ok, this is serious folks.

After just having an argument with a member of the forum in the chat room who is pregnant and knows that her boyfriend, who today got out of jail is out stealing cars again tonight, I thought I'd pose the question...

Is car theft ever right? She likes the money he makes and even had the nerve to call what he was doing 'earning a living'.
She doesn't realise that she, knowing what he does, is an accessory and she believes that it's each for their own. So basically, he goes out, knicks a car, sells the parts and she buys nice things for herself and the baby.

The reason he can't get a job to pay for all this stuff is because he gets a 'buzz' stealing cars.

So that makes it ok, because the baby now has some new timberlands, which are 'cool' and he's a happy bunny from the buzz he gets.

This has made me feel sick to the stomach knowing that such scum can populate our forum, but am I being OTT? Am I wrong to get angry that people can just take things that people have worked hard for and make a good deal of profit from it??

Yes and no - almost all yes, I agree (and I doubt you'll find many who don't) that almost all crime is wrong, and particularily so when its crime against an individual.

The only reason I say yes is because of the thread in sheffield chat, but thats pretty extreme mental problems, in my opinion :)

Hi Lotti,

Never you mind about the preggie forum member who sees NOTHING WRONG WITH THE FATHER OF HER CHILD STEALING CARS. Bad enough that he does what he does, and only a fool would advertise the fact on a public forum. Let her run her big mouth, she'll get his sorry behind arrested. Again. Then she and the baby will be visiting him in prison.

This sort of behavior is sickeningly common in America, and those who feel entitled to things without working for them have always been among us, I'm afraid. But how I long for the days when those caught red-handed at least pretended they were sorry. Nowadays, you see these unrepentant idiots who actually try to justify their bad behavior, or even worse, blame the victim for it.

"But your honor, I only took her purse and laptop because her car was unlocked..." These were the exact words of the thievin git who stole my sister's belongings while she putting gas in her car! Amazingly, she got her purse back with everything in it, but the laptop was gone forever.

There might be a few instances where car theft was justified, but just because mama needs new shoes aint one of 'em.

Probably worst of all are parents who neglect their duties and don't teach their kids right from wrong. I read this story a couple of weeks ago. It took the cake, the plate and the fork. If it's true? Unbelievable.

http://lostcamera.blogspot.com/2006/02/camera-unlost-but-not-quite-found.html

:) Sierra

Whenever can car theft be classed as right??

It is a crime, end of matter. Who are they talking the car from?? Do they conduct a thorough audit first to see who the car will be stolen from? Maybe it's from a single guy who earns £100k a year, maybe from a single mum with two kids who needs the car to get to the shops for the kids, maybe a guy with a disability who can no longe get out and about.

Will the persons Insurance premium go up? Maybe if so, they can no longer afford a car!

So if you steal cars for living then i hope you wrap the next one round a tree. (No apologies)

Amazing Sierra,

Some people will never cease to amaze me!

The best bit was, when asked how long he'd get next time he was caught this girl replied that he wasn't going to get caught again but if he did, 'ooh not long. We have a good solicitor'

Boasting about it makes it all the worse and she just can't seem to grasp that this is wrong!

Whenever can car theft be classed as right??

It is a crime, end of matter.

So if you steal cars for living then i hope you wrap the next one round a tree. (No apologies)
Their face included. :rant:

We had our car smashed by thieving scum when my wife was heavilly pregnant. We needed that to get her to hospital. Could barely afford the repair fees & insurance hike at the time either.

Scum like this should not be at liberty.

there might be the occasional outlandish situation where most people would say it was justified.
If for example no ambulance were available and stealing a car were the only way to get someone to hospital and save their life, or if by stealing the car you could somehow save the world. Other than that, no it's not.
You should report the user who was boasting about it to the police, it shouldn't be to difficult to track her down, work out who her boyfriend is and watch him for 24 hrs.
She can go to jail as an accessory, she's obviously not going to raise the child to be law abiding, so the child is better off in care.

It really makes me sick to think these people are at large. crime like this will never go away, because in this country its seen as a minor crime, hence they boast that they wont get long if any time in jail. personally I'd lock them up for good. if you can't do the time dont do the crime.

Lotti, IMO it is NEVER right to steal a car, or anything else for that matter.

As for this silly girl boasting about it in chat, the following is for her benefit: only the other day I found out that all chat is logged, which therefore means that it may be possible for it to be used as evidence. I'd imagine there are many people, who are members or just read SF as non-members, who would be very interested in that evidence.

What was the silly bints username? Id just like to let her know that if I catch her boyfriend having a go at my car, he wont be stealing any cars again for quite a while. After all, it must be hard to pinch cars with both your arms in plaster.

Of course it's never right.

The people who think it is right really do bother me. But another group also bother me - those people who think that serving Saudi Arabian style justice is the way forward, such as cutting off people's hands or executing them.

Case in point, a friend's brother used to be a habitual joyrider. You'd have thought he was a really sound lad until you found out what he was up to. Of course he got caught, but he'd do it again once out of the young offenders' place. However one sentence involved him actually learning about cars and he eventually gained an apprenticeship and the thieving stopped. Proof that for one guy at least, there was hope.

Name the person Lotti, then we can all hopefully find out who the thieving scum bag of a boyfriend is.

Well done for bringing it to everyone's attention. :thumbsup:

Exactly..grass him up

Of course it's never right.

The people who think it is right really do bother me. But another group also bother me - those people who think that serving Saudi Arabian style justice is the way forward, such as cutting off people's hands or executing them.

Case in point, a friend's brother used to be a habitual joyrider. You'd have thought he was a really sound lad until you found out what he was up to. Of course he got caught, but he'd do it again once out of the young offenders' place. However one sentence involved him actually learning about cars and he eventually gained an apprenticeship and the thieving stopped. Proof that for one guy at least, there was hope.

Im not saying they should have their hands cut off or swing from the gallows. What I am saying, however, is that the second they enter my car (or my house/shed/garage whatever) without my permission, and try to take something that Ive worked to gain the money to buy, then they should lose any rights they may have had. Id have no problem giving out a good kicking to someone I caught trying to steal from me. IMO, they deserve everything they get. I told the policeman the same thing when my bag was stolen from my front room when I was upstairs, and he actually said he would probably do the same thing himself.

Well, it does show that car theives and their families are not smart.

We keep logs of all chat room conversations, and those logs are date and time stamped.

And given 22,000 members, I'd say that it's almost inevitable that we have at least one serving police officer on the Forum.

So, rest assured. The logs are kept, from those logs we can get a user name, from that user name an IP address and an email address.

Sheffield Forum has a VERY long emmory. :)

Im not saying they should have their hands cut off or swing from the gallows. What I am saying, however, is that the second they enter my car (or my house/shed/garage whatever) without my permission, and try to take something that Ive worked to gain the money to buy, then they should lose any rights they may have had. Id have no problem giving out a good kicking to someone I caught trying to steal from me. IMO, they deserve everything they get. I told the policeman the same thing when my bag was stolen from my front room when I was upstairs, and he actually said he would probably do the same thing himself.

and legally you have every right to defend yourself and your property with reasonable force, including making a citizens arrest again using reasonable force.

Oh sugar!! I put it is ok to steal cars, but i dont think it is. I think its qrong i just clicked the wrong one. I dislike people who steal things becuase the person who's the car might be might have saved awhile to get it, be really proud of it etc and then some scumbag comes and takes it all away! Also if this person really needs their car becuase they are disabled etc..then that is just heartless! How would they feel if it was their own car??

Also remember...What goes around comes around!

Well, it does show that car theives and their families are not smart.

We keep logs of all chat room conversations, and those logs are date and time stamped.

And given 22,000 members, I'd say that it's almost inevitable that we have at least one serving police officer on the Forum.

So, rest assured. The logs are kept, from those logs we can get a user name, from that user name an IP address and an email address.

Sheffield Forum has a VERY long emmory. :)

Is there any chance of the admin looking through the chat and reporting the user to the police?

Better still Lotti keep the name to yourself. Let's see how brave that individual is and see if she will admit to it. Surely if she thinks that stealing in any form is ok then she should have no problem arguing her side right here.

I doubt it though, she is probably a big coward just like her boyfriend. They both should grow up.

I've had a car that was stolen once and broken into two more times. The car I've now got had it's window smashed. I nearly caught the last lot and I had every intention of giving them the beating of their lives which would had probably been more than they deserved but over time it builds up.

I agree with cyclone, that there may be the incredibly, incredibly rare incident where someone needs to take a car to get to hospital, but how often, in truth would this situation arise?

My sister's car was stolen, despite the fact that the thieves must have seen the speciality moulded seating in the back, for my severely disabled youngest nephew (the older of the two boys doesn't need speciality seating). Neither the car nor the seat has ever been recovered. It left my sister and her husband completely stranded, without any means of transporting their two disabled boys about.

If the punishments given were harsher, and mpre appropriate, it might discourage the car-thieves from their "TWOC-ing"

PT

Mathom may have been referring to my desire for more effective justice.

I do think thieves should be given a chance. The first time they steal a car they should get a light sentence, 5 years in prison if the circumstances are mild, 10 or so if they're not. Not enough prison capacity? Make more prisons.

Second time round, I would like to see public hangings. If there's a second there will be a third, and the second time caught probably means they're already taken dozens. Society shouldn't have to tolerate this, and as these low lives almost all are persistent reoffenders, I think we should get rid of them permanently - that guarantees a very low re offence rate, and watching their fellow thieves twitching on the end of a rope should be an effective deterrent to others..

JoeP and for anyone else who is interested i was also in the chat room during the conversation last night and to be honest i was astounded by the sheer ignorance and persistance of this particular user that it was okay for her boyfriend to steal.

according to her amongst other things it was justified as they managed to buy there little one a new pair of timberlands. i gest not!

this woman... using the term very losely as she had the blissfull ignornace of an uneducated child with no remorse or respect for others... continued on for the best part of two hours justifying her boyfriend's "job" as she put it.

what really got me the most was that this user was in chat a few weeks ago asking for advice as to what she should do... many of the forum members offered her support and sound advice... not only did she ignore it but she, for want of a better phrase "turned to the dark side" is a big way. her behaviour and views last night was completely without reproach. for information i fully intend to report this to the mods as the sooner she gets her head straight one way of another the sooner her child has a chance of growing up untainted by her parents woeful lack of morals and disregard for other people.

also her boyfriend was briefly in her presence last night yet didn't want to justify his miserable existence to us in chat... he went out to "work" instead... i hope everyone still has their car today!

Well, it does show that car theives and their families are not smart.

We keep logs of all chat room conversations, and those logs are date and time stamped.

And given 22,000 members, I'd say that it's almost inevitable that we have at least one serving police officer on the Forum.

So, rest assured. The logs are kept, from those logs we can get a user name, from that user name an IP address and an email address.

Sheffield Forum has a VERY long emmory. :)

lock the thieving b'stard back up.

Are you sure it wasn't some kid messing about? There seem to be quite a few children who are regular posters on the forum, maybe take things with a pinch of salt.

I agree with Cyclone, the only responsible thing to do in this case is report this user to the police, and offer the chat log as evidence for your concern.

Car theft will always be a lesser crime in the eyes of the general public if the punishment is low.
The bloke killing the girl in burnley got 13 weeks which is beyond belief if he were given 10 year for the death of the girl and 5 year for his crime of driving illegally it would set a standard.
i also read about a bloke who allowed his 15 year old daughter behind the wheel and when she lost control went through a back yard crushing a lady under her car who just managed to push her 18 month baby out of the way. he gets off scott free and his daughter gets 200 hours community service.
where's the justice?

Hi all,

I'm going to take he liberty of locking this thread now.

The reason for this is that if there ARE any legal repercussions form the chat logs, I don't wish anyone to post anything that's likely to cause legal issues.

If anyone wants to start a separate thread about TWOcing, etc. feel free to do so.

I hope people understand.

Thanks,

Joe :)