probably will when they eventually get back to me)
I only wish i checked for the money in my purse, that way i would have confronted the guy there and then!
Maria
John 675
21-03-07, 05:22 PM
if this was me, and my mrs had someone trying to steal off her, ( now this is just my personaly appointed opinion )
i'd find him, i'd grab him by the hair and proceed to kick his ass sevearly, im sorry if this offends people and TBH i am not a violent person, unless people wrong my good woman.
taking the law into our own hands is NOT a way to go about your life, but if someone tries to hurt, steal, make my mrs look small or affraid, then i get red mist, and i hate that, because its a flaw in me... lack of self control...
but thats love... :smt009 :thumbsup:
same goes with the SV lol,:thumbsup:
A lot of places use CCTV as a deterent but skimp out on the kit so they end up with video that isn't very useful for identifying people.
It's a shame as there isn't THAT much cost increase for a decent quality increase, even the extra storage space required isn't huge, especially if you do a short time lapse rather than constant feed.
All the camera's dotted around my house are HD quality, and records on to DVR & then on to DVD for anything I want to keep.
Takes up no space at all, and all of the camera's are well hidden, you can only see them if you know where they are :)
But yes, most shops are a joke. They're either setup in a round-robin rotation, or quality is poor for one reason or another, or they simply don't work. Usually it's a combination of them all.
I only wish i checked for the money in my purse, that way i would have confronted the guy there and then!
Maria
For the love of money (pardon the pun :D) don't think about it like that.
You caught the guy in the act, and reported it. Going on experience (of both sides of the law :oops:) most theives carry on because they can. Once they get spooked it puts them off for a long time.
This guy will be seriously spooked by now, he wasn't planning on you catching him, so it will of come as a serious shock.
Don't look at what you should of done, look forwards, to catching the a**e!
Miss Alpinestarhero
21-03-07, 05:26 PM
if this was me, and my mrs had someone trying to steal off her, ( now this is just my personaly appointed opinion )
i'd find him, i'd grab him by the hair and proceed to kick his ass sevearly, im sorry if this offends people and TBH i am not a violent person, unless people wrong my good woman.
taking the law into our own hands is NOT a way to go about your life, but if someone tries to hurt, steal, make my mrs look small or affraid, then i get red mist, and i hate that, because its a flaw in me... lack of self control...
but thats love... :smt009 :thumbsup:
same goes with the SV lol,:thumbsup:
lol :D
Miss Alpinestarhero
21-03-07, 05:28 PM
Don't look at what you should of done, look forwards, to catching the a**e!
true! good advice that :D ive already made myself feel better by thinking of the worse things that could have happened.. i.e being mugged/attacked, having my cards stolen etc etc
Maria
true! good advice that :D ive already made myself feel better by thinking of the worse things that could have happened.. i.e being mugged/attacked, having my cards stolen etc etc
Maria
That's your way of making yourself feel better? Jeez!
You can tell you're a psyhc student!
Miss Alpinestarhero
21-03-07, 05:34 PM
That's your way of making yourself feel better? Jeez!
You can tell you're a psyhc student!
:p you know what i meeaann :p
Maria
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