from the mind of an ex-theif..

Originally Posted by DeVackHerps

basicly just watch out with people that come by your store like 10 times a week and never buy anything. there probaly looking for good areas in the store to steal. and there scoping out the area.

I work at a pet store and we were really busy. It was winter and there was this guy who comes in several times a week but never buys anything. He had on a large coat. He was carrying around a very expensive fish tank decoration.

As soon as everyone was taken care of I noticed that he was gone and so was that fish tank decoration that he had carried around. I can't say he took it per se, but where is it? Someone else could have taken it, I know this, but it sure smells funny.

Now as soon as that guy comes in, someone follows him around. Still to this day he has not bought a single thing. I think he is still scoping the place out or waiting for us to get busy and forget about him.

Originally Posted by DragonCharm

You need to go back and finish high school, you sound like a complete retard trying to form sentences.

every time i post i go back to correct what i did wrong before i acculy post and then when i try to i press delete or backspace and it merges the words and lines together and everytime i try to fix it it just keep going down the line. work to word. never works for me to correct. i type fast whats why it looks messed up. but i try to correct after and never lets me. idk why.

Using the spell check function below your text box will help you out.

OK, let me throw some more fuel into this.

My credentials: Former NYPD and then NYPD instructor of Police Sciences. Now running a company that provides forensic computer services as well as other related computer services. My wife is the Dragon Breeder.

Now for my 2 cents:

Most burglaries are looking for a fast, under 5 min, in and out. Guns, cash, and jewelry are the main objective. Cutting wires and scoping out camera shows sophistication and usually are targeted facilities. In the case of a pet store burglary, the facility is targeted and what is to be removed has been decided before the crime.

Cameras as a deterrent can be “fake” look like cameras with a red light only or actual. If the store is targeted, the cameras will make little difference in the outcome. Just the threat of a camera is enough to deter a casual thief as much as an alarm system. Again, a sophisticated thief will have a scanner ready and someone monitoring for the alarm call or someone calling the police.

If a store is “hit” a review of past tapes would show some suspicious activity. Be assured, the day before the burglary, someone was in there making sure nothing changed that could surprise the thief.

Who steals lizards? Someone who can sell them fast. In most communities, this could narrow down the possible suspects pretty fast. In larger communities, a drive 30 min in all directions to other pet shops could be surprisingly revealing. The thief already has a buyer lined up and considering how people network, the new owners, possibly an unaware storeowner, will probably be just outside of the area.

Robert,
While going 30 mins in all directions would certainly turn up stolen goods in many cases I think you're going to find more cases than you'd normally see where goods are going out of state. With the internet these days and next day shipping people are making contacts nationwide and worldwide and have the capability to get them from NYC to LA in 24 hrs. Things like electronics, etc I'd think would be more likely found in local stores. Animals that are cheap and capable of being resold quick at a petshop aren't really being hit in the big heists, people are after big ticket items that are $1000+ per animal. People that are targeting alarm systems, cutting power, etc are looking to make $100K scores.

I just read this thread and Richard's last post about "next day shipping" made me think of the possibility that every time a buyer puts in an order with an unknown breeder, he/she may be setting the stage for someone else to be robbed!?