Property Safety Information

Protect Your Bicycles, Cars, and Motorcycles

One of the most exciting times in life is getting that first bicycle, car or maybe even a motorcycle. This milestone in life brings a sense of accomplishment, responsibility, and an opportunity to travel freely. Traveling freely has a different meaning to a criminal. Stealing your possessions is a no cost way to assist with their finances or provide an avenues to commit crimes and escape leaving the aftermath pointing right to you.

All thefts can’t be prevented, so make sure you have a good insurance policy to cover any costs you incur as a result of theft.

Texas Private Investigators™ recommends the following tips to help make your property less likely to be a target for theft.

1. Always keep the windows up and the doors locked.

2. Consider and anti-theft device such as a steering wheel lock.

3. Park in a well-lit monitored are whenever possible.

4. Use the handlebar lock on your motorcycle in addition to the ignition lock.

5. Make sure you have a durable chain to lock up your bicycle. Place the lock on the frame and not on the wheel while making sure there is minimal room to use a device to cut the chain.

Shoplifting

According to an article written Sam Dean for the LA Times, statistics on retail losses cited by the National Retail Federation may not be accurate. They seem to have miscalculated the losses according to the article, however, the bottom line is, the losses are often unrecovered. The potential for passing on the costs of shoplifting and theft to the consumer definitely exists. The best estimate on losses caused by shoplifting are about 7₵ per $100 dollars according to the article.

The cost to companies such as Louis Vuitton may be even more due to the value of their products. There have been many recent large scale organized thefts from high end stores such as the Louis Vuitton store in San Francisco. It is becoming more common for thieves to commit “open theft” where they load up carts and simply walk out the door.

Placing expensive items in secured cabinets often result in consumers being frustrated at not being able to obtain the items without assistance. It also can result in “smash and grabs” where glass display cases are broken which can result in customer injury and more lawsuits.

A woman in West Virginia was awarded 17 million dollars in damages after a Wal-Mart employee was accused of injuring her while trying to detain her.

Because of these issues, companies report that the liabilities for hiring a security company or training employees on how to stop and detain a shoplifter often outweighs the cost of the loss of property or liability for injury of an employee, customer or even the criminal injury.

Those Shoplifters that are identified and arrested can face charges anywhere from a Class C misdemeanor to a state jail felony for thefts between $1500.00 and $19,999.00. Fines can be anywhere from $500.00 to $10,000.00 plus the cost of attorney’s fees.

These types of arrests can result in a loss of your job, having titles, group memberships and other positions of trust revoked and isolation from others. Basically, it’s not worth the risk. Talk to your children about shoplifting and the consequences early! Prevention is protection!