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Title
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Thieves Strip Automoblies While Owner is in Theater
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Source
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Evening Star (DC)
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Date
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1920-06-25
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page
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4
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Identifier
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https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83045462/1920-06-27/ed-1/?sp=44&q=theft&r=0.209,0.102,0.448,0.162,0
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Crime
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Theft
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Subject
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theft; car; stoplights; mirror; bulbs; car tires; googles; paperworks
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Gender of alleged victim
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male alleged victim
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Law enforcement involved
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police
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Stage of the Legal System
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crime
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Location
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In-state; DC
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Length of story
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708
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Description
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THIEVES STRIP WHILE OWNER IS IN THEATER. Local Mototist Loses Practically All His Car Equipment – Other Robberies of Similar Character Reported. BY THEODORE P. NOYES. "Am I seeing things?" queried District motorist the other night as he came out of a local theater and surveyed what had been his well equipped car, but which looked the as if a hurricane had struck it. During his brief stay in the theater thieves had stripped the car of practically everything that could be taken off. These articles include the spotlight, mirror, bulbs out of the dashlights and dashlight covers, clock, two tires and tools, valuable papers and goggles out of the pockets of the car. The thief or thieve had accommodatingly left him his automobile, which was something to be grateful for. This is by no means an uncommon occurrence on the streets of Washington, and some concerted action should be taken by the motorists and police department to put a stop to it once and for all. Of course, it is an unusually bold thief who will take the time to strip a car as completely as the aforementioned, the majority of them being content to thoroughly rifle the pockets and let it go at that. Others Report Losses. One motorist reports that he had the pockets of his car completed emptied while he was eating dinner the other night, the car being in front of his house the entire time, in thickly populated portion of the city. Another tells of the loss of a tire, the tire being taken off one of the four wheels on the ground. This enterprising thief had evidently come along in another car, pulled up alongside, admired the brand new tire, jacked up the car - and good-bye tire. If any one had questioned him he would, undoubtedly, have said that he was from some service station and had been sent to get the tire, and if the real owner had come out the thief would, of course, have apologized and explained that he was mistaken in the car, and that he had been sent to repair the same make of car in that vicinity. Many of these unpleasant experiences undergone by motorists are never reported to the police, the owners of the cars presumably deciding that, inasmuch as nothing of any great value has been taken, it was not worth the attention of the police. But it is just this laxity on the part of motorists that causes this kind of a petty thief to thrive. Not Likely to Attract Attention. How many men on the streets would question a man if they saw him going through the pockets of a car? Probably not one in a hundred unless they happened to know the owner of the car in question, and even they would hesitate for fear that the owner might have sent out for something in his car. Of course the average man does not carry anything of much value in the pockets, articles ranging from tools, goggles, books, maps and papers being about all, but to lose these things periodically is exasperating to a degree. Possibly the only solution of the problem is to have a small lock attached to each pocket. This can easily be accomplished by having a slit made in the leather, which will fit over a small staple, through which a small lock can be fastened. It does seem too bad that the motorist, besides the constant dread of having the car itself stolen, no matter what kind of locking device he has used, has also to worry about all the equipment on the car. It may become a common thing in the future to see headlights with small chains on them, spotlights the same, tires with enormous locks, and even chains on the seat cushions. Thefts Should Be Reported. Every case, big or small, should be reported immediately to the station of the police precinct in which you live, and the sooner the better. While you may not get back your stolen articles, the constant reporting of cases will bring the matter to attention of the police and public, which will make the police more active and may make the thief a little more wary.
