# Next time, STEAL SOMETHING!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 2, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056 "2001-05-02T07:31:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/1 "2001-05-02T07:31:02Z")
Y’know, nothing ends the day better than coming home to find your window broken and the contents of your entire home open to the world.
Oh, I take that back. Nothing beats coming home and finding your home broken into _but nothing missing_.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m very, very relieved that our stuff is still here. I’m glad the house wasn’t trashed. But _holyfuck!_… I have never felt so violated, so helpless, and so paranoid in my life.
We don’t know what to think about this. Was it just some random asshole who happened to be in the area? Or was it someone a little more purposeful… someone who carefully watched and planned? Was it one of the punk-ass neighbor’s punk-ass kids? Was it that harmless-looking old lady next door who works in her garden all day long? Who knows?
The big question, of course, is why didn’t they take anything? Did they get scared off? Or did they just come by to check out what I had, and are planning on coming back and cleaning us out, say, tomorrow?
Now that’s a comforting thought. I’m sure I’ll sleep restfully tonight with that on my mind.
Of course, I have a billion other little thoughts running though my head: that it’s someone who lives in the area, that they watched me leave the house today, that they know when we’re not home, that they’re armed, that they’re underage and even if we catch them, they’ll get off with a slap on the wrist, that I should brand our name and address onto every valuable item in the house, that material possessions aren’t worth getting hurt or killed over, that thumbtacks glued on the insides of my window frame would make an _excellent_ deterrent…
::deep breath::
I almost wish they’d stolen something. As odd as it sounds, I’d feel better. At least then I could convince myself that they were done with us and wouldn’t be coming back.
Pigfuckers.
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### Author:  [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/2 "2001-05-02T07:44:44Z")
Do you have evidence that the window was broken intentionally? It certainly is possible that someone broke it with the intent of robbing you and then for whatever reason didn’t (neighbor came home, someone drove by, dog barked, etc.), but is it possible that it got broken accidentally? Do you live near a ball field or driving range? Any small kids around?
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### Author:  [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/3 "2001-05-02T07:45:33Z")
I wish somebody would steal some stuff from me. Hell, steal it all. We have a renters insurance policy for $50,000 and I’m pretty sure I could more than replace everything with that.
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/4 "2001-05-02T09:20:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Geobabe \*
> \*\*Do you have evidence that the window was broken intentionally? It certainly is possible that someone broke it with the intent of robbing you and then for whatever reason didn’t (neighbor came home, someone drove by, dog barked, etc.), but is it possible that it got broken accidentally? Do you live near a ball field or driving range? Any small kids around? \*\*
The jalousies’ lower glass panes were removed and placed (in a suprisingly neat stack) on the ground outside my bedroom window. The inside screen was found on the floor near my bed (which is right below the window) and the frame was bent in a 90 degree angle in the middle. It looks like someone took off the jalousies, and forced the screen in, bending it in the process. I, too, considered that something broke it accidentally. but as soon as I took a good look around, I eliminated that possibility.
We do live right next to a field, but it’s a grassy field not used for much of anything. Kids don’t play there, as the sprinklers tend go off without warning.
So far as I can tell, someone broke the window and stuck their head in, but did not enter my room. As I said, my bed is under my window, and entering through the window would mean stepping right onto my mattress. But there is no dirt on my sheets or comforter. And I can’t imagine a thief taking the time to remove his shoes before coming inside… My guess is that they got the window and screen out of the way, and then something scared them away.
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### Author:  [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/5 "2001-05-02T09:26:43Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I almost wish they’d stolen something. As odd as it sounds, I’d feel better. At least then I could convince myself that they were done with us and wouldn’t be coming back.
Or, worse, they took one look and decided that there wasn’t anything worth stealing. How’s THAT for an insult…
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### Author:  [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/6 "2001-05-02T14:09:34Z")
don’t know if you’d find this comforting or not, but is there a possability your house was, um… used??? (as in gee that bed looks more inviting than the ground).
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### Author:  [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/7 "2001-05-02T16:05:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> We have a renters insurance policy for $50,000 and I’m pretty sure I could more than replace everything with that.
I think you’re unclear on how insurance works. Your insurance company is **not** going to give you $50,000 if your stuff gets stolen; $50,000 is merely the upper limit of what they’ll pay. The amount you actually receive is based on what you paid for the stolen items, minus depreciation.
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### Author:  [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/8 "2001-05-02T16:09:16Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > We have a renters insurance policy for $50,000 and I’m pretty sure I could more than replace everything with that.
>
> I think you’re unclear on how insurance works. Your insurance company is **not** going to give you $50,000 if your stuff gets stolen; $50,000 is merely the upper limit of what they’ll pay. The amount you actually receive is based on what you paid for the stolen items, minus depreciation. \*\*
Yes. And you do end up getting screwed. My grandmother had $30,000 worth of jewelry stolen this winter (Two days before christmas) and her home owners insurance which she’s had for 35 years said they’d give her $2,500 for all of it.
jarbaby
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### Author:  [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/9 "2001-05-02T16:21:26Z")
Actually, Unclebeer, renter’s insurance (at least) can pay the “replacement cost” of an item, not just what you paid for it. I think I pay 5 bucks every quarter to upgrade it to that. The way this was described to me is that if your TV gets stolen, they pay whatever it costs to rplace your TV (minus deductable), not the depriciated worth. If my insurance agent was lying to me about that, I would appriciate a heads up.
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### Author:  [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/10 "2001-05-02T16:30:00Z")
Insurance paying the replacement cost is fine for electronics and such, but try getting a replacement cost on family jewelry when you haven’t had the stuff independently appraised. They wouldn’t pay for the 40+ CD’s that were stolen, either. Thank the gods the thieves were too stupid to steal our software.
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### Author:  [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/11 "2001-05-02T16:50:45Z")
don’t assume the independant appraisal will generate a retail replacement value on jewelry, either. I used to keep my stuff at the bank, decided I wanted it at home instead, talked to my insurance guy, asked my da-ad (two syllables) who is the custom jeweler who’d made most of my stuff. Said “da-ad, I need you to do an appraisal for my stuff”. No you don’t says he.
Ask your insurance agent specifically if the policy would pay the appraised cost, portion there-in etc. have them point out the language in the policy that says it.
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### Author:  [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/12 "2001-05-02T17:06:18Z")
Couple of things:[ul][li]The way replacement value insurance worked for me when my place got burgled was like this: I got a check for the depreciated value of my stuff then, as I bought it and turned in receipts, got the difference between the depreciated value and the replacement value. Part of it is total bullshit, though, I mena, how much have CD’s depreciated over the last 20 years?! Also, I had to list every single CD I had in order to get paid…you try remebering 263 CDs! (I did, but it took some time.)[/li][li]I had my exs ring insured seperately on the policy until I noticed that it was about 1/3rd of the policy cost! My policy at the time was for $30k and cost me about $160 a year. The ring was appraised at ~$4,800 and the coverage for that specifically was ~$50 a year! WTF?[/li]Losing your stuff/having it stolen sucks ass, no two ways about it, but what you’ve got there, the breaking and…not-really-entering, well, that’s disturbing. Do you have lights or anything back there that might discourage would-be villains?[/ul]
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### Author:  [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/13 "2001-05-02T17:08:10Z")
Oh, I forgot to mention, I rolled the ring into my policy and up-ed said policy by $10k. My yearly cost went _down_ $30.
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### Author:  [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/14 "2001-05-02T17:12:21Z")
I’ve heard of thieves who try to break in and steal some stuff you would not miss, then a week later they try to break in again:).
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/15 "2001-05-02T23:48:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Suo Na_
> Thank the gods the thieves were too stupid to steal our software.
Ours weren’t.
Yeah, it turns out something _was_ stolen. I had one of those black zippered CD cases near my computer. You know which kind I mean, right? It was half-filled with all my software CDs: my system and system restore CDs, my peripherals’ software install CDs, my games CDs, my third-party software install CDs… it was _all_ in there.
I noticed it was missing after I read that sentence.
$40 in cash is also missing-- it was on my dresser, near my 'puter and CDs… but it’s not there anymore.
So the bastard(s) did come into my room and they did poke around and they did steal something after all.
This all hit me as I was getting ready to leave this morning. Let me tell you, I was not happy about having to leave the house today, but I had no choice. My classes’ final grades were due today. The marks sheet and the attendance sign-in sheets had to be turned in by 4pm. E-mailing the info in was not an option.
So, freshly annoyed, I went over to talk to our area resident manager again. (I’d talked to him yesterday after I discovered the break-in.) I was going to tell him what I’d found, and how I was going to handle it. This is how it went:
Me: Hi, Woody. Thought I should let you know-- it turns out something _was_ stolen. I had a black CD case, full of my computer software CDs, and…
Woody: Do you have a Macintosh?
Me: :🤔: How the hell does he know that?
Woody: Because I found it.
Me: [sub]…huh?[/sub]
Woody retreated to his makeshift office and returned with my CD case in hand. I wanted to kiss him. But his wife and kids were there, and I don’t think the gesture would have been appreciated.
He said he’d been walking around the previous evening and had found my CDs abandoned on the curb. He picked them up and took them back to his place for safekeeping, figuring the owner would probably come to him sooner or later.
I am so damn lucky that he wanders around as often as he does.
Whoever broke in and stole the CDs probably figured there were music CDs in there. And upon discovering there weren’t any, they tossed them. Or maybe they weren’t Mac users. I dunno.
I’m just glad they didn’t toss them in the dumpsters.
Funny thing is, if they’d looked a little to the right, they would have seen my music CDs in a similar case.
I made my trip to the university as quick as possible. I took a taxi, and was home within an hour.
So… seeing as things were taken after all, we’ll probably call the police tonight and file a report. We’re only waiting so that my parents can check over their things to see if anything else is missing. I don’t think anything else was taken, though; I think the thieves made their visit as brief as possible. My window, their entry point, faces a small shopping center, and they could have easily been caught had they taken their time.
I’m hoping this is the end of it.
**wring** – yeah, I did think about that. I’ve heard stories about burglars breaking in and doing all kinds of sick things: shitting in people’s toilets, shitting on the carpet and in corners, eating their food and spitting it back up on their clothes and furniture, harassing their pets… I checked for signs of that kind of stuff as soon as I got the windows secured. Thankfully, I found nothing.
**thinksnow** , now that you mention it, there’s a light for our front door that would illuminate the area pretty well. We usually keep it off out of consideration for the neighbors. But now, I think I’ll suggest that we keep it on at night. (I’m planning on talking to all our neighbors later tonight anyway.) Thanks for the idea.
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### Author:  [@Geobabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geobabe)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2001, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/16 "2001-05-03T00:34:57Z")
Well, shit. That sucks that someone did break in. I was so hoping it was going to turn out that the window got broken accidentally. Cool that you got your software back, but it just feels so _awful_ to have had your space violated like that.
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### Author:  [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2001, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/17 "2001-05-03T01:35:29Z")
Oh, I am so sorry you had things taken, and I know how you feel. It’s not a great feeling either…it’s extremely frightening to know somebody has been in your home and done whatever they wanted.
We were robbed in our old house. The odd thing was, it was the only time in our thirteen years there that I had ever locked the front door. I didn’t even notice anything until I went into the kitchen…and the back door was standing wide open.
They stole my brand new handgun, which was hidden very well. Luckily, in looking for it, they didn’t turn my house upside down. They may have just happened upon it, but I doubt it. They just didn’t trash my house, for which I was grateful. They also took what I assume they thought was a gold mine of jewelry. Every piece they took was fake. Collectively, it wasn’t worth $25.00.
Strike that, they did get my husband’s high school ring, but only because it was on the ring-tree with all my fake stuff.
They also took my son’s Playstation, but alas, it had been broken about two weeks, so my thieves probably were really ticked back at the den when they tried to fire it up. Except for the gun, which they could have easily hocked for about $300,(except they were probably too young to have gotten in a pawn shop) they pretty much wasted their afternoon.
What crawled up my ass was the fact that two of my neighbors **saw** the little bastards snooping around my house, and never even bothered to call the cops. Both cars are gone, all my neighbors knew we both work, and nobody picks up a phone. Gee, thanks.
They gave a marvelously detailed description to the cops afterwards, “uh…a white kid with a hat on and a black kid without a hat”. I can’t imagine why they weren’t apprehended and jailed within _minutes_ after that, can you?
My heart does go out to you, **AudreyK**. Keep the lights on and get a big dog. Ours had died only the month before or I would have found teenage-meat-shreds when I returned from work that day, I assure you.
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/18 "2001-05-03T01:45:34Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I have never felt so violated, so helpless, and so paranoid in my life.
I know the feeling, **Audrey**. It’s horrible not feeling safe in your own home.
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### Author:  [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2001, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/19 "2001-05-03T02:11:42Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by AudreyK \*
>
> Or maybe they weren’t Mac users. I dunno.
My GOD…finally the Mac users get their revenge! 😃 They stole your software and couldn’t use it!
NO COMEUPANCE! YOU HEAR ME? NO COMEUPANCE!
Audrey, what’s best is that YOU are OK. I hope this is the end of your troubles.
jarbaby
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### Author:  [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-time-steal-something/64056/20 "2001-05-03T03:03:42Z")
Thank you all for the kind words.
My list of missing items is thankfully very short. I am relieved that nothing irreplaceable is on the list.
**Silky** , shame on your neighbors. I like to think you should be able to count on your neighbors to look out for suspicious things like that and to react accordingly. But I guess you can’t sometimes. I’m sorry about your husband’s ring.
We’ll put the light on, but a guard dog is out of the question, I’m afraid. We live in a townhouse, and pets aren’t allowed. Too bad, though. My mom would really love to have a dog. And after this, I’m sure we’d all sleep better if we had a dog patrolling the area.
I’m moving to WA soon. I hate that this is going to be one of my last few memories of this place.
**jarbaby** , 😃
And thank you. I hope so, too.
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